Franchising in La Romana or Santo Domingo

Domingo646

New member
Jul 31, 2016
82
0
0
Hi, I'm interested in franchising opportunities in La Romana and/or Santo Domingo.
The only idea I've had is a hair salon. Three people are involved and would contribute to the enterprise; myself (Canadian), my fiancee (Dominican) and a friend
who lives in Santo Domingo (Dominican).

The capital requirement would have to be low.

We are looking at one opportunity she has had success with in the past - selling undergarments for females,
using multiple distributors/dealers. I'm investing in her enterprise because she is excellent with people and has a background
in accounting.

Any suggestions?
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
936
113
Another hair salon, but this one with 5-7% revenue taken right off the top?

Sheer genius! :cheeky:

Forget the franchise stuff. Not worth the time, money or hassle. Just do it yourself.

However, if you've never been in business before, better for capital preservation to just forget it. The DR is no place for a rook to play entrepreneur. Going into legitimate business here is much, much harder with vastly more potholes & craters than the states or Canuckia...
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
8,671
1,133
113
You remind me of me...you're all over the place. Slow down. Nothing happens here quickly. It can take 2 months to get a drivers license.

Do not invest money, or start a business until you have your residency and have lived here for at least a year. I won't say don't open or invest in a hair salon, but if you can find a street corner in this country where you can stand and throw a rock and not hit a hair salon, please let me know where that is.

You have a steep learning and adjustment curve ahead of you after you arrive. You are going to be keen to go out and "get 'er done". You are going to learn that that is a recipe for lots of stress, disappointment and maybe even a heart attack. I can't explain it to you and even if I could you wouldn't believe me. Here, 95% of daily life does not even remotely approach life back home. Just about everything takes longer, is harder to organize and more often than not takes several attempts to complete. Even a simple process such as opening a bank account can stretch into a task that takes many hours or even days to complete.

Repairing an appliance like a fridge is like nowhere else. The repair guy arrives without the part. Has to drive several hours to a big city to get the part. Returns with the wrong part, tries to modify part to fit your appliance. Shows you that his franken part works just fine, you pay him, he leaves and 30 minutes later smoke is billowing out the back of your fridge.

Slow down amigo. Practice breathing. At this rate, you're going to get off the plane running at 100 mph...you're going to hit the brick wall that is the "process" here and you are going to hurt yourself.

*It has just dawned on me that you may already be in country and not about to arrive. I can't figure out if you are here or not by what you have written. Either way the advice still applies. Take it slow and steady amigo, one project at a time.
 
Last edited:

Derfish

Gold
Jan 7, 2016
4,441
2
0
Hi, I'm interested in franchising opportunities in La Romana and/or Santo Domingo.
The only idea I've had is a hair salon. Three people are involved and would contribute to the enterprise; myself (Canadian), my fiancee (Dominican) and a friend
who lives in Santo Domingo (Dominican).

The capital requirement would have to be low.

We are looking at one opportunity she has had success with in the past - selling undergarments for females,
using multiple distributors/dealers. I'm investing in her enterprise because she is excellent with people and has a background
in accounting.

Any suggestions?

I am not sure in what manner you are using the word franchising. Are you looking to open a Franchise of a brand name Hair Salon? Like taking on a franchise of McDonalds instead of using your own name on a restaurant. Or are you wanting to e the corporate name and sell franchises to the local girls so there are "Domingo's Hair Places" all over the place.
I would say if you go into the hair business you bring a new almost untried on the island idea. That is something that was going on almost everywhere else 40 years ago. That is unisex hair cutting. Cut hair of men and women and children. If a man needs a haircut don't point him down the street to the barber, sit him in your chair and turn on your clippers!
I have financed 3 different women who wanted to go into the bras and panties business.Does she sell the panties for cash or let he customers take them home in hopes of seeing half of her money on the 15th of the month and the rest at the end of the month? If you have enuff money to open a shop where people come in and buy clothes and you ring it up on your cash register and can accept bankcards it may be a viable business If you have to go the other route it is just a fantasy. Every dominicana here knows someone who has tried it and knows that if she did it she would be a success.
I wouldn't count on that. Or would you be the corporate office and franchising the stores selling the undergarments? Buy a container load of bras and panties form the Free Zone in Colon Panama and selll them wholesale to your franchisees?
Best of luck, and go slow.
Der Fish
 

Domingo646

New member
Jul 31, 2016
82
0
0
Another hair salon, but this one with 5-7% revenue taken right off the top?

