Business Idea

[Jimmy Torpedo]

How about an import store called " All the things you can't get in Nicaragua, in Nicaragua"
We would sell apple cider vinegar, tahini, good olive oil, cerignola olives, AGED organic beef, German beer, maple syrup, etc etc. Where should it be located, what should it sell (i'm counting on you guys to actually buy the stuff you recommend) and where should it be located?
Thanks for your input everybody.

[bill_bly_ca]

Before you even THINK of such of an endeavor - Craft a close relationship with a import broker - And have some deep pockets for import duty..

Location - Close to Galarias or Metro Central - Go where the money is, and those with money go...

[KeyWestPirate]

There is a clothing store in Estelí called Vintage Me on the Bank Street. Woman does REALLY well selling used but upscale clothing from the US. How she gets it, I have no idea.
One of Ariana's favorite stores.

There is also a used clothing seller in Paraiso, Honduras (just across the border from Las Manos) that also sells really nice stuff from the US,,, but at a fraction of the price asked by Vintage Me.
Not the usual racks of $h!t that you see at the PACA outlets.
I often buy NWT clothing there for a fraction of the price I would have paid in the US.


How about installing wireless alarm systems? Every Gringo needs one. Most don't have them. On another site we have a thread running about a home intrusion/robbery.
The $400 phone that the woman lost would have paid for her alarm system.

[drlemcor]

I sold security systems in a former life. They are a good deterrent in a neighborhood where there are plenty of houses to chose from that don't have security systems. A criminal who is looking to break in quickly, grab a few valuables, and then sell them for drugs is less likely to target a house with a security system sign when he can just hit the house next door without one.

Way back when I was selling them, wireless was brand new, and not readily available. Still, the foundation upon which both wired and wireless security systems are built is a reliable and speedy response to an intrusion. We'd talk up our 24/7 monitoring stations and the average response time of the police in the area. Wireless is an advantage, because a determined criminal need only cut the wire to disable the police response. That being said, wired or wireless is a moot point if there is no infrastructure in place to respond when the alarm is tripped.

I suspect that selling a response style security system in Nicaragua would fail precisely because faith in a reliable response is laughable there. A static security system with flashing lights and loud noises would be a more reliable deterrent. I know that there are some on TRN who have even taken to setting traps to injure would be thieves, and this has proven effective.

The Panoptic model only works if most people believe that the police are likely to do anything in response to their actions, and the response style security systems are predicated on this model.

[vinyljunkie77003]

How about an import store called " All the things you can't get in Nicaragua, in Nicaragua"
We would sell apple cider vinegar, tahini, good olive oil, cerignola olives, AGED organic beef, German beer, maple syrup, etc etc. Where should it be located, what should it sell (i'm counting on you guys to actually buy the stuff you recommend) and where should it be located?
Thanks for your input everybody.

I think this already exists. Its called Porta's and its located in Villa Fontana in Managua.
OK, maybe not all of that, but they have apple cider vinegar, good imported olive oil (though they have some good stuff at some of the La Colonias too), they import plenty of european beer, as well as canadian beer, and all kinds of beer from around the world, they got maple syrup right from Canada, they also got tahini. I think the only thing missing from your list is the aged organic beef. But you can get that at a number of places just south of Managua on or just off Carretera Masaya, like the fancy meat and cheese store at the 2nd entrada a las colinas. or the import meat store at km 8.5 next to the stop and go.


They also got that new supermarket from El Salvador just up the road from the Galerias. i forget the name of it, but they got some of that stuff too.

[Jimmy Torpedo]

Well Hell, if they got all that good stuff then I can just raise cattle and shop there. Awesome! I can't imagine living without my tahini/apple cider vinegar dressing for my short grain brown rice. Oh, hopefully they have short grain brown rice?
I know, new idea,... a store that sells ONLY short grain brown rice. It will be a huge success. Since I raise cattle already, I will age the organic beef. Anyone want to buy some real good beef? I find the beef in CA a bit tough.

[Playa Pete]

Well Hell, if they got all that good stuff then I can just raise cattle and shop there. Awesome! I can't imagine living without my tahini/apple cider vinegar dressing for my short grain brown rice. Oh, hopefully they have short grain brown rice?
I know, new idea,... a store that sells ONLY short grain brown rice. It will be a huge success. Since I raise cattle already, I will age the organic beef. Anyone want to buy some real good beef? I find the beef in CA a bit tough.

Really? Beef in CA is tough...you need to just come here , rent a place for six months....and go from there
Pp

[Jimmy Torpedo]

As a newbie here with 8 posts, I certainly don't want to appear truculent, but, yes the beef is tough in CA.
I have lived in Costa Rica for a year at a time and travelled throughout Guatemala, Honduras and worked off and on in Nicaragua. I also raise cattle in Canada and age my beef for 3 weeks. I feel the beef in CA isn't aged at all, or at least the places I have had it, including the oh so famous "Colombian Grill" in Esteli and the Hilton in Managua, both tough steaks compared to properly aged beef.
I will come in November and should start another thread entitled "Driving to Nicaragua in a Flat Black Winnebago with 4 Dogs"

[Jonh]

Nica beef used to be pretty good, but yes it's tough now. Did they export all the good beef?

[drlemcor]

Nica beef used to be pretty good, but yes it's tough now. Did they export all the good beef?

Every beef dish I've ever had in Nicaragua over the last 19 years has been overcooked and difficult to chew. I don't know if this is due to the quality of the meat in local ganado, or if it's a problem with the way they cook it. I had always assumed the latter.

They tend to pound it thin, and then cook it well done to the point that any of the original juices are gone--and then they cover it with a sauce to try to make it edible: "a la jalapeno," or "al ajillo," or whatever. The local cooks understand that the pounded overcooked meat needs a lot of sauce or it'd be like trying to eat shoe leather.

[Just Plain John Wayne]

Of the beef in the market here in "The Port" on the DAC, unless you buy the LOMITO, better throw the rest away and eat the hide...

[bikingo]

Of the beef in the market here in "The Port" on the DAC, unless you buy the LOMITO, better throw the rest away and eat the hide...

I always order churasco con cuerdas (steak with shoelaces) nobody thinks it's funny. My wife doesn't even get it

[kwah2249]

I feel the beef in CA isn't aged at all, or at least the places I have had it, including the oh so famous "Colombian Grill" in Esteli and the Hilton in Managua, both tough steaks compared to properly aged beef.

Agreed. Probably not financially worth in most of the country.

[Just Plain John Wayne]

I always order churasco con cuerdas (steak with shoelaces) nobody thinks it's funny. My wife doesn't even get it

Great minds think alike...Lord have Mercy on my soul, but me likes a nice piece of the Bull and I am not talking about BS either....