I really don’t know what to make of this article from US News and World Report which is a thinly disguised advertisement for the author’s business. The article entitled “How to Retire at any Age” goes on to describe how a couple wanted to retire at a young age and moved abroad to Belize in order to start a business. But that’s not retiring, that’s working. So right off the bat I have no idea what the premise of the article is because the title and the body of the article talk about two entirely different things. The correct title of the article should be, “How to start a successful business in a very poor country”. But that title would mean fewer readers. Thus the misleading title.
I’m really disappointed in US News and World Report for this article. I work in the public relations realm and this is thinly disguised PR written by the author in order to move her websites up the Google rankings and draw business to her services. It is not journalism.
I have commented on early retirement by retiring abroad before. It is hard to accomplish. In my time abroad I never met one person I would consider retired and living as an expat. I believe the younger you retire, the more risk you are taking on. Certainly moving overseas and starting a business at a young age is fraught with risk. You will not make donations to your state pension. Yes you will save on taxes, but unless you are disciplined and save for retirement you will be in trouble when you are really retired and unable to physically work in your older years.
Starting a business is very difficult with a high chance of failure. Starting a business in a poor country with a weak country like Belize is even harder. There are bribes to be paid. There is poor infrastructure.
As you read the article, several omissions come to mind. First of all, to start any business requires capital. Capital generally means money. There is no mention as to how the subject of the story got the money to start their “fitness club”. Did they get the money from mommy and daddy? Did they use pour in their retirement savings? To start a business, particularly one the size of a fitness club, undoubtedly costs thousands. There is no explanation as to the difficulties the faced. The subject of the article stated that he was a “fitness nut” and so a fitness club was formed. Voila, it seems to magically appear.
The fitness club is a club, so I would imagine that means it issues memberships. Memberships cost money. Are the memberships affordable to the average Belize citizen whose per capita income is around four thousand dollars per year? The business most likely depends on the business of foreign vacationers. That is probably something important to mention. Expat businesses tend to be successful when they serve other expats and tourists. They tend to fail when they serve the local population.
My suggestion to my readers in all of this is to be wary of any articles or pundits proclaiming the ease with which someone can move abroad and start a business or retire. It is not easy. It is generally difficult. And be very wary of the authors of this type of material who may have ulterior motives.