Sheer genius! :cheeky:

Forget the franchise stuff. Not worth the time, money or hassle. Just do it yourself.

However, if you've never been in business before, better for capital preservation to just forget it. The DR is no place for a rook to play entrepreneur. Going into legitimate business here is much, much harder with vastly more potholes & craters than the states or Canuckia...

Got it. Message received.

Who said I wanted to be legitimate?
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
5,966
113
Think of it this way. You head out to do three things that in North America you could do online. Two of those three things can be done, but the third one cannot until at least the next day or maybe until next week. And you are stuck in place on a project until that third thing can be done.
In the DR, Two out of Three ain't bad.

I am just talking about daily life, and not the extreme added complications of having a business.

If you do find a successful business that can be started up with little money, rest assured that others will notice this and copy it, virtually guaranteeing all of you will suffer.

The hair salon idea, comical at best. Have you considered selling real estate? Virtually every other person in the DR has.
 

Domingo646

New member
Jul 31, 2016
82
0
0
I am not sure in what manner you are using the word franchising. Are you looking to open a Franchise of a brand name Hair Salon? Like taking on a franchise of McDonalds instead of using your own name on a restaurant. Or are you wanting to e the corporate name and sell franchises to the local girls so there are "Domingo's Hair Places" all over the place.
I would say if you go into the hair business you bring a new almost untried on the island idea. That is something that was going on almost everywhere else 40 years ago. That is unisex hair cutting. Cut hair of men and women and children. If a man needs a haircut don't point him down the street to the barber, sit him in your chair and turn on your clippers!
I have financed 3 different women who wanted to go into the bras and panties business.Does she sell the panties for cash or let he customers take them home in hopes of seeing half of her money on the 15th of the month and the rest at the end of the month? If you have enuff money to open a shop where people come in and buy clothes and you ring it up on your cash register and can accept bankcards it may be a viable business If you have to go the other route it is just a fantasy. Every dominicana here knows someone who has tried it and knows that if she did it she would be a success.
I wouldn't count on that. Or would you be the corporate office and franchising the stores selling the undergarments? Buy a container load of bras and panties form the Free Zone in Colon Panama and selll them wholesale to your franchisees?
Best of luck, and go slow.


Der Fish


Thanks, and I sent you a PM.
 

Domingo646

New member
Jul 31, 2016
82
0
0
You remind me of me...you're all over the place. Slow down. Nothing happens here quickly. It can take 2 months to get a drivers license.

Do not invest money, or start a business until you have your residency and have lived here for at least a year. I won't say don't open or invest in a hair salon, but if you can find a street corner in this country where you can stand and throw a rock and not hit a hair salon, please let me know where that is.

You have a steep learning and adjustment curve ahead of you after you arrive. You are going to be keen to go out and "get 'er done". You are going to learn that that is a recipe for lots of stress, disappointment and maybe even a heart attack. I can't explain it to you and even if I could you wouldn't believe me. Here, 95% of daily life does not even remotely approach life back home. Just about everything takes longer, is harder to organize and more often than not takes several attempts to complete. Even a simple process such as opening a bank account can stretch into a task that takes many hours or even days to complete.

Repairing an appliance like a fridge is like nowhere else. The repair guy arrives without the part. Has to drive several hours to a big city to get the part. Returns with the wrong part, tries to modify part to fit your appliance. Shows you that his franken part works just fine, you pay him, he leaves and 30 minutes later smoke is billowing out the back of your fridge.

Slow down amigo. Practice breathing. At this rate, you're going to get off the plane running at 100 mph...you're going to hit the brick wall that is the "process" here and you are going to hurt yourself.

*It has just dawned on me that you may already be in country and not about to arrive. I can't figure out if you are here or not by what you have written. Either way the advice still applies. Take it slow and steady amigo, one project at a time.


I sent you a PM.

I'm not in country. I arrive in a couple months. I've been in the DR before.
 
