Dec. 15, 2021

Vilcabamba, ECUADOR – “I’ll take care of today’s lunch. How much cash will I need?”

“Hmmm – probably no more than $10. The lunch special is only around $3 each”

This was the question I’d posed to our new friend R, from Texas, who had purchased a nice place in a secured and out of the way gated community near this pretty little town of maybe 4000, just north of the border with Peru.

“$3.00? That’s it?” I asked in stunned reply. “Wow”.

This was for a good-sized plate consisting of beef in a nice sauce, rice, mashed potatoes, vegetables and a large juice. It wasn’t wowzer great but tasted good and was more than filling. And the price – geez – how can they make any money?

Perhaps it was because that was the main and almost only thing on the menu for that day. Or perhaps, they were catering to the significant number of “hippie” gringos living on their social security who would be attracted by the low cost and then would also buy beer and other high-margin drinks.

Hard to say – but the place was busy enough. More on this below.

(For those new to this thread, my wife and I have been traveling Mexico and Panama and are currently living and exploring Ecuador. You can find those back issues here.)

Vilcabamba, where we are now, can be reached via a “decent” 2-lane highway, in about 4 hours from the regional city of Cuenca.

I say “decent” because it is mostly “paved” with a sort of concrete, but the numerous twists and turns and huge elevation gains up and down, plus the numerous washouts and poor repair, will have you wondering how you will survive the return trip.

I was told that the reason the road is not of better quality, like the Pan-American highway between Cuenca and Quito, is that the Ecuadorians did not want it to be easy for the Peruvians to attack from the south…

Back to this little Oasis, in the southern part of the country.

The elevation is only about 5000 feet, similar to Denver, so not only is it a bit warmer but it is also a little more humid and thus lush. They can grow anything here it seems, from oranges, limes, pineapple, mangos etc to sugarcane and corn. From our friend’s property, I plucked lemons to make tea. The aroma was amazing.

The valleys and ravines are steep and the mountains tower above everywhere. The topography reminds me of Hawaii. To the east, I can see the higher ranges of the Andes, mostly topped with cloud, from the moisture coming up from the Amazonian rainforests not far away.

Yet, the temperature is very pleasant. Maybe 23C for the high. It’s the beginning of their “rainy” season here, which likely accounts for the moderate temperature. But only in the afternoons usually; not at all unpleasant.

Back to the dining scene and our business lesson for this week.

There are a half dozen or so, decent dining places in this little town. A couple of cafes, a few small “grocery” stores and one excellent bakery. Most are catering to the locals and this small but obvious group of “hippies”. People are doing pretty well.

Like all places I’ve frequented, however, there exists a small number of businesses that are catering to a different, more affluent crowd. Focused on those like our friends we are visiting with and to those weekenders who come down from the larger center of Loja; to escape the city and enjoy the peacefulness of the country.

We dined at just such a place on Saturday. Happened to Mexican. Proprietor is Mexican and he prides himself on fast service, attention to detail, delicious food and excellent presentation.

He charges 3-4 times per plate as his competition. Is only open Friday to Sunday. And he is packed from 1 – 4, the traditional time Ecuadorians eat their main meal.

One of the first areas I always look at when I help business owners achieve breakthroughs in their profitability is to look at their pricing and who they want as clients/customers. It almost always makes no sense to try and be the lowest priced operator. You think you can beat Walmart? And who wants to be known as the “second lowest” priced business? Does that sound like a winner to you?

No! Much better to strive to be the premium player. Catering to those who both appreciate and want better service, better quality and experience. They are prepared to pay well to get both. You do not need to serve everyone. Better to make more per customer and serve fewer than be the volume producer.

Which would you prefer to be known as? Good or great?

To your health and success…

- Hugh
The “Profit Accelerator” Expert
StreetSmartsMBA.org

P.S. If you’d like more leads, sales, profits and success from your local business, then our Profit Acceleration process is for you. Simply go to StreetSmartsMBA.org to get started – risk-free.

★ BECOME A HIGHLY PAID BUSINESS COACH WITH #1 COACHING PLATFORM ★
I am looking for individuals to help handle the exploding global demand for business
coaching services. I’m willing to train [at my expense] the right individual with a
passion for wanting to help small business owners become successful.
NO travel - work from home. $225,000 first year income. If you or someone you
know is interested, click here and an 8 minute video will explain it all.