Jon Hurst opened a bagel shop called New York Bagel Cafe in Panama City after noticing a lack of freshly baked bagels. He apprenticed at a bagel cafe in Texas to learn the skills. His bagel shop became a success, allowing him to expand the menu and hire more employees. Starting with just 3 employees on a $50,000 investment visa, the business now employs 12 people full-time and allows Jon to remain in Panama beyond his original goal of age 40.

1. See....all we have to do is do it...
Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011
Dear International Living Reader,
There are business ideas everywhere you look—and those ideas are more obvious when you look overseas.
Jon found his in the freezer section of his local supermarket in Panama City.
You can read more about it below.
We share lots of interesting ways to make money overseas in IL's other e-letter, Fund Your Life Overseas. Get
yours here. It's free.
Len Galvin
Managing Editor, IL Postcards
***
An Expat Business in Panama – Could You Do Something Like This?
By Pha Lo
When not behind the counter of his Panama City bagel shop, Jon Hurst makes the most of his adopted home.
The Maine native has lived in Panama City for six years, and with easy access to both the Pacific and
Caribbean coasts, as well as the country's magnificent highlands, he's spoiled for choice.
Any weekend may see him island-hopping, trekking in cloud forests, or playing a round of tennis with friends. "I
can go to the beach and swim in warm water all year round, take off to the San Blas islands, and of course I
have plenty of hammock time," says Jon.
Bagels were the key to Jon's new life. In 2005, working in Panama with a sustainable agriculture organization,
Jon found himself faced with relocation back to Maine. "I knew if I wanted to stay, I had to find something to
occupy my time and create income. So I began to look for ways to make money."
One day in the supermarket Jon noticed a packet of frozen bagels and realized that he hadn't seen the freshly-
baked option anywhere in the city. "No one was producing them locally. I thought if people were buying them at
the grocery store, then obviously there was a market for them, and that's how I got the idea to open up a bagel
shop."
Jon went to Texas and apprenticed in a bagel café in Fort Worth. He made an arrangement with the owner to
work the front counter for free in exchange for bagel-making tips from the baker. "The baker showed me the
proper dough texture to look for when mixing flours, he shared recipes with me and gave me tips that I still use
in my shop today. It was fantastic!" says Jon.
After two months baking and learning how to run a bagel shop, Jon felt ready to return to Panama City and
scout a location for his own store. "I walked everywhere looking at places. The most important factors were
location and price," says Jon, who chose to open his New York Bagel Cafe in the busy El Cangrejo
neighborhood.

2. Jon chose a location just off Via Argentina. His timing was perfect. "At the time I was looking to open a
business, Via Argentina had a lot of vacancies," Jon says. Today, it's a street known for a wide range of
culinary offerings from around the world.
Jon served his first customer in the fall of 2006 and has since become a fixture in El Cangrejo. His team now
makes 360 bagels daily, with double production on Sundays. There are 16 types of bagels, which include the
Plain Jane, Blueberry Hill, Funyun Onion, Salt of the Earth, and the cheesy BeddaCheddah. Customers can
get their bagels fixed with house-made smears like sundried tomato, pineapple, strawberry, or apricot cream
cheese.
"Once I felt the business was stable, I started working on breads, whole breakfasts, and lunches," Jon says.
Four years after opening, he purchased the space next door to add a new bakery section. Today it offers
breads like ciabatta and focaccia along with cookies, brownies, and croissants. For those not in the mood for a
bagel, there are favorites like pancakes, French toast, omelets, burgers, and hot dogs.
The crowd is a mix of local students from the nearby University of Panama, retirees, expats, families, and
young backpackers passing through.
Jon opened his business on a micro-investment visa, which requires a $50,000 minimum investment and at
least three Panamanian employees whose social security costs he had to cover. These days Jon's company
has grown and business is good. Jon now employs 12 full-time workers.
"I decided to give myself until age 40 to see if I could make the business work," he says. "If it failed, I knew I
could go back to the States and take up a job. But it's still working and I'm not going anywhere."
Editor's note: We love hearing stories like Jon's. But if you don't want to follow in his foot steps right now, there
are easier, cheaper, and faster ways to build a business from anywhere. We cover them all in detail in Fund
Your Life Overseas.