Should AJ Open Crazy AJ's?
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@scottalanmiller said:
@thanksajdotcom said:
So, hypothetically, if I wanted to have enough capital to get my life setup there (as in live there) and actually open one of these places, what are we talking in terms of numbers?
Well to start... Nicaragua VERY little, Panama MUCH more.
Ok, so if we started in Nicaragua, enough to live reasonably comfortably, open the store (all the fees associated with that) and to get a small inventory to start with....ideas?
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I don't have access to Panamanian numbers from here, but I know that you can live in Panama okay below $10K a year in the country. Not living large mind you, but you can live. So if you were bringing that in you'd be sustainable while you grew things.
Nicaragua you can literally get a hostel room for $5 a day. You could buy a house of your own for not too much. But much harder to make money.
Coming up with hard numbers is very hard. Coming up with a very specific target is key as the numbers could vary dramatically from place to place.
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@thanksajdotcom said:
Yeah, the screen replacements on Android and iPhones is not something I've done. I also hate tiny work like that...my hands aren't so good at that...
Well we know that you have to hire someone to open the shop for you in the mornings as it is so..... hire someone with tiny hands.
Screen replacement and similar fixes, selling cases and SD cards is huge business.
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yeah I was thinking hiring someone to do that would be a starter. Inventory on the glass would be the worst part though. easy to have a few thousand tied up in inventory.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@thanksajdotcom said:
Yeah, the screen replacements on Android and iPhones is not something I've done. I also hate tiny work like that...my hands aren't so good at that...
Well we know that you have to hire someone to open the shop for you in the mornings as it is so..... hire someone with tiny hands.
Screen replacement and similar fixes, selling cases and SD cards is huge business.
Ok, you said it's the trade area of the world. However, isn't it basically a transfer point? How much can you actually get in the country?
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@thanksajdotcom said:
Ok, so if we started in Nicaragua, enough to live reasonably comfortably, open the store (all the fees associated with that) and to get a small inventory to start with....ideas?
Even within Nica, lots of variables. I don't know the whole country that well yet, I'll be investigating regions soon. Here in Granada you have a lot of tourists and providing support for them might make a lot of sense. You would need one of the more expensive shops around the main square, but there is literally no computer support there, only places to recharge your phone minutes.
I've heard that up in Matagalpa that you can rent a very nice house for $500/mo. Here in Granada my house is $1,200 so the numbers vary a lot. Matagalpha is cooler and a larger city, but no tourists.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@thanksajdotcom said:
Ok, so if we started in Nicaragua, enough to live reasonably comfortably, open the store (all the fees associated with that) and to get a small inventory to start with....ideas?
Even within Nica, lots of variables. I don't know the whole country that well yet, I'll be investigating regions soon. Here in Granada you have a lot of tourists and providing support for them might make a lot of sense. You would need one of the more expensive shops around the main square, but there is literally no computer support there, only places to recharge your phone minutes.
I've heard that up in Matagalpa that you can rent a very nice house for $500/mo. Here in Granada my house is $1,200 so the numbers vary a lot. Matagalpha is cooler and a larger city, but no tourists.
Ok, I work very well in hard numbers. This would probably be at least a few years out anyways.
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@thanksajdotcom said:
Ok, you said it's the trade area of the world. However, isn't it basically a transfer point? How much can you actually get in the country?
More than you can possibly imagine. The Colon Freeport is epic. It's not just the transfer point, it is the world's warehouse. There is an entire city of warehouse there! It's impossible to describe. A secret city that has tens of thousands of people doing nothing but warehousing and selling everything you can imagine, in bulk. The ships offload and hold there.
Literally more products that can be purchased in the US are available in a single place in Colon.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@thanksajdotcom said:
Ok, you said it's the trade area of the world. However, isn't it basically a transfer point? How much can you actually get in the country?
More than you can possibly imagine. The Colon Freeport is epic. It's not just the transfer point, it is the world's warehouse. There is an entire city of warehouse there! It's impossible to describe. A secret city that has tens of thousands of people doing nothing but warehousing and selling everything you can imagine, in bulk. The ships offload and hold there.
Literally more products that can be purchased in the US are available in a single place in Colon.
But warehoused items are owned by someone. So are these items being stolen and resold? That's what I'm confused about. Someone paid to ship it there, and I assume pays to store it there. So is it just overstock?
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@Dashrender said:
yeah I was thinking hiring someone to do that would be a starter. Inventory on the glass would be the worst part though. easy to have a few thousand tied up in inventory.
I doubt it. Start with limited models and just a few screens. The big money is in the labour. Don't need to sell lots of things, just the basics to start. First store could be absolutely tiny and focus only on fixing computers, installs, cleaning, etc.
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Doing it in Nica would require working as an Internet cafe that also does repair and whatever you can find that people need (gaming, classes, one on one tutoring, sell coffee, beer, rum, etc.) I'm not kidding the Internet cafes sell alcohol here.
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@scottalanmiller said:
Doing it in Nica would require working as an Internet cafe that also does repair and whatever you can find that people need (gaming, classes, one on one tutoring, sell coffee, beer, rum, etc.) I'm not kidding the Internet cafes sell alcohol here.
I like it!
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@scottalanmiller said:
Doing it in Nica would require working as an Internet cafe that also does repair and whatever you can find that people need (gaming, classes, one on one tutoring, sell coffee, beer, rum, etc.) I'm not kidding the Internet cafes sell alcohol here.
Do they have private cubbies like they do in Japan?
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Nothing in Nica would be like Japan. This is one of the poorest countries in the world. Private space, air conditioning... those things are premiums.
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Internet cafes are only just starting to see little LCD screens here!
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How many internet cafe's are there?
How difficult would it be to setup a 10 PC internet cafe, do you think?
What does internet access cost there?
From the sounds of it, a bunch of used Dell's in the $100-200 range would be perfect for that place. So the PC's wouldn't cost to much..
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@Dashrender said:
How many internet cafe's are there?
Tons here in Granada. It's popular and needed. That's why an Internet cafe as a base business with the repair, training and more to make it stand out is the idea.
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@Dashrender said:
From the sounds of it, a bunch of used Dell's in the $100-200 range would be perfect for that place. So the PC's wouldn't cost to much..
No, super low power devices that are fanless are ideal. You want to minimize power draw as much as possible.
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@Dashrender said:
What does internet access cost there?
That I don't know, it is included with our rent here. Can't be much, though.
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@Dashrender said:
How difficult would it be to setup a 10 PC internet cafe, do you think?
Not hard at all.
