Recent columnist articles
Me and Carlos and Mexico
Mexico's Scorpion Mezcal empowers Oaxaca women
Erica is sitting in the office of her boss of eight years, Douglas French, owner of Scorpion Mezcal in San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca. French has just informed her that she qualifies to become a pu...
read more
Cultural differences and clarity in Mexico's business world
When U.S. executives are sent to Mexico, they soon hear that Mexicans are "indirect" and "will not give you a straight answer, "especially if what needs to be communicated is unpleasant." Thus, the gen...
read more
Mexico real estate and the recession
December holidays in Mexico: celebrating while cutting business costs
For companies doing business in Mexico, the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe on December 12th is a bigger celebration than Christmas Day. During these difficult economic times I have had many enquiries a...
read more
Case study from Oaxaca, Mexico: Am I paying my staff too much?
Day of The Dead is upon us in Oaxaca, and Juanita's hotel still has rooms available for one of the busiest times of the year. The City of Oaxaca, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Southern Mexico, relies on tourism for its very existence. Juanita is trying to figure out where she went wrong, realizing that Día de Los Muertos should top up her bank balance, just like the Christmas season, the summertime festival weeks known as Guelaguetza, and Easter. Time and again she asks herself, "Am I paying my staff too much?"
read more
Questions on hiring in Mexico
Why do so many of my employees have the same names?
This is a question that I hear a lot. It can be a little confusing at first when it seems as if a lot of your employees share the same surname. It d...
read more
Severance pay for workers in Mexico
In Canada and the United States, it is fairly straightforward to downsize our employee base during a downturn in the economy. Employees have unemployment insurance to cushion the change. But in Mexico, the law protects the worker.
read more
Reducing labour cost in a Mexican LLC
Why focus on a labour savings in a country where the labour cost is so low?
read more
Growing pains: New factory construction in Mexico
We had a lot of new business coming in and no room left. It was time to build our second facility in Mexico.
After a lengthy negotiation, we purchased a good piece of property on fairly level ground. ...
read more