Belize Thrives on Ambition, Not Submission

How big are you willing to think?

We came here because we don’t get mail. 

A bit bizarre when you say it out loud, isn’t it? Let me explain. Back in Europe, my mailbox ran my life.

 Every morning, 50 letters. Each one told me what to do. 

A bill to pay. A tax to file. A report to submit. 

In the first years of running my business, it was 95% business and 5% admin. 

By the time I left Europe, those numbers had flipped. Most of my days were lost to paperwork, government forms and dealing with banks. 

That’s why, when my clients ask about addresses in Belize, I just smile and ask. “Which mail do you want to get?” 

Because here, if the system doesn’t send you mail… it doesn’t control your time. I call that freedom. 

The blank canvas of Belize.

When we arrived two decades ago, Belize was shaped by farming and fishing. Banana, citrus, and sugarcane fields stretched inland while fishermen pulled in the day’s catch from the clear Caribbean waters. 

Life was community-driven. Families stuck together. Two sisters stayed home to raise the kids. The third was sent to school, became a teacher and brought in cash. The brothers fished, farmed or worked the land. It was a collective effort.

Now, things are changing. Fast.

Belize has about 450,000 people, with a median age of just 23. That’s a young country filled with curiosity, drive and ambition. Today’s Belizeans are choosing a different path. Couples rent apartments, save for mortgages, and start businesses. And with that the economy shifts.

That’s what makes Belize different.

It’s a country where your investment — your time, knowledge and business — matters. In a country of 150 million people, you’re another number. In a country of 450,000, you make an impact.

When we arrived, Belizeans would ask me, “Do you have any business ideas?” 

Betting on a coffee shop in a country that didn’t drink coffee.

My answer was always the same: think of the Yellow Pages. Every category. Still wide open. 

Starting a business in Belize comes with challenges. Loans are hard to get. And sometimes the biggest hurdle? Convincing people your idea even makes sense.

Think coffee shops.

When I first brought up the idea, my Belizean friends looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Why would anyone pay $6 or $8 for a cup of coffee?”

Back then, nobody here drank coffee. Sure, they’d heard of it. But a cappuccino or espresso? Those words meant nothing. A $9 jar of Nescafé lasted six months. That was coffee.

So when the first coffee shop opened in the village about a decade ago, people thought the owner was crazy. “Eight bucks for a cappuccino? That’s foolish.”

And honestly, if you’ve never been somewhere with specialty cafés on every corner, that reaction makes sense. Some ideas seemed laughable until they started making money.

For tourists and expats, grabbing a barista-made coffee was normal. For Belizeans, it was new. That’s why we opened our coffee shop.

Today the whole country drinks coffee. With syrup. With oat milk. With caramel drizzle.

And Belizeans didn’t just start drinking coffee. They started growing it, too.

Here are two local brands with high-quality, organic beans worth checking out if you prefer brewing your java at home: 

Gallon Jug Estate and Oxmul Coffee, the latter produced by the Mesh family in San Antonio Village, Cayo.

From a bucket and a sponge to a $75 car wash.

Another business idea that took a while to catch on: car washes. People kept saying, “We don’t have the money to start a business.” And I’d say, “Start a damn car wash.”

Seriously. What’s the investment? A sponge and a bucket. Later, if you want to get fancy, buy a hose. Add a vacuum, and suddenly, you’ve got a full-fledged business.

Nobody saw the opportunity. “Nobody washes their car here.” Because at first the demand wasn’t obvious. But as more expats and retirees moved to Placencia, the need grew. They weren’t keen on washing their own cars and preferred paying someone. And the guys who saw where things were heading are making money now.

This isn’t a $10 car wash business. The ones that figured it out charge $50 or $75 if you want the interior done. All from a bucket and a sponge.

The fish store that still doesn’t exist.

Here’s a business idea that still hasn’t happened: a fish store.

And I know I’m screaming into a void. I must be. Because I’ve asked 1,000 people to start one.

Why does it sound so strange? After all, Placencia stretches along a palm-fringed coastline of the Caribbean Sea and its intricate underwater gardens support abundant marine life. Locals catch their own fish.

So why would anyone buy some?

Because times are changing.

Traditionally, there wasn’t much of a middle class here. But now, both partners work full-time, pick up the kids after 5 or 6 p.m. and still have to figure out dinner. Pair that with more expats moving in and convenience is becoming a business opportunity.

That’s why a fish store makes sense.

The two-way street of figuring sh*t out together.

We came to Belize for the simple life and the chance to make an impact. We didn’t expect how much we learned in return.

It’s a two-way street.

Take our coffee shop. We need six baristas, but there are no barista schools in Belize. So we trained them ourselves. Some had hospitality experience. Others just wanted a job and a chance to learn a skill.

It’s the same in so many industries, from bookkeeping and accounting to law firms. The willingness to learn is huge.

People ask us for advice all the time. How do you do this? How can I make that work? Mentorship naturally happens because there are fewer formal pathways to certain careers.

When we started our real estate company, we needed an IT specialist. But there’s no IT training in Belize. If you post a job for a web developer, no one applies because trained professionals simply don’t exist.

Instead, you find young people eager to learn.

We hired a guy who had built a few websites independently. He wanted to learn more, so we made it part of his job. We paid for online classes and in return, he committed himself fully because, for him, it was a real opportunity.

This keeps inspiring us.

At first, the gaps and quirks seem odd — even the lack of mail. But they’re what make Belize full of opportunity. And you help shape it.

The energy is here. The drive is here. The willingness to learn is here.

And if you’re willing to contribute, you’ll find that Belize gives back in ways you never expected.

You either see quirks or potential. Which is it for you?