Personal Finance Blog by Debit versus Credit

Blogging Idol Begins!

July 1, 2008 | Filed in: Miscellaneous | No comment

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Here’s some awesome news and something I am excited to be a part of.  Daily Blog Tips has just kicked off the very first Blogging Idol competition.  Blogging Idol is a competition between (as of last count) 96 bloggers to see who can gain the most subscribers between today and the end of July.  I’m absolutely thrilled that I am able to be a part of Blogging Idol and I hope that Debit versus Credit can make some great gains between now and the end of the month with its subscriber count.

If you’re new here and have not had a chance to read through all of my previous posts then go ahead and check out some of the following links to see what sort of content you can expect to receive on a consecutive basis by subscribing to Debit versus Credit.

What I Learned In Mexico: Business Negotiation
The Worst Years of My Financial Life
My 33% Savings Plan
How Your Credit Score Defines You
Oh, America…

I’m writing this post with the hope that I will gain your support for this competition! All you have to do to show your support is either to subscribe to my RSS feed or subscribe to Debit versus Credit by e-mail.  It will only take a minute and you can be sure that you will receive constant updates with all of my newest blog content!  You can alternatively subscribe by e-mail by filling out the form below:

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Tags: Blogging Idol, Doing Business in Mexico

What I Learned In Mexico: Business Negotiation

June 24, 2008 | Filed in: Business/Entrepreneurship | No comment

This is the first of several “What I Learned in Mexico” posts, all of which will have some relation to my study abroad down in Monterrey.  Today I’ll be focusing on doing business in Mexico and more specifically, business negotiation practices.  These business negotiation practices are custom-tailored for doing business in Mexico, but it’s important to note that there are several lessons in the post which can be applied to doing business anywhere in the World!

The Meat & Potatoes

I’ll get right into the good stuff… what I specifically was taught by my instructor at the Tecnologico de Monterrey.  Business negotiation practices are very different wherever you go, even between countries like the U.S. and Mexico.  There are several large differences between negotiation practices in the U.S. and negotiation practices in Mexico.  To make reading easier I’ll go ahead and list the most common negotiation characteristics and practices in a bulleted list (keep in mind these are very generic lists).

U.S. Business Negotiation Characteristics

• Superiority complexes are common, and as such they feel that everyone should speak their language (English, duh!)
• Direct and to the point - we do not like to waste time on informalities
• Quick to make decisions
• Aggressive and competitive
• Like to use social events to further business negotiations

Mexican Business Negotiation Characteristics

• Don’t always speak English and feel that if we want to do business with them we might try learning their language
• Feel strongly about developing trust and getting to know the other party before starting (and during) business negotiations
• Do not like to feel pushed or rushed when it comes to making business decisions
• Very cooperative with business associates when trust has been developed
• Do not wish to discuss business over social events and will probably be offended if you try

The Point Is?

I’m not going to get into any more details about the differences between U.S. and Mexican business negotiations as that’s not exactly the point of this post.  Rather I’m interested in the idea behind all of these differences and what I think is important to learn and accept if you plan on doing business anywhere outside of your home country (or even state or city).  I think it’s best if we remember the rule, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”  Even more appropriate would be to adopt as a general rule, “When you’re Roman doing business in Rome with an Italian, learn Italian negotiation practices.”  Here’s the punch line: Go the extra step to make your business counterparts and associates more comfortable and you will go far in your business negotiations.

It’s not a difficult idea but it is one that a lot of people have difficulties with.  Especially U.S. businessmen.  It may be stereotypical but I do believe that a superiority complex is far too common among our types.  If we are to succeed in the Global market we need to change and adapt.  We need to learn to do business in more ways than just our way.

Do you have any experience with doing business outside of your national market?  I’d love to hear any positive or negative experiences on the matter of global business negotiations.

Tags: Doing Business in Mexico, Global Business, What I Learned In Mexico

I’m Going to Mexico

June 6, 2008 | Filed in: Miscellaneous | 2 comments

I’ll be taking off tomorrow morning from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on my way to Monterrey, MX where I will be doing a very short study abroad session at Tecnologico de Monterrey (the number one business school in all of Latin America). I’ll be gone from June 7th until June 22nd and during the course of these two weeks I’ll be taking two classes: GLB 303 (Relationship Management) and GLB 494 (Doing Business in Mexico).

The campus at Tec de Monterrey is beautiful (as you can see from the picture to the left) and I’m really excited to meet the faculty at the University, as well as the people of Monterrey.

I’m a little bit nervous because I’ve never been anywhere in Mexico of any significance (Rocky Point doesn’t count) and also excited because I absolutely adore going to new places. Going to Belize in March was one of the most memorable experiences up to this point in my life and I’m hoping that this visit to Monterrey will rank up there as well.

As I mentioned I’ll be taking two classes and I will be taking complete advantage of the time I’ll have over the next two weeks to absorb as much information as I can. The course description for my Relationship Management class is below and sounds quite interesting.

Overviews types of relationships found in organizations, then trains students in the interpersonal skills necessary to effectively manage those relationships

That will definitely be interesting. I’m also quite excited for my Doing Business in Mexico course. We’ll be lectured by a professor at the Tec de Monterrey who also wrote a book with the same title as the course. Also we’ll be visiting five businesses in Monterrey and seeing how they function, which will definitely be interesting.

My posting might not be consistent over the next few weeks as I’m unsure as to the level of internet availability I’ll have, but you can definitely expect at the very least a few posts on what I’ll be learning over the course of this study abroad session. Until then, Adios.

Tags: Doing Business in Mexico, Mexico, Relationship Management, Study Abroad, Tec de Monterrey, Tecnologico de Monterrey

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