After leaving Costa Rica, I found that around the world a lot of the same business principles are used but business owners adapt based on the culture of the region. Throughout our time here we visited many businesses that covered various industries. The business owners were all different but had commonalities with how they conducted their business. While Americans may have the conception that we are completely different I would argue that despite our differences we are similar. When conducting business it is imperative that you create a relationship with your customers. Your customers are the best way to promote your business and creating a positive experience for a customer will have them recommend you to other friends and family.
The lectures that we did towards the beginning of the trip helped me better understand how the business we did tours of ran. In Costa Rica, they have different regulations for small to medium sized businesses to reduce monopolies and try to help businesses of those sizes. When we visited the smaller businesses that explained that they were able to sustain their business more easily because of these regulations. Talking to the business owners and being able to ask them any question gave us great insight if we were potentially starting a business. They all had a vision and worked extremely hard to get there, similar to many American businesses. A lot of them didn?t have a college degree so it was interesting to hear how they navigated the business world with no prior knowledge.
One glaring difference that I noticed between the culture of America vs the culture of Costa Rica and other Latin American countries is their emphasis on family. In the United States it is important to be as efficient as possible rather than in Costa Rica where people are more relaxed and take time to enjoy things. You can really notice it based on how the people act and I think staying at a homestay was a great opportunity to see the differences in culture up close. This gave me a great appreciation for my family and wanted to make me take some of their aspects and apply it to my life now.
Overall, the experience was amazing and I?m definitely glad that I went. I learned a lot from this trip that I wouldn?t be able to learn from a classroom. The places that we visited were incredible and I want to thank Mays for this awesome opportunity. I now feel more well versed for international business and I want to leave the door open for potentially working in Costa Rica someday.
