One alternative to the U.S. as a place to live, do business, retire or invest might have seemed like insanity just months ago…but given the whirlwind of current economic fluctuations that are driving us to become hardcore depression boomers, it might make sense to look south, very south, to get more "bang for your buck."

I hardly know anyone who hasn't been unaltered by today'stepid economic climate. As host of this weekly radio program, my goal is to provide a wide range of relevant data that can help minimize risk taking for small business owners. Thus, I'm excited about presenting this great opportunity in Latin America.

As a serious-minded businessperson, I began looking into the idea of living and doing business abroad to accomplish three things:

1. Lower my costs
2. Look for growing demand
3. Find an expanding middle class market

Though he never states it explicitly, "Four Hour Work Week" guy Tim Ferriss employs this smart strategy: He sells to the First World, hires workers in the Third World, and lives in Latin America, where costs are low and the lifestyle is high.

Corporate America has been doing it for years. Ask companies like Pepsi, Wal-Mart, Avon, Burger King and Pizza Hut where their growth is?

It's overseas…in the developing world.

So, what areyour alternatives?

One of my favorites, Ecuador, is an ideal country: moderately conservative, highly productive especially in natural products, a top five Latin America ranking in shrimp production, and many real estate bargains to be had.

Ecuador has a population that still knows how to work and how to grow its own food–including natural and organic–and is staying away from swallowing the "entitlement" pill for now.

Based on these criteria, Ecuador has a slight edge over my other favorite, Chile.

One of the benefits of covering the Natural Products Expo for HBR's Living Green segment in 2012 was that we made great connections with an array of small Ecuadorian businesses seeking U.S. distributors for their products and new investors.

If you're looking for offshore options, and would consider sharing in a high-demand business in the natural and organic industry, this video may get you to consider Ecuador as a viable choice.

All offshore opportunities are not created alike. You owe it to yourself to go beyond the current "comic book" advice available on the Internet and from mass-market seminars presented by companies like Agora (International Living.)

Latin America is not perfect by the stretch of anyone's imagination, but for now, the governments there employ a "live and let live" approach to their citizens and residents: You don't bother them and they don't bother you. Does that sound attractive to you?

For more information, visit the…

Boost your productivity: Cripple your technology | matt.might.net

Plus additional advice from Carlos Andrew Reeder

This article summarizes a lot about the distractions this wonderful tool called the computeer creates. Some excerpts to ponder: For those that spend their working hours attached to a computer, distraction is never more than a few keystrokes away. It's too easy to switch from editing a document to blowing time on the web. For many of us, the biggest gains in productivity do not come from following a specific methodology for "getting things done." It comes from erecting transaction costs to nonproductive behavior.

The productivity paradox

The productivity paradox, popularized by economist Erik Brynjolfsson, notes that computational power has advanced exponentially for decades, yet growth in labor productivity remains modest.

While many factors explain the paradox, the one most relevant to modern knowledge workers is the dual capacity of technology to aid and to distract.

To resolve this paradox, my guiding principle for productivity applies:

Mold your life so that the path of least resistance 
is the path of maximum productivity.

Tips to consider:

#1: Use dry-erase boards and journals

If a large portion of your work involves playing with ideas, buy a large dry erase board. Step away from the machine.

Getting away from the computer makes it hard to subconsciously slip into autonomic procrastinatory tendencies.

#2: When outlining, brainstorming or calculating, use a journal instead of a computer.

#3: Block distracting sites; get an iPad

It's easy to sink hours into sites like reddit.

If you find yourself spending too much time on some sites, block them permanently them using tools like Leechblock for Firefox andStayFocusd for Chrome.

To browse these sites, use a dedicated device like an iPad instead.

When you need to get work done, remove that device from the room.

