Read the original article published by International Living here.

I see a lot of opportunity in Panama right now for entrepreneurs and small businesses; in fact, I see more opportunity here than in just about every other country in the western hemisphere with few exceptions.

Why?

Panama has two strong emerging consumer markets.

The first is the obvious low hanging fruit: foreigners. Their ranks in Panama are growing by the day, swelling the country with their capital and their consumer demands. Simply put, they are accustomed to certain products and services, not all of which are available in Panama. That spells opportunity.

Sure, there are droves of foreigners here already posing as real estate agents trying to sell the next expat on an overpriced, generic condo in Panama City…but that business model is dead for now. There are better options.

One possibility is a professional property management company. There are thousands of new condo units in the city whose owners might only visit a few times a year. During the vacant periods, there are bills to be paid, maintenance to be performed, and in many cases, tenants to be found and managed.

Only a few companies in Panama focus on this business model, and they’re completely slammed. The market could use some competition, especially considering all the new construction coming online in the next 12-months.

Another consumer demand that needs to be addressed is high-end storage. Panama’s heat and humidity can be disastrous for sensitive belongings like wine, paintings, and antiques; thus, a high-end self-storage facility would likely do quite well here, and it would be fairly inexpensive to start up.

One idea that I have been considering myself is providing services for companies involved in Panama’s two major construction engines right now—the Canal expansion project, and the Panama Pacifico redevelopment project.

(Panama Pacifico is a $1 billion mixed use commercial/residential development on the former Howard Air Force base just outside of the city near the Canal.)

These two projects are attracting a myriad of foreign companies, and right now there are limited options available for corporate services, especially lodging for business travelers.

Nearly every reasonable hotel in Panama province is tucked inside the city, making for an unreasonable commute, and the first business class hotels outside of the city aren’t due to be rolled out until 2016. A well-located existing structure could be renovated, marketed, and profitable as a business-class hotel within 12-months.

The second consumer market worthy of an entrepreneur’s attention in Panama is its emerging middle class, and this is another group that is growing by the day thanks to the income effect of Panama’s growing economy.

The wealth of most developing countries is concentrated in the hands of the few, leaving the remainder of the population living on scraps; these types of markets should generally be avoided by smaller enterprises.

The mark of any well-developed country is a solid middle class—roughly 60% to 80% of the population that earns enough to provide a comfortable standard of living, savings, and discretionary spending.

Panama is clearly moving in this direction; middle class households earn between $800 and $1,500 per month, which is enough for them to buy a house and car while having plenty of money left over for savings and mindless consumption.

One clear opportunity is the current shortage of housing units for middle class Panamanians, which fall in the range of $60,000 to $80,000. The government projects that roughly 70,000 units are needed just in the area around Panama City; existing approvals show only around 8,000 in various stages of planning or development.

Retail opportunities also exist; by nature, Panamanians are a consumptive group—as a culture, if they have money, they’ll spend it. It seems like everyone has a new car these days, and given how poorly everyone drives here, there’s opportunity for maintenance and body shops.

Assisted living facilities and elderly care is also a fantastic opportunity, particularly when targeting the Panamanian middle class; for the first time ever, this group now has the income to outsource the care for their elders, and they’re starting to do it. The few facilities that offer this service in Panama are booked solid.

These are just a few small business ideas in Panama that I’ve noticed recently; if you spend much time on the ground here you will probably come up with several more on your own.

One thing I would caution you about is running any employee-intensive business; Panamanian labor laws, while relatively relaxed in comparison to the rest of Latin America, clearly favor the employee.

Between the mandatory “13th month” annual bonus, 40+ days off, increasing minimum wage, and Byzantine termination rules, it’s in your best interest to keep the workforce slim and/or temporary.

It may have been a sign of the times–health care was on everyone’s mind at our just-completed 2009 Live and Invest in Panama seminar.

No wonder, with the growing storm over health care reform in the U.S.

Many of our 235 attendees in Panama City told me they had no idea what kind of U.S. health care system would be waiting for them when they got back.

Some didn’t want to go back at all. In fact, several decided to stay…to act on what they heard during our three days of presentations and make a better life for themselves there in Panama, starting right then.

They were thrilled with what they learned about the Panamanian medical system. Local physicians and expatriates report it’s just as advanced as that in the U.S.–with many American-trained doctors and even a Johns Hopkins-affiliated hospital. Only the costs for care, medications, and insurance are significantly cheaper than what you’re used to paying.

As one attendee told me after listening to Panama expert and IL legal counsel, Bob Bauman: Panama could be the last refuge of sanity, sense, and free-market values in the Americas today.

Thanks to a booming economy anchored by the Panama Canal and a new, business-minded president, Panama is looking more like the America many attendees remembered from the “good old days” than the one they actually live in now.

