Starting a business in the Dominican Republic

1POSTS

4 years ago

Hello All,

New to the forum.聽聽Currently living in the US.聽 Seeking thoughts and advice here.聽 Want to relocate to the Dominican Republic and open our current company over there. We currently have a bath tub repair business.聽 Specializing in jetted or whirlpool tub repairs. Mechanical as well as cosmetic repairs.聽 Acrylic,聽 fiberglass/ gel coat repairs.聽

Is this type of service even needed there?聽 If we did this, are we required to hire employees,聽 as here I do the office work, he does the service work.聽 Would like to keep it that way.聽 This is just a budding idea as we are thinking of retiring there so why not do it sooner. Why wait.

Thanks for any and all information and advice.

Kim

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ddmcghee Dominican Republic Expert

1950POSTS

4 years ago

Welcome to the forums!

I don't know all the specifics of operating a business here, but Lishali Baez is a great attorney who could help you with the requirements for residency and owning/operating a business here. You can reach her on WhatsApp/phone at 809.860.1231. She speaks English and Spanish.

Bathtubs are not very common here, so I would say the areas around Punta Cana and other higher-end, expat-heavy areas would be the only place it would be viable. If you also work with hot tubs and spas, those are much more abundant, but many are built from concrete rather than the drop in type often seen in the US.

1 member reacted to this post

Guest2022 Guest

0POSTS

4 years ago

To add, if anything needs reparing here in DR you will find someone and very cheap.

planner Dominican Republic Expert

17779POSTS

4 years ago

Welcome to the forums.聽聽I work with a lot of聽 expat聽 business owners here.聽聽Opening a company is the easy part. At some point you will need residency that is a bit more challenging for some. I second the recommendation to Lishali!

Running a business here is challenging.聽聽A quick market聽 analysis will go a long way to determining feasibility. As stated聽 not many have bathtubs let along jacuzzi tubs. I would like one!

There are companies that do聽 bathtub repairs and聽 making them look聽 brand new. I had a deep tub redone at a previous residence. Took about聽聽4 hours and the entire cost including all supplies was聽 equivalent to聽 US 62,.00 Not sure聽 if that is going to聽 be a worthwhile endeavor.

As lennox pointed out there will be local competition聽 and they聽 are very聽 inexpensive in comparison to聽 expat聽 wages.聽

Your聽 services would be more appropriate in the higher end聽 areas聽 of the country,聽 Punta Cana,聽 Casa de Campo and some neighborhoods of聽 Santo Domingo, Santiago etc.聽 However聽 you will need to be聽 near those areas and that is not cheap either!聽

If you are looking to supplement your income, this could work. IF you are looking to聽 fund a modified聽 expat lifestyle its going to be challenging!

Conifer Active member

55POSTS

4 years ago

May I add...
It is EXTREMELY difficult to get people in DR to pay top dollar for top service when there is so much availability of cheap labor.
They will drill you down to cheapen your cost and still want the top service.
Consider your endeavor a hobby, not what might fund your retirement.

I could be wrong... but probably not!