El Rebusque: A Colombian Business Model

Colombians have a lot of reputations, but this one is specific to how they run business and make money. In Bogota, one of the first things you will notice is the massive amount of people selling random things on the street. Towels, glasses, belts, food, cell phone minutes, and phone chargers can easily be found on most street corners. They definitely don't have government regulation involved or the need for a permit to sell things on the street like in Atlanta.

The next thing you will notice is that most of the street vendors are not necessarily poor. In Atlanta, selling things on the street is looked down upon as it usually means you are homeless or poor. However in Colombia, middle-class people and college students will often take second jobs selling random stuff to make extra money. This is called El Rebusque, meaning “another way to find money”. It basically encompasses the reputation that Colombians are good business people and like making money. For the most part, I would say it is true as everyone seems to have a personal business on the side.

El Rebusque is taken a step further when it comes to running an actual business. In Colombia, businesses make the most out of make extra money by being more than one business. In other words, they will combine a variety of services, depending on the time of day. You'll see what I mean the next time you go to a “Cafe/Bar/Restaurant/Hair Salon” -- during the day it is a salon and cafe, but at night its a bar and restaurant so that they can keep bringing in business all day. There actually is a “Cafe/Bar/Art Gallery/Hair Salon” named La Peluqueria so you can check out for yourself and see how this business model works. It seems to be very effective and profitable.

Another example of El Rebuseque is people selling stuff at work to coworkers. I worked in corporate America for several years before coming to work in Bogota and I have never seen people being allowed to sell stuff at work. While working at the UPS corporate headquarters in Atlanta (hell on earth), they had a strict policy against it. Here, there is no policy and it just seems to be another form of making money on the side. At my office, there is a guy that sells homemade sushi and desserts. Not only does he sell these desserts, he makes special announcements on discount pricing, has his business incorporates, and spends at least 25% of his day promoting his products at work. After lunch, it usually takes 20 minutes for people in the office to decide which dessert they are going to buy today. This happens every day and it's like working on a street corner.