Best Countries to Start a Business In

Which countries (in general) are friendliest towards new businesses? Where are the costs lowest for starting your own business?

My college friends and I are looking for a good home for our mostly internet-based business.

Good question, I look forward to the responses.

They are not MY businesses, but I do business with expats who have relocated to Kuala Lampur and Singapore.

sledfish wrote:Which countries (in general) are friendliest towards new businesses? Where are the costs lowest for starting your own business?

My college friends and I are looking for a good home for our mostly internet-based business.

Probably depends on what you mean by "internet based business". That can encompass a lot of different things.

EMH wrote:Probably depends on what you mean by "internet based business". That can encompass a lot of different things.

Let's assume that it's a business that can be set up anywhere in the world. Because it is "internet-based," work can be done remotely from anywhere in the world. Our employees can live in Australia, Guam, Nairobi, or anywhere they want.

According to CNN Money in 2009, (http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/sma ... index.html) the top 3 countries were: (1) Singapore, (2) New Zealand, and (3) US.

It's cheap to set up a business in the UK (under $100 to set up a website, bank accounts, company name etc) but it would depend on whether you need an office or need to hire staff - if not, then the UK would be a good place (I have my own business here) but living costs can be high.

I would expect somewhere like Thailand or India to be really cheap to live and also hire staff and/or an office, but Im not sure of the process of actually setting up a business there, and if you need to have a special kind of visa. Definitely make sure you check out if you are eligible to start a business in a country before you go there, otherwise you could waste a lot of money!

Good luck!

check out soverignman.com. he talks a lot about this kind of thing. once i get my FM3 I'll be registerng my business in Mexico. taxes are cheap and there are tons of incentives.

I've ended up starting a business back in my home town in Scotland. Enlightened or crazy, i'm not sure.

Doing and investing in our small businesses and real estate in the Philippines has allowed us to prosper beyond our wildest dreams. There's no shortage of foreigners who are able to work on-line and able to live in the sun and appreciate the "life's a beach" lifestyle

I came across a blog a couple days ago about a guy who has an online business run by himself, and makes enough to pay his way. The best solution to all of this to build a passive income source that can fund you as your travel the world. And you can build it as you grow.

Am I allowed to post the link here? Or PM me i can send it to you.

From my experiences so far, the Czech Republic seems like a place with ample opportunity, as does Budapest, Hungary. I moved to Prague last year when I earned my TEFL Certification at a school called TEFL Worldwide Prague (which I'd highly recommend). I immediately noticed that there are a lot of internet startup companies and big businesses, entrepreneurial tour guides, and of course, opportunities to advertise yourself through the all-powerful internet.

Here in Prague, there is a tight knit expatriate community, and thus, many website which keep everyone connected to the Czech community. With a TEFL Certificate and an Entrepreneurial nature, you have the resources at your disposal to contact local business and explore employment opportunities such as offering to be their in-house English language teacher.

From living in Prague and visiting Budapest, I just get the feeling that there is unlimited opportunity to tap into. You just need to determine the need, visualize it, draft up some ideas, and hit the ground running!

Justin - TEFLXpat

It's definitely true that some countries are easier than others to get started in.

Japan and South Korea for example are extremely difficult to start up a company in because of restrictive local laws against foreigners doing so, while from my own personal experience it is extremely easy in Thailand and the Czech Republic if you have the motivation - especially if you have a local to help you through the local language paperwork and general bureaucracy.

Bear in mind though that starting a business requires initial investment of both money AND time. Lots and lots of time. If you persist though and you believe in your product or service then you should succeed but do also bear in mind that quite a large percentage of new businesses don't survive past their second year.

Hope it helps!

Neville

Czech Republic and Hungary are good options....im gonna add Moldova to the list, cheap to start a business, very cheap to live there, great internet and things to do!

What about the many Europeans and Australians who set up dive shops or restaurants in Asia? How do they get their visas and stuff? I've seen it enough to assume it's not that hard but if I wanted to just live somewhere, are most countries really that open to letting people just set up?