Success in business can be a very elusive thing. I was thinking about that the other day and I came up with the following definition: Success in business is when you develop an idea that satisfies a need in a unique way and then you stick with it until it works, i.e., accomplishes your goals for generating the idea in the first instance. The “sticking with it” part is where many folks fall by the wayside. I was reading this morning about Paragon Properties of Costa Rica. Their idea for development in Costa Rica seems to have been along the following lines: Buy large amounts of land as cheaply as possible from a local, implement a slick marketing campaign with a high pressure sales pitch that touts the ability to retire in the paradise of Costa Rica, complete with promises of lavish project infrastructure, persuade people to put down large deposits before they even have had a chance to see the property, and then basically do nothing else….well, except for maybe to build a nice entrance. And it appears they have been highly successful with their efforts, claiming to have sold some 2500 of the 2600 lots in the 17 projects they have under development. Now many of the folks that put down deposits aren’t so happy as the company has so far failed to deliver on all that promised “infrastructure.” Hard to retire in paradise when you need a tractor or helicopter to make it to your lot, huh? But the question I will posit in this post is this: is that brand of success really success at all? We all approach business ideas with economic motivations, correct? But I believe that the most attractive economically motivated ideas are those that are not simply economically motivated. What? No, the most attractive these days are those that also are motivated by a desire to make the world a better place and not just to line one’s pocketbook with greenbacks. When the geniuses at Paragon were formulating their plan, who do you think they had in mind? The welfare of their customers? Improving the lives of Costa Ricans? Contributing to environmental sustainability in Costa Rica? Or, was it just to get rich as fast as possible? I would make a wild guess that that last one is closer to the truth. I really believe that success in these trying economic times means finding a marketing appeal that does not lie exclusively in how well it inserts me into a position to make a fast sale or generate a quick commission. Rather I would seek to put any business idea and marketing plan through the following motivational screen: Am I really helping people here? Am I really improving lives? Am I really improving my world? Or is this really just all about me? I really believe people are fed up with half-baked ideas that anyone can see are just some one’s attempt to jump on the latest faddish bandwagon and make their “hit” before things cool off. Costa Rica is not a fad, but there are many who came here in the last ten years treating it as such. I would submit to you that Paragon, rather than being a “model of excellence or perfection” (as the name implies), is a shining example of what we do not need here in Costa Rica, or anywhere else for that matter.

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