And the opportunities are great when it comes to living a better life at a lower cost in any of Panama’s stunning tropical beach or cool-weather mountain communities.

As our resident foreign real estate expert, Ronan McMahon, told us during his presentation, a recent history of overbuilding in the country’s capital means a market in which those who know where and how to look can find remarkable deals today.

If you’re considering your best options for comfortable, easy living overseas and you missed this event, don’t despair.
Some years back we began recording our conferences at the request of attendees who said there was just too much good stuff to remember. They begged us to provide a complete and comprehensive recording so they could go home and review the content at their leisure.

Today we do. And we’re happy to offer you the same recording package they receive.

It comes with not only a full audio record of every session from every speaker, but also all their Power Point slides, handouts, special reports, and more. We call it our Fast Track Panama Package, and it really is the next-best thing to being there in person.

If you’re trolling for an affordable, easy place to live outside the States–where you can enjoy all the comforts of home for a fraction of what you’re used to paying–Panama should be at the top of your list.

The 2009 Fast-Track Panama Package hands you the most efficient, cost-effective way to get a current, right-from-the-ground look at what your best options are there today.

P.S. The full price to attend this sold-out event was $1,195–but you can reserve a copy of our 2009 Fast Track Panama Package in your name today for just $349–a small fraction of what it would have cost you to be there in person.

So grab your 2009 Fast Track Panama Package today for just $349, here now.

Aug. 12, 2009
Kobbe Beach, Panama
Live from IL’s Live and Invest in Panama Seminar

“So give me the downside…what’s the ugly underbelly here you’re not telling us about?”

I’m Suzan Haskins and this is the last note you’ll receive from me from our 2009 International Living Live and Invest in Panama Seminar at the gorgeous Playa Bonita Resort, just outside the capital city.

I overheard the conversation above between a gentleman from Arizona and Anne-Michelle Wand, an expat who moved to Panama a few years ago.

Anne-Michelle has been living her dream life, splitting her time between the mountains of Colorado and the beaches of Hawaii. At least she thought it was her dream life…until she visited Panama. She quickly sold out of the U.S. and moved to Panama.

“I have a house in the mountains of Boquete, beachfront property in Bocas del Toro, and a condo in Panama City…the perfect golden triangle,” she says. She couldn’t be happier, and no matter how hard she’s looked, I heard her tell the man from Arizona, she has yet to find anything ugly about Panama.

Even Rainelda Mata-Kelly, our expert attorney here in Panama couldn’t dampen the crowd’s spirits…and she talked about taxes! You’re not liable to pay many of those at all in Panama…if you buy a new home here you’re eligible for a property tax exemption of as much as 20 years!

Low Cost, High Quality Health Care (Including Pioneering Anti-aging Treatments)

Health care reform. It’s the big debate in the States right now. It’s something everyone cares about. Everyone has an opinion. Usually, a strong one.

“I don’t like what’s going on in the U.S. right now,” a doctor from Texas told me over cocktails. He and his wife are thinking of moving to Panama with their two youngest high school-aged kids. He’s ready to bail out on his health care career and do something else. Become a part-time farmer, maybe.

He…like many others at the International Living Live and Invest in Panama Seminar the past three days…is pleased with what he’s learned about health care in Panama.

There are excellent hospitals here, including the brand new state-of-the-art Punta Pacifica Hospital, affiliated with the U.S.’s well-respected Johns Hopkins Hospital. The latest technology is there (even more than in many hospitals in the U.S.), and most of the doctors speak fluent English.

And it’s all very inexpensive, as expat after expat has mentioned: $10-$30 for a doctor’s visit, $5 for blood tests.

According to Dr. Michael Sigler, who took the stage yesterday, some procedures and treatments (especially anti-aging and preventative) are available in Panama that you just won’t find in the States or Canada…

Health insurance, too, is a fraction of the cost it is back home, said Dorothy De Sing, from Alianza Insurance. Cheaper still…in a revolutionary move, many Panama hospitals offer private facility-specific plans. Pay a small monthly plan fee and your preferred hospital becomes your major provider for all of your medical needs.

A personal note here: My husband and I have been living outside the U.S. for nearly a decade now. We’ve been more than happy with the top-quality health care we’ve received overseas…and ‘care’ is the key word here. We’re not treated like numbers or cases or checkbooks, but like people with issues and concerns that matter.

Start Your Own Business in Panama

Also today, we’ve learned about construction techniques and costs here (would you believe $60 per square foot?). And we learned how to get our pets to Panama…our household goods…and even the things we buy on eBay and Amazon.

I have yet to meet anyone here at the conference who isn’t thinking seriously about making Panama their home…even some of the presenters who came from other countries are talking about Panama and considering a move here.

After all, it has a stable government, a strong economy (the official currency is the U.S. dollar), a great health care system, and daily living costs are low. And you can drink the tap water.

