• Personal
    • Move money
      Check rates
      Send money
      Register now
      Global payment solutions
      Pay friends and family overseas
      Relocating overseas
      Pay taxes and bills overseas
      Purchase goods from overseas
      Send money to
      United States
      Taiwan
      Australia
      India
      China
      See all countries
  • Business
    • Move money
      Check rates
      Send money
      OFX Global Currency Account
      Mass payments
      Regular payments
      Register now
      Global payment solutions
      For Online Sellers
      Send and receive global payments
      Manage currency risk
      Receive marketplace payments
      Small businesses
      Risk management
      Paying overseas staff
      International business payments
      Paying overseas suppliers
      Xero integrations
      Partner with us
      Partner referrals
      API integrations
      Send money to
      United States
      Europe
      Hong Kong
      France
      Australia
      India
      See all countries
  • FX Rates & tools
    • Check rates
      Get a quote
      Market rates
      Historical exchange rates
      Currency charts
      Currency tools
      Daily currency update
      Monthly Currency Outlook
      Risk calculator
      Rate alerts
      The OFX app
      Blogs and news
      Daily currency update
      Monthly Currency Outlook
      See all blogs
      See all news
      Forecasting
      Send money to
      United States
      Europe
      Hong Kong
      France
      Australia
      See all countries
  • Money transfers
    • Transfer types
      Spot Transfer – send at today’s rate
      Limit Order – target a rate
      Forward Contract – fix a future rate
      Regular payments – save time
      Getting started
      How to register with OFX
      Making a transfer
      Download the OFX app
      Send money to
      United States
      Europe
      Hong Kong
      France
      Australia
      India
      See all countries
  • About OFX
    • About OFX
      About us
      Frauds and security
      Legal
      Press and media enquiries
      Investors
      Investor centre
      Latest results
      Key dates
      Investor relations
      Our people
      OFX Board
      Executive team
      Careers
  • Help & Contact
    • Contact us
      Contact us
      Help
      FAQs
      About OFX
      Making a transfer
      Fraud and security
      Legal
      Investor centre
      OFX Mobile App
      Download the OFX app
  • Login Register
    • AU
    • CA
    • UK
    • HK
    • EU
    • NZ
    • SG
    • US
  • Personal
    • Move money
      Check rates
      Send money
      Register now
      Global payment solutions
      Pay friends and family overseas
      Relocating overseas
      Pay taxes and bills overseas
      Purchase goods from overseas
      Send money to
      United States
      Taiwan
      Australia
      India
      China
      See all countries
  • Business
    • Move money
      Check rates
      Send money
      OFX Global Currency Account
      Mass payments
      Regular payments
      Register now
      Global payment solutions
      For Online Sellers
      Send and receive global payments
      Manage currency risk
      Receive marketplace payments
      Small businesses
      Risk management
      Paying overseas staff
      International business payments
      Paying overseas suppliers
      Xero integrations
      Partner with us
      Partner referrals
      API integrations
      Send money to
      United States
      Europe
      Hong Kong
      France
      Australia
      India
      See all countries
  • FX Rates & tools
    • Check rates
      Get a quote
      Market rates
      Historical exchange rates
      Currency charts
      Currency tools
      Daily currency update
      Monthly Currency Outlook
      Risk calculator
      Rate alerts
      The OFX app
      Blogs and news
      Daily currency update
      Monthly Currency Outlook
      See all blogs
      See all news
      Forecasting
      Send money to
      United States
      Europe
      Hong Kong
      France
      Australia
      See all countries
  • Money transfers
    • Transfer types
      Spot Transfer – send at today’s rate
      Limit Order – target a rate
      Forward Contract – fix a future rate
      Regular payments – save time
      Getting started
      How to register with OFX
      Making a transfer
      Download the OFX app
      Send money to
      United States
      Europe
      Hong Kong
      France
      Australia
      India
      See all countries
  • About OFX
    • About OFX
      About us
      Frauds and security
      Legal
      Press and media enquiries
      Investors
      Investor centre
      Latest results
      Key dates
      Investor relations
      Our people
      OFX Board
      Executive team
      Careers
  • Help & Contact
    • Contact us
      Contact us
      Help
      FAQs
      About OFX
      Making a transfer
      Fraud and security
      Legal
      Investor centre
      OFX Mobile App
      Download the OFX app
Register Login
  • AU
  • CA
  • UK
  • HK
  • EU
  • NZ
  • SG
  • US
Spread the word

