Robert Wang Center for International Business | Mercy Dueñas | owner | Guadalajara

Perhaps you'll blend those two trends your-self. If you've ever looked around on vacation and thought, "I'd love to live here," check out the primer below for advice on how to make
that happen.

LOOK IN THE MIRROR
First, be sure you have the basic personality - some would say stomach - to launch a company in another land. Are you patient? Flexible? Persistent? If not, think twice. "Starting a business is difficult even in your own country," said Mercy Dueñas, owner of The Relocation Connection in Guadalajara, Mexico. "It's that much more so in a foreign country."

FIND UNMET NEEDS
Because U.S. products and technology are often at the leading edge in certain industries, chances are you, too, can tap niche markets overseas, says Ben Kedia, director of the Robert Wang Center for International Business at the University of Memphis. If your holiday spot lacks a service or product you take for granted at home, you may have a viable idea - and the ability to pull it off.

"We had skills that no else in the area had because of our education in the U.S.," said Eric Leversen, Wiersma's fellow Yank and partner in the Jamaica Web site business. "We knew the Internet would be a great tourism tool, and we wanted this area to benefit."

USE YOUR EXPERTISE CREATIVELY