Jun 18, 2007
14,280
503
113
www.rentalmetrocountry.com
Hi, I'm interested in franchising opportunities in La Romana and/or Santo Domingo.
The only idea I've had is a hair salon. Three people are involved and would contribute to the enterprise; myself (Canadian), my fiancee (Dominican) and a friend
who lives in Santo Domingo (Dominican).

The capital requirement would have to be low.

We are looking at one opportunity she has had success with in the past - selling undergarments for females,
using multiple distributors/dealers. I'm investing in her enterprise because she is excellent with people and has a background
in accounting.

Any suggestions?

Why try to open a business that already has so much competition?
Why open up a business in the DR if you're not even living there and therefore you're not in control of it?
Are you in your early twenties?
 

frank12

Gold
Sep 6, 2011
11,847
29
48
A franchise is not going to work. It cannot work. and it will not work.

1.) With a franchise business, you will be required to pay taxes of your sales. You can try to fly under the radar, and you will get away with it for a while, but in the end, you're going to have to pay one way or the other. Small hair salons get away with out paying taxes, but i don't know how you would pull this off with a franchise.

2.) 98% of "Employed" Dominicans only make $8000 ($200 dollars) a month. they will not pay more then $4 dollars for a haircut. That's what i pay. That's what all of my "Male" co-workers pay. Only a retired Expat is going to be able to afford to pay more. And there are not enough of those to keep you in business.

3.) There are already tens of thousands of hair salons operating out of people's houses and shacks. They have little to no rent.

4.) Every person you employ for longer than 3 months you will need to pay for insurance, 10% severance pay each year, maternity leave, taxes, and a whole host of other things that i don't have the time to go into.

5.) You will need generators for when the electricity goes out...and the electricity goes out every single day with few exceptions. Electricity on the island is extremely expensive.

I have to go back to work, but there is many, many more issues and problems that i don't have the time to go into.

Frank
 

Domingo646

New member
Jul 31, 2016
82
0
0
A franchise is not going to work. It cannot work. and it will not work.

1.) With a franchise business, you will be required to pay taxes of your sales. You can try to fly under the radar, and you will get away with it for a while, but in the end, you're going to have to pay one way or the other. Small hair salons get away with out paying taxes, but i don't know how you would pull this off with a franchise.

2.) 98% of "Employed" Dominicans only make $8000 ($200 dollars) a month. they will not pay more then $4 dollars for a haircut. That's what i pay. That's what all of my "Male" co-workers pay. Only a retired Expat is going to be able to afford to pay more. And there are not enough of those to keep you in business.

3.) There are already tens of thousands of hair salons operating out of people's houses and shacks. They have little to no rent.

4.) Every person you employ for longer than 3 months you will need to pay for insurance, 10% severance pay each year, maternity leave, taxes, and a whole host of other things that i don't have the time to go into.

5.) You will need generators for when the electricity goes out...and the electricity goes out every single day with few exceptions. Electricity on the island is extremely expensive.

I have to go back to work, but there is many, many more issues and problems that i don't have the time to go into.

Frank


I read it all and I appreciate all of it. My ideas stink.
 

bloody67

New member
Jan 16, 2011
23
0
0
Hi ...Have resided here last 8 years , married to a Dominican with 3 of our own kids,..have a couple business here..let me tell you this as we also have a hair salon , one of a few of our business here.
It is not easy to be successful here X 10 of what it takes in the US or Canada ..As a extrajero , your a money pit period...it took me 2 failed business before i got the 3 rd one to be successful , then
you figure it out ...the scams,, the jealousy,,,the lies , the cons ..the planning against you and then how to do things like a Dominican and succeed, your gonna need to be thick skin , willing to bust some chops,
and i mean that, bust some skulls , literally...people understand that better than talking...Now let me laugh a while...cause u want to open a business with a fiancee and Dominican friend, my advice when your married
legally, you spend about a year if your resources can afford you that , then you open a company and then go from their , an SRL in the name of you and your legal wife, seriously forget the friend thing..
here they becomes enemies fast when money is involved and suddenly you wake up kicked out a lucrative business..or worst supporting another business they create of you , that u know nothing of...
good people here man, best way to keep them good and your friend , stay out of bed and business with them when they are friends,,,,,abit of island boy advice.
 

