I am a newbie to this forum and have a few questions about starting a small business in DR. After reading through various forums it seems as if buying property is the best investment in DR. I am thinking about either opening an internet cafe and/or a small clothing boutique. I have been to DR with a few suitcases of clothes and sold much of the items to the locals. Thanks to some advice from DR1.com. I am wondering if I should purchase a store front or lease a store front. I was thinking of opening in Sousa. Is this a good idea? I am also looking into opening an internet cafe nextdoor to the boutique.
- Thread starter xcaliber
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Starting a small business in DR
clothing? don't do clothing clothes in the D.R. are cheap. Internet Cafe's owners are making good money (IN SANTO DOMINGO) it all depend on the location.
Internet Cafes
... can make some money but do your homework first. Many bandwidth providers here do not allow you to resell their product. Also Sosua seems to me to be quite heavily saturated with these.
... can make some money but do your homework first. Many bandwidth providers here do not allow you to resell their product. Also Sosua seems to me to be quite heavily saturated with these.
Internet Cafes
... can make some money but do your homework first. Many bandwidth providers here do not allow you to resell their product. Also Sosua seems to me to be quite heavily saturated with these.
... can make some money but do your homework first. Many bandwidth providers here do not allow you to resell their product. Also Sosua seems to me to be quite heavily saturated with these.
Clothing? I have difficulty seeing much profit in that right now-not that I am an expert by any stretch of the imagination. Internet cafe? Perhaps. One could probably survive in our neighborhood in the capital, particularly if it offered courses to educate the unitiated.
Where is a good location in Santa Domingo also do anyone know of a store-front that I can lease for a reasonable price? Will I need a license to perform business and do I need a licenses to teach computer courses?
Clothing is definately risky....
If you want to do clothing it is not impossible, you just have to mind your numbers, be alert of your competition and pick a target audience.
Our store opens up October 1st and although I was a tad bit wary at first... afraid that it might not succeed... I have no doubt in my mind it will.
The difference with us though... is we have been to every store in Cabarete, we are cheaper than every store... BY ALOT... one store sells a bathing suit for $2700 pesos... we have the same exact bathing suit for 700 Pesos... the SAME EXACT... and we are still making 3 times our investment on that product. We are picky on our inventory... if it is too expensive, we do not buy it, period. However we are in a tourist area and are targeting tourists.. plus the majority of our apparel is surf gear and rash guards... so i think we are a little bit more specific than jiminez.
You can do it... you just have to find your genre.
If you want to do clothing it is not impossible, you just have to mind your numbers, be alert of your competition and pick a target audience.
Our store opens up October 1st and although I was a tad bit wary at first... afraid that it might not succeed... I have no doubt in my mind it will.
The difference with us though... is we have been to every store in Cabarete, we are cheaper than every store... BY ALOT... one store sells a bathing suit for $2700 pesos... we have the same exact bathing suit for 700 Pesos... the SAME EXACT... and we are still making 3 times our investment on that product. We are picky on our inventory... if it is too expensive, we do not buy it, period. However we are in a tourist area and are targeting tourists.. plus the majority of our apparel is surf gear and rash guards... so i think we are a little bit more specific than jiminez.
You can do it... you just have to find your genre.
Clothing sells in the DR you just have to make sure you don't overcharge. Dominican women love to dress, and although they're always crying poverty, they always look nice and they're always buying.
If you have doubts on what sells in DR, in addition to the clothes offer a variety of things, jewelry, accessories etc. to attract the tourists. Keep an eye an what sells the most and capitalize on it. Location is important too.
If you have doubts on what sells in DR, in addition to the clothes offer a variety of things, jewelry, accessories etc. to attract the tourists. Keep an eye an what sells the most and capitalize on it. Location is important too.
years ago you were able to sell clothes nowdays D.R. has everything in their store cheaper than you can buy them in the states unless you can ship by containers.
I beg to differ..
I have friends and family who do very nicely selling clothes in their stores. You can't generalize like that Erickxson.
ERICKXSON said:years ago you were able to sell clothes nowdays D.R. has everything in their store cheaper than you can buy them in the states unless you can ship by containers.
I have friends and family who do very nicely selling clothes in their stores. You can't generalize like that Erickxson.
Forbeca, that's what i saw when i was there is cheaper to buy certain things over there, however im in the business of exporting certain (women acsessories) to the D.R. and i'm doing very well regardless of the situation the country is in right now.
ERICKXSON said:Forbeca, that's what i saw when i was there is cheaper to buy certain things over there, however im in the business of exporting certain (women acsessories) to the D.R. and i'm doing very well regardless of the situation the country is in right now.
Yes, I realize that some stuff may be cheaper to buy there, I'm not arguing that. Having said that, I don't want the person who requested this information to feel that what she wants to do is an impossible dream. Let me tell you, my aunt has a boutique in SD and she does very well. She says that dominicans always prefer stuff that's imported because of the quality and exclusivity of the garments. Like I said before, they are always complaining of not making enough money, but they do buy the stuff and they like to dress well.
Forbeca.... you are right...
Clothing (especially here) is a fine line... you have a very narrow line to tread when being successful or not. Your aunt no doubt walks that line very well... which comes with knowing the supply and demand.
As I said earlier... an intended audience needs be targeted... and the price has to conform with the prospective audience. What you say is true... my mother in law always say.. that some people complain about not being able to afford to feed their family, but they always have on new clothes.
Clothing here is very cheap, but it is low quality with no name brands. I have bought quite a few items here. All of the dress shoes have put blisters on my feet after one wearing. The jeans never fit right and material is itchy. Although I always find cute shirts rather cheap and nice. So there has to be a median, if one can provide a higher quality at the same price or just a little bit higher than it is all relative.
Clothing (especially here) is a fine line... you have a very narrow line to tread when being successful or not. Your aunt no doubt walks that line very well... which comes with knowing the supply and demand.
As I said earlier... an intended audience needs be targeted... and the price has to conform with the prospective audience. What you say is true... my mother in law always say.. that some people complain about not being able to afford to feed their family, but they always have on new clothes.
Clothing here is very cheap, but it is low quality with no name brands. I have bought quite a few items here. All of the dress shoes have put blisters on my feet after one wearing. The jeans never fit right and material is itchy. Although I always find cute shirts rather cheap and nice. So there has to be a median, if one can provide a higher quality at the same price or just a little bit higher than it is all relative.
How about an internet cafe
Thanks you guys for your input on the boutique, I will need to think about this further and do some more research before I dive in. Based on your responses it seems as if the main goal is to sell medium to good quality clothing at a fairly cheap price.
I have not heard to many responses on how well an internet cafe will do , where is the best location to set up shop and what laws I may run into. I have a few investors who want to invest in an internet cafe but would like to know more about this arena.
Thanks you guys for your input on the boutique, I will need to think about this further and do some more research before I dive in. Based on your responses it seems as if the main goal is to sell medium to good quality clothing at a fairly cheap price.
I have not heard to many responses on how well an internet cafe will do , where is the best location to set up shop and what laws I may run into. I have a few investors who want to invest in an internet cafe but would like to know more about this arena.
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