Challenges met: Expats who succeeded off the beaten path

OFX team
By OFX team | 01 February 19 | 5 minutes read

Challenges Met: Expats Who Succeeded Off The Beaten Path

The United States is a great place to start a company. The World Bank’s ease of doing business index ranks it sixth out of 190 countries. Forbes lists it among the world’s top 25.

Yet some entrepreneurs have chosen to set up shop in other parts of the globe. In countries plagued by bureaucratic traffic jams or in which success often depends on deep-rooted social ties, the inherent risks and challenges for foreign businesses can be legion.

Despite these disadvantages, some energetic souls — armed with skill, business savvy, cultural open-mindedness, an adventurous spirit and, above all, persistence — have carved paths to success. Here are three of their stories.

Shenzhen China

Shenzhen, China – Thriving On The Buzz

As an MIT student, Megan Cox created a product to enhance eyelash and eyebrow growth and sold it online. She had a taste of success, but there was a problem: The product’s dispensers didn’t work right, causing users to lose too much of the valuable liquid.

U.S. packagers required minimum orders of 25,000, so she tried several Chinese companies listed on Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant. But none worked out. “I was losing customers left and right,” she said.

Determined to solve the problem, she moved alone to Shenzhen, China after graduation. She didn’t speak the language and knew no manufacturers.

“I had no clue where to start,” she conceded. Again, she turned to Alibaba as a source for companies that could make her product. This time, she received packaging samples in a day or so instead of weeks, saving her valuable time. She was on the right track. She then tested products, visited factories and identified a company that worked for her.

But instead of signing a contract and booking the next flight back to the States, she decided to stay and run her business, Amalie, from China. The energy of the place fed her entrepreneurial spirit.

“It’s like a giant playground there — everything is moving and buzzing and complex. I felt I was meant to stay for a while,” she explained.

She made business connections; learned to speak, read and write Mandarin; and created more beauty products. Major brands in the U.S began asking her for help with packaging and quality control in China. Out of that came a new business, Genie Supply.

Genie began consuming most of Cox’s time. In March, after three years in China, she sold Amalie and moved back to the U.S., where she opened her own manufacturing facility, working with partners she met in China to produce beauty products for other companies.

For Cox, living in China opened doors to unique opportunities. Learning the language and understanding the culture facilitated business deals that couldn’t have happened a continent away. In her view, the possibilities there are endless.

“If you don’t work well with a manufacturer, keep looking,” she advised. “There are thousands to choose from.”

It’s possible to achieve success armed with skill, cultural open-mindedness, an adventurous spirit and, above all, persistence

Manizales Colombia

Manizales, Colombia – Overcoming Fear And Bureaucracy

Daniel Buitrón Jaramillo, who was born and raised in the U.S. to South American parents, had a successful IT career but wanted something different. After his employer Sun Microsystems sold to Oracle in 2010, he used his severance money to move with his wife to Manizales — a town in the heart of Colombia’s coffee-growing region — to start an ecotourism company.

In 2010, no one was selling tour packages to English speakers, he said. “People thought, you come to Colombia and you get robbed or killed.”

But he knew drug cartels and rebel groups had been subdued, and saw an opportunity.

Getting started wasn’t easy. Bureaucracy made obtaining permits a nightmare. In his first year, he had only one sale — to an acquaintance from the States. “Fortunately, Colombia is cheap to live in,” he said.

His company, Colombia Eco Travel, began to attract more customers, but the Colombian government — worried his high-value online transactions were fraudulent — blocked his payment system. Undeterred, he moved his payments system to the United States.

Today, Buitrón Jaramillo has a staff of four. He also employs contractors to take tourists into the wilderness to see crocodiles, giant anteaters and capybaras. His company offers a range of eco-minded options, often including traditional foods and stays in local hotels.