Domingo646

New member
Jul 31, 2016
82
0
0
Hi ...Have resided here last 8 years , married to a Dominican with 3 of our own kids,..have a couple business here..let me tell you this as we also have a hair salon , one of a few of our business here.
It is not easy to be successful here X 10 of what it takes in the US or Canada ..As a extrajero , your a money pit period...it took me 2 failed business before i got the 3 rd one to be successful , then
you figure it out ...the scams,, the jealousy,,,the lies , the cons ..the planning against you and then how to do things like a Dominican and succeed, your gonna need to be thick skin , willing to bust some chops,
and i mean that, bust some skulls , literally...people understand that better than talking...Now let me laugh a while...cause u want to open a business with a fiancee and Dominican friend, my advice when your married
legally, you spend about a year if your resources can afford you that , then you open a company and then go from their , an SRL in the name of you and your legal wife, seriously forget the friend thing..
here they becomes enemies fast when money is involved and suddenly you wake up kicked out a lucrative business..or worst supporting another business they create of you , that u know nothing of...
good people here man, best way to keep them good and your friend , stay out of bed and business with them when they are friends,,,,,abit of island boy advice.

I hear you. We're sharing the same thoughts.

I know they're ubiquitous and on every street (every house, hut, etc.), but how much capital/people is required to open a calmado?
It seems like one could earn a steady flow of revenue. I would have a tough time finding someone to trust, though.
No family here.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
23,097
6,247
113
South Coast
I hear you. We're sharing the same thoughts.

I know they're ubiquitous and on every street (every house, hut, etc.), but how much capital/people is required to open a calmado?
It seems like one could earn a steady flow of revenue. I would have a tough time finding someone to trust, though.
No family here.

Forget a colmado, unless you personally plan to be there all the time. Plus, and it's a big one, you'll have to give credit to everyone.
 

Derfish

Gold
Jan 7, 2016
4,441
2
0
I hear you. We're sharing the same thoughts.

I know they're ubiquitous and on every street (every house, hut, etc.), but how much capital/people is required to open a calmado?
It seems like one could earn a steady flow of revenue. I would have a tough time finding someone to trust, though.
No family here.

On a thread a couple of years ago the cost of starting a colmado was thrashed around. The consensus was that it would take between $2000 to $100,000 to start one. Like everything else here there was a consensus of everyone having the same thoughts. I lived next door to one for 3 years. Whenever I returned from the USA I woud bring a dozen pairs of panties bought at Walmart for $.99 each and he'd give me 70 pesos each, and sell them for 100 pesos. I also went to Lowes and bought several pairs of scissors. They had them in bins for a couple of years at $2.00 each. I still have a pair I bought 8 years ago, but meanwhile I have sold quite a few wholesale. They'd sell in the colmado for 400 pesos. There are a lot ofthings one can buy in Walmart for a buck and sell here for 100 pesos. I never made a business of it, but have made a few pesos doing so.
Der Fish
 

Expat13

Silver
Jun 7, 2008
3,255
50
48
A franchise is not going to work. It cannot work. and it will not work.

1.) With a franchise business, you will be required to pay taxes of your sales. You can try to fly under the radar, and you will get away with it for a while, but in the end, you're going to have to pay one way or the other. Small hair salons get away with out paying taxes, but i don't know how you would pull this off with a franchise.

2.) 98% of "Employed" Dominicans only make $8000 ($200 dollars) a month. they will not pay more then $4 dollars for a haircut. That's what i pay. That's what all of my "Male" co-workers pay. Only a retired Expat is going to be able to afford to pay more. And there are not enough of those to keep you in business.

3.) There are already tens of thousands of hair salons operating out of people's houses and shacks. They have little to no rent.

4.) Every person you employ for longer than 3 months you will need to pay for insurance, 10% severance pay each year, maternity leave, taxes, and a whole host of other things that i don't have the time to go into.

5.) You will need generators for when the electricity goes out...and the electricity goes out every single day with few exceptions. Electricity on the island is extremely expensive.

I have to go back to work, but there is many, many more issues and problems that i don't have the time to go into.

Frank

Frank I was thinking of getting a group of gringos together to open a beach bar in Cabarete. I know this is the home run idea but I would still appreciate your expert advice?