Forums > Business/Commercial > Mexico Only Business/Trade

Chapala Payaso

Mar 8, 2012, 9:36 AM

Post #1 of 6 (2125 views)

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Difficulty starting a business?

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If you are wanting to start a business here but are stymied because you are not a Mexican national, I may have a way to assist you. I hold dual citizenship. PM me is interested.

louisbritt

Mar 9, 2012, 11:41 PM

Post #2 of 6 (2092 views)

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Re: [Chapala Payaso] Difficulty starting a business?

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There are certain difficulties while starting a new business. But if you are with proper source and guideline and contacts you can do well into it!!

(This post was edited by tonyburton on Mar 10, 2012, 10:54 AM)

Chapala Payaso

Mar 10, 2012, 7:36 AM

Post #3 of 6 (2069 views)

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Re: [louisbritt] Difficulty starting a business?

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I was offering assistance regarding a physical business, not an online business. I am not a consultant and certainly other entities such as an accountant and a notario would be necessary. But some of the other hurdles associated with being a Mexican national can be legally side stepped.

mazbook1

Mar 10, 2012, 2:40 PM

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Re: [Chapala Payaso] Difficulty starting a business?

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Since a foreigner needs—actually MUST HAVE—the help of a Mexican accountant (L.C.P.) to set up a physical business in México, why would anyone need your services (or a notario's, for that matter)? I have set up a number of small businesses in the U.S. between 1960 and 1997, and then I moved to México and set up one here. Setting up the Mexican business, with the advice of a Mexican accountant (L.C.P.), was MUCH simpler than setting up a similar business would have been in U.S. Even changing my FMT (tourist visa, now called an FMM touristica) to an FM3 actividades lucrativas, was easy with his advice and that of an inexpensive facilitator he recommended.

I even know folks who got their FM3 rentista visas changed to FM3 actividades lucrativas without any help from a facilitator at all. They said it was "a piece of cake". They DID get a Mexican accountant (L.C.P.) to guide them through the process of getting the tax number (R.F.C.) from Hacienda, though. And actually, once you have done that with an accountant's advice, you'll find that it's simple enough that anyone can do it on their own, if they speak a little bit of Spanish.

I guess my point is: Why would anyone need YOUR services? Especially since you don't even seem to know that a notario isn't needed for setting up a business here AT ALL. If you want to "incorporate", that's a different story, just as it is in the U.S. where you need an attorney to help you. Here ONLY a notario can accomplish this for you.

Chapala Payaso

Mar 11, 2012, 11:45 AM

Post #5 of 6 (2027 views)

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Re: [Chapala Payaso] Difficulty starting a business?

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Thank you for your thoughtful response. Obviously with your knowledge base you are not in need. However, the majority of folks here do not have that level. The professionals I cited would not all be necessary for beginning a business but would make me more comfortable haveing them as a resource once things are up and running.

mazbook1

Mar 11, 2012, 6:46 PM

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Re: [Chapala Payaso] Difficulty starting a business?

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Well, the Mexican accountant is an ABSOLUTE necessity, as you have to have him every month after the business is up and running. The notario is NOT a necessity, as a matter of fact, he is not needed AT ALL (unless you are incorporating or have legal contracts that need to be written or signed), as the Mexican L.C.P. is the be-all and know-all about all the laws and regulations applying to an ongoing business. I don't know of anything that a notario would know that the L.C.P. wouldn't know sooner and better. Actually, most notarios, including mine (who I've used for over 10 years for many matters, but NOT for business matters except for when I formed my corporation just last year and for occasionally writing legal contracts for me in Spanish) don't deal with day-to-day legal matters at all. They do wills, real estate transactions and contracts, that's about it. If you have day-to-day legal matters, you want to speak with an abogado. He's the expert in that area, assuming it doesn't have anything to do with taxes, IMSS, etc., where the L.C.P. reigns supreme.

That "knowledge base" was learned the hard way and paid for! I was just as clueless as any other expat when I arrived in México to set up in business. The only thing I knew was that I really needed a good, English-speaking accountant so that I didn't get in tax trouble with the Mexican government. Obviously, I got a GOOD one.

And with that, I still say that ALL that a newcomer foreigner needs for setting up a business in México is a Mexican accountant (L.C.P.). There should be no need of a facilitator at all, except possibly to get the FM3 or FM2 status changed to actividades lucrativas, and even a facilitator for that step wouldn't be necessary if the person is comfortable with dealing with the Migración folks without a facilitator. I was a total greenhorn, having only arrived in México about 3 weeks before, so I HAD to have a facilitator for that step, but many folks that have dealt with Migración on other matters, wouldn't have any reason to need a facilitator for that change in status.

(This post was edited by mazbook1 on Mar 11, 2012, 6:53 PM)