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Welcome to the forums.  Please read some of the pinned threads.  You will need residency to live and work here legally.

Starting a service type business here only in English is going to be extremely limiting!

I'm in Las Terrenas and agree with planner! Although there are a lot of expats here, most are Italian and French and do not speak English. Without Spanish, you will be limiting your clientele. And you will need residency and a business license if you want to do things the right way!

Also, know that people expect to pay a fraction of what they would in the US here. I'm sure there are folks who would like help with setting up wifi, moving from one phone to another, understanding VPN, etc.; the majority of the work would be short and sweet and not very lucrative.

When I was volunteering at our local library, I offered free IT help to anyone in the community who wanted to stop by during my shifts. It was frustrating, but I've been providing IT support to my parents for years, so I kind of knew what I was walking into! Even for free, there weren't that many people coming in.

If you can fix broken electronics, that could be a need! The heat, humidity, and salt air wreak havoc on electronics! Before moving here, I never had a need to get any electronic device fixed - they usually died around the time they were becoming obsolete! Here, we've had the electronics on an orbital floor cleaner die twice, a laptop that stopped charging (battery was fine, charger was fine - we had an identical laptop to test it with), a high-end receiver that just started turning itself on and off at will, and a nice laser printer that just decided it didn't want to turn on. We found someone to work on the floor cleaner, but he wasn't able to revive it the second time. I didn't want to take my other items to someone I couldn't communicate well with.

@planner

Thank you for your input, yes I would be doing everything legally for sure! Just trying to figure out what the demand is people may need and work with my skills, I have a few that could help for sure.

@ddmcghee

Thanks for all the info! Yes definitely some sort of electronic repair would be a benifit I bet, I definitely would be doing the business legally and all that. Just trying to find info on what kind of services would work best for someone to do. I'm open to anything really. I will be definitely be brushing up on my Spanish of course.

@ddmcghee

I was also thinking if there any smart home / security camera installer Buissiness there?

Thanks again.

Hello Nathan,

The D.R. is not Canada or the U.S. Business is different down here and if you are not fluent in Spanish, you will struggle. Unfortunately it is that simple. Further, the general population is not paying North American labor rates for the services you offer. There is significant poverty in this country and if you are hoping to carve a niche for yourself in the business, you may be surprised.

Generating business and wealth can take a long time if it happens at all. Without savings and a revenue stream from outside the country, you may experience shortages and difficulties.

Definitely, I don't expect to make money the way I do in canada. It's more of a lifestyle change, and to raise my kids with more traditional values and many other reasons, I do understand the difficulties. I have spend a good amount of time in different Latin American countries. Maybe I will focus on remote work. But it would be nice to contribute something business wise that will benifit expats and locals eventually.

Thank you for the message!

@Steverino7777

Definitely, I don't expect to make money the way I do in canada. It's more of a lifestyle change, and to raise my kids with more traditional values and many other reasons, I do understand the difficulties. I have spend a good amount of time in different Latin American countries. Maybe I will focus on remote work. But it would be nice to contribute something business wise that will benifit expats and locals eventually.

Thank you for the message!

@Nathan Roddick

Dominicans repair everything! I mean everything.  Yes we have installers of smart devices, security systems, solar etc etc.  you will barely make enough to feed your family, especially in the beginning. 

If you don't have enough $$ to support your intended lifestyle for at least a few years, you will find it a huge struggle.  And without non work related income/ pension you won't qualify for residency. 

We do have a couple of businesses here in LT that sell and install security cameras and systems. We've also had several go under because they had less than reputable employees who cased the homes and rigged the systems so that they could go in and steal everything of value in the home. Because of that, many people now hire companies from Santo Domingo or Santiago to install systems so that the employees aren't here in LT full time with plenty of opportunities to take advantage of their insider knowledge.

Starlink installations were big for a while. The few installers were getting backed up, even with charging several hundred dollars for a simple install! I did my own and helped a couple of friends with their installations.

@ddmcghee

Oh wow, ya that would be terrible. Thanks for the info. That's quite the price for a starlink install  good work doing it your self for sure!. Lots to concider for business opportunities in the area. Even if it's something totally different. Again Im not looking to get rich. Just to help support my family after we bought the land and the house.

Cheers.

So you understand, helping the family is what? Thousand US a month? 2 thousand a month?

Average technician here might make US 400 a month working 44 hours a week. 

Not saying that's what you are worth, that is what the reality is here.