Today we learned how easy it is to set up a business in Panama. Businesswoman (and yes, expat) Mirella Rugulotto offered resources and contact information for help in setting up a business anywhere in the country. This is ‘need-to-know’ information for my doctor friend or anyone who decides to come here and wants to make a living.

Want to learn more about the good life in Panama? Here’s how…

If you’ve been reading these dispatches these past several days, you know the motherlode of information that’s been shared here in Panama this week. We’ve heard from scores of highly respected professionals…attorneys, business owners, tax specialists, financial advisors, expats who live here, and others who know from whence they speak. By my tally, there have been 40 different presentations on everything from health care … to how to find Panama’s best real estate bargains … to some sound investment opportunities.

We’re putting together a complete package of nearly everything (minus only coffee breaks and cocktail parties) that’s happening at this event. We’re making audio recordings of all 40 of the presentations.

We’re also making copies of the handouts, PowerPoint and visual presentations. And we’re including the complete dossier we gave to each attendee when they arrived here in Panama for the seminar.

It’s our Fast Track Panama Package. And we guarantee it will help you fast track your plans of moving to…or investing in… Panama.

Reserve your Fast Track Panama Package NOW — at the Lowest Price Possible

We’re offering the Fast Track Panama Package for a short time only at a tremendous discount. The full price to attend this sold-out event was $1,195–but reserve now and you can have the entire Fast Track Panama Package for only $349… a tiny fraction of what attendees paid to join us here in Panama City.

Even those in attendance at the seminar are excited about the Fast Track Panama Package.

“Thank God you’re offering these recordings,” a seminar attendee from Minnesota told me. “There’s just too much to process…all the speakers have been so excellent! When we get home we’re going to listen to each one of the presentations again, and then talk about them…and then listen to them again!”

Reserve your Fast Track Panama Package here.

As Always, Our International Living Guarantee: If This Information… These Tips and Secrets… Don’t Work, You Pay Nothing

We guarantee that the information in our Fast Track Panama Package will help you make your Panama dreams come true…whatever they are. If you don’t agree, we’ll return every penny you paid.

You have nothing to lose: Call us at any time in the future–next month…next year…or next decade–and tell us the information didn’t help you. (Or don’t tell us anything. Just ask for your money back.) We’ll give you back your $349.

If you’re serious about tapping into the opportunities Panama offers you, I urge you to reserve your Fast Track Panama Package now.

Read the original article published by International Living here.

The sun is shining as we drive around Coronado, taking in the town on Panama’s Pacific coast. The houses are impressive, and it seems all of them–from the mansions to the sweet beach cottages–are surrounded by exotic red palms and delightfully bright flowers.

We roll by someone in a golf cart and he gives us a friendly nod. There are couples holding hands, kids on bicycles, even joggers with their designer dogs trotting alongside them.

The overall impression is one of a sleepy resort town that’s awakening, a place where a world of possibilities is open to the potential expat or entrepreneur.

For expats living in Coronado today, these are the golden years–that magical in-between time before growth really takes off. It’s no longer dead on weekdays but the holiday crowd is far from teeming. And though there are no massive malls or cineplexes in sight, I was amazed at how active the community had become (I used to come here with family friends as a teenager). There are mahjong clubs, karaoke bars, charities, art classes, yoga studios, golf tournaments…so much more than you’ll find in any other beach community this close to Panama City.

It all began more than 60 years ago, when the family-run development of Coronado Es Vida began selling beach property to Panama’s elite. Slowly it grew from a village to a town and, in the 1980s and ’90s, this was the place to see and be seen on weekends or summer break. But outside of summer and holidays, it was very quiet, with caretakers and other household employees making up the bulk of the resident population.

Now that’s all beginning to change. Over the past decade, Panama has gained popularity as a foreign relocation destination. Many expats moved here in search of beach property and realized that Coronado was the best option. After all, Coronado has the area’s best infrastructure and it’s under an hour and a half by car from Panama City. Best of all, the beach–a mix of bright white and glittering black volcanic sand–goes on for miles. Most of the time, you’ll have big stretches of it all to yourself.

The cost of living is low (a consult with an English-speaking doctor is $35) and property is affordable (a three-bedroom home on a quiet street is $185,000). Best of all, Coronado offers unlimited opportunities for entrepreneurs. The growing expat population needs restaurants, sports bars, dry cleaners, video rental stores…the business opportunities are endless.

You’ll learn more about Coronado–from the country-club lifestyles to the nearby beaches where you’ll find property for much less–when you join me this Aug. 6-8 for International Living’s Live and Invest in Panama Seminar. Meet all our Panama experts and get the most up-to-the-minute information on residency and taxes, as well as the low-down on the best bargains in mountain, city and beach property.

If you’ve yet to sign up for the Panama Seminar, you can do so here.