Though it took several years, his income has finally caught up to what it was in the States. This year, revenues will reach $500,000 — double last year’s. He just signed a contract with a U.S. adventure company and is starting an investment fund to create lodges in areas with poor infrastructure.

Though he misses the efficiency and accountability of doing business in the U.S., Buitrón Jaramillo has decided to stay. “My quality of life has significantly increased,” he said. “I have freedom to travel, which is more appealing than a paycheck.”

Weisbaden Germany

Wiesbaden, Germany – Selling Pastries To Europeans

Musician Dale Stinson ended up in the food business in Wiesbaden, Germany, by chance.

He moved to the country after college to play the trumpet with a circus, later playing in ensembles and teaching music. He supplemented his income as a part-time bartender at a restaurant in Wiesbaden, a small city half an hour from Frankfurt. Though successful as a musician, he grew tired of the constant travel the life required.

One day, he baked an American-style carrot cake for friends, who raved about his confection and urged him to try selling it. Working out of his apartment kitchen, he baked the cake for the restaurant where he worked. It was a hit.

He decided to lease a commercial kitchen and began selling to cafes and restaurants, branching out to make other baked goods and bringing in a cake decorator as a partner.

Five years ago, he opened Dale’s Cake Shop, a cafe serving American-style meals (with some Vietnamese dishes) and baked goods. Though Europe is famous for its own cuisines, people drive for hours to come to the cafe — especially for the American carrot cake, which continues to be his best-seller. The cafe was recently written up in a German gourmet magazine as one of the best in Germany.

Sometimes Stinson still sounds surprised at his success. “People come from Munich, hundreds of miles away. To get a piece of cake? It’s crazy,” he said.

One of Stinson’s menu items is German chocolate cake, which despite the name is actually an American concoction. “The Germans say, ‘What the hell is this?’ They love it.”

Apparently, you can never underestimate a country’s appetite for foreign delicacies.

IMPORTANT: The contents of this blog do not constitute financial advice and are provided for general information purposes only without taking into account the investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs of any particular person. UKForex Limited (trading as “OFX”) and its affiliates make no recommendation as to the merits of any financial strategy or product referred to in the blog. OFX makes no warranty, express or implied, concerning the suitability, completeness, quality or exactness of the information and models provided in this blog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other articles that may interest you

  • There’s a story behind every transfer: Crawford Boots
    Global Lifestyle | 3 minute read

    There’s a story behind every transfer: Crawford Boots


    Her business, Crawford Boots, offers a footwear solution for Australian miners that answer many of the problems associated with your…
  • There’s a story behind every transfer: Drake Sterling Numismatics
    Global Lifestyle | 4 minute read

    There’s a story behind every transfer: Drake Sterling Numismatics


    Drake Sterling Numismatics case study. Specialising in Australian gold coins, Eric’s business garners global attention from customers mainly in the…
  • How Black Opal helps professionals moving to the US with Credit
    Global Lifestyle | 4 minute read

    How Black Opal helps professionals moving to the US with Credit


    How Black Opal helps professionals moving to the US with Credit
Click here to see all blogs

What the FX? Catch up on the latest market news.

Market news
Register now
Check rates, make payments and track transfers. All in the OFX app.
App Store Download Play Store Download
App Store Download
Quick links
  • Login
  • Check rates
  • Send money with OFX
  • Exchange Rates
24/7 support
  • FAQs
Company
  • About us
  • Press
  • Security
  • Careers at OFX
  • Investors
Legal
  • Legal
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
Find us on social media
© 2022 OFX Singapore Pte. Limited. OFX Singapore Pte. Limited (UEN: 201317103N) is regulated in Singapore by the Monetary Authority of Singapore under the Payment Services Act (Licence no. PS20200277).
OFX is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to conduct the following payment services: Cross-border Money Transfer Service; Domestic Money Transfer Service; E-money Issuance Service; and Account Issuance Service.
Please note that this does not mean you will be able to recover all the money you paid to OFX if OFX’s business fails.
The information on this website does not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any particular person.
We make no recommendation as to the merits of any financial product referred to on this website.