Guide to Doing Business in Latin America

Plan, start, and grow what could be your most profitable region

By Greg Brown

A sea change in government philosophy since the early 1990s, along with dozens of trade deals and major legal reforms, has pushed Latin American businesses to the forefront in technology adoption and management skill.

To understand what they understand, and convert opportunity into success, here are some simple first steps toward a long, productive relationship:

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

First, understand the economy in which you are investing

Brazil, until recently a closed country, is radically different from Mexico, which has trade deals in force worldwide, or Chile, where the economy been open for decades. Bureaucracy varies widely, as does the real cost of running an office or manufacturing operation.

I recommend: Doing Business, a World Bank site, offers helpful apples-to-apples stats, like days to start a business, to hire and fire, get a license or close down. Michigan State University's globalEDGE site, too, offers concise, factual and free (with registration) mini-course modules on doing business country by country.

Make the right contacts

Far from being clubby, Latin American business people want your expertise and interest. Getting to know them can be as simple as starting with the organizations to which they belong.

I recommend: Nearly every country has an American Chamber of Commerce, which despite the name is largely locals with a history of doing business with U.S. entities, or the native reps of U.S. companies. The local U.S. Embassy Commercial Service is a good starting point, as are the numerous trade groups by sector in each country. Every single person who matters in a medium-sized country could fit into the living room of the U.S. Ambassador's residence, and for cocktails sometimes they do.

Beware a rapidly changing currency

One of the pitfalls of doing business in any developing economy is how fast a reversal in the local currency can erase your profits — or your entire investment. Some companies hedge against this risk, while others take their lumps in exchange for a huge upside later on when things recover and competitors scatter.

I recommend: Many global banks offer foreign exchange services, even for small business, among them Wells Fargo, HSBC and Citigroup. FitchRatings maintains a simple database of risk ratings with outlook.

Become a frequent flier

There's no end to the clichés about doing business in Latin America. Brazilian bankers are as punctual as any, and Mexican retailers don't put anything off until mañana that they can get done today. Yet the image of Americans as being frio (cold, formal) is true. It's a rare Latin American who is all business and nothing else. Face-to-face is literally the only way, and expect social contact — yes, even physical contact — to be part of any serious negotiation.

I recommend: A highly recommended primer on the cultural aspects of negotiating in Latin America is Thomas Becker's Doing Business in the New Latin America.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Go there. Nothing will be real until you sit down and come to an understanding with your potential partners, even if it's the domestic branch of a bank with which you already do business.
• •  Get in for the long haul. There's a way to invest short-term, and it's called the stock market. Latin Americans love to tell stories about how foreigners run away at the slightest twitch of the economy, leaving them to scoop up contracts.
• •  Read voraciously. Wires services, specialized press and international newspapers cover every country and company on a daily basis.
• •  Hire locally. Once you have a legal entity in country, find the talent you need to open doors and make the deals happen.