For those of you who have never been to Cabo, it is a wonderful place. The local time is setting your watch to your favorite time of day, and then throwing the batteries away. The locals are friendly, the beer tastes better, and you develop an appreciation for something as simple as a nice cool breeze when it gets hot. My only complaint about Cabo has been the challenge to find a decent cup of coffee that is made before 6am, and does not come from Starbucks.....enter the Giggling Bean.
The Giggling Bean was opened by Tonja Robertson in August of 2013, and is Cabo's only drive-thru coffee shop. Ms. Robertson was from San Diego, and much like many of the Americans there, came to Cabo and just never left. While down there, she was approached by Gary Wagner, owner of the world famous Giggling Marlin, who asked if she would be interested in opening a coffee hut. Her business consists of regular coffee, lattes, mochas, as well as smoothies and other relatively healthy fare. In addition, the Bean is the maker of the world famous waffle sandwich....ice cream in a waffle cone (regrettably, I did not sample this, as I am a diabetic).
In my conversation with Ms. Robertson, I asked her about the challenges that running a business entailed in Mexico. Her biggest challenge was finding staff that is bi-lingual....in Mexico, there is absolutely no shortage of able folks whom are willing to work, but finding one who is bilingual is a definite challenge. Costs of waged are substantially less than those in the United States - around $80 MXD per day, which is roughly $6.60 USD. As a result, most labor in Mexico relies heavily on gratuities to supplement their meager income - this places emphasis on the "high touch" level of service I have always experienced while a guest in Mexico.
Being that Mexico is a developing nation, I suspected there is a challenge with procurement of restaurant-grade cooking equipment (let alone specialty coffee making equipment), and Ms. Robertson confirmed this is the case. In the instance of the Giggling Bean, she was able to bring some of the hardware from the United States, where she previously owned a similar business. In the event of equipment failure, this could prove to be a challenge - in the United States, restaurant-grade utilities are readily available, but in Mexico (especially in a remote location such as Cabo), this can be a challenge. The main difference Ms. Robertson expressed was the substantial cost difference for durable equipment - it is considerably higher in Mexico than that in the United States.
Cabo has grown substantially since my first visit (in 2007), but now boasts a Wal-Mart, Home Depot, as well as Costco. Ms. Robertson indicated the supply chain of consumable materials and ingredients mostly come from Costco, but the availability of certain items is inconsistent. As a business owner, Ms. Robertson advised that one has to make do with whatever items that are available at a given moment in time (rather than standard brand loyalty - the brands tend to be different from time to time).
One of the elements of surprise for me was the cost of permits - Ms. Robertson indicated the cost of business permits was $2k USD, and residence permits were approximately $3k USD. While the residence permit would not be applicable in the United States, the business permits I found to be remarkably reasonable. However, the downside is the length of time required to obtain permits - from what Ms. Robertson indicated, the bureaucracy in Mexico makes the California DMV look like a well-oiled machine. Different folks will likely provide different answers, conflicting information, and provide a general headache to the process of setting up shop.
When I asked Ms. Robertson the items she would suggest to anyone considering opening up a business in Mexico, her advice consisted of the following:
- Find a "go-to" person who is a local Mexican citizen, and can get things done - from my experience, there are tons of folks who "know some guy" who can likely take care of whatever it is you need to get accomplished
- Find staff that is both fluent in English and Spanish - this is especially important in her business model, as a high degree of the clients are English-speakers, and it is imperative to speak the local language
- Use the resources at the Mexican consulate in the U.S. that are available - Mexico wants your business as it generates tax revenue and jobs, and try to make the process as painless as possible