I haven't found a good site-blocking tool for Safari. If you need to disable Safari on a Mac, use:

 sudo port chmod ogu-rx /Applications/Safari.app

and to re-enable it:

 sudo port chmod ogu+rx /Applications/Safari.app
#4: 
Put yourself in airplane mode
Many find airplane flights unexpectedly productive.
For a few hours, the prime distractions of modern life are gone: coworkers, TV, email, phone, text messaging and time-draining web sites.
Spend a couple hours each day in airplane mode: disable the internet on your computer and put your phone in airplane mode.
#5:  Time Management your day in blocks.
Each different time management system is not necessarily suitable to all people or for all uses for which people need them. My approach, is to choose specific tasks or commitment assignments and assign a REASONABLE block of time to that task. (As hard to adhere to as my bootcamp  class at the gym) 
This might throw some of you off, but don't over prepare and give yourself some slack.  Resist the urge to "refine it" one more time, adhere to your cut off deadline and get to the next planned event. 
Lastly, if you require tools to help you structure a plan, there's a fabulous prioritizing grid in Richard Bolles's What Color is Your Parachute? that can be easily adapted to your daily schedule. 
 Just a thought!

I just had a really great conversation with John DeSantiago from ProvenSocial.com to discuss his views about the importance of Social Media.  I agree with him that having Social Media in today's market is a essential, no matter what kind of business you may own.  small and medium size business need to get out of the mind set that Facebook and Twitter is not going to last or that its for personal more than business use. Remember, our current President Obama was elected using the Social Highway!

There is no other way to market your business everyday and using a push marketing method instead of using a pull marketing method like magazine ads or yellow page ads. Social Media is best and cheapest way to stay in touch with current clients and prospects.  To hear the extended interview with John, click onto the Listen Live link and pick up some very valuable tips on growing your business through the Social Highway!

The world is emerging from an economic crisis that has opened up vast new opportunities for Hispanic entrepreneurs and business owners.

These opportunities include closer partnerships in technology, energy, social and economic development, trade and investment between Hispanic owned businesses and other countries.

Your business lives in a social world and you should always stay abreast on how and where your business shows up, especially on the Internet to benefit from these opportunities. Through Business Vitals we’ll provide you with a lot of insight on how your business is perceived, where you are being found and what adjustments you need to make in your social media, marketing and branding efforts to show up on page one of search engines.

It used to be that showing up on page 2 or 3 of Google was good enough to capture 60% of users attention searching the Internet.  Today, roughly 90% of the decision-making choices in search are from page one information displayed by Google.

Your Internet presence and social media efforts are directly correlated to this position. The bigger your Internet presence, the higher your name is on the results (rank) and the more pages your business name shows up (depth).

Simple strategies or changes can improve your brand awareness and revenue.  Moving a ranking from the second page to the first page can result in a noticeable increase in traffic.

You are probably brainstorming ideas for building brand awareness right now but have trouble taking actionable first steps to get moving and improve it.

Whether you are just getting started or at it for years, an improved SEO strategy will get your business found online by more prospective customers rapidly. To help you in your optimization efforts, here is a FREE step-by-step SEO Starter Guide put together by Google that’s an awesome tool to improve your sites' interaction with both users and search engines.

Please enter your details below to access the SEO guide:

It’s important to enable Hispanics, professionals and entrepreneurs to interact in a community to foster economic success for business.

Part of our job is not only to assure our listeners that marketing strategies, tactics, and tools we’ll be sharing are effective but to usher them into a world of open discussions about the Future of Marketing…where is it going?  We will explore how you must have the marketing conversation (solve problems, provide answers, give value) before the sales conversation and revenue cycle begins.

It's time to have your company coveted by new prospects and existing customers by over delivering value and providing exceptional customer service.  Tag your it, let's hear from you about your successes or about the missing link in your business.  Let us help you become a contender again.

When you talk about the environment, most people are talking about the natural elements: air, water, the earth. But for us at HBR, we presume for many listeners, the environment starts with la familia. Many Hispanics come from farming backgrounds, and their relationship with the land is almost a spiritual experience. If you look at the history of Mexican-Americans especially, their whole lives are related to the legacy of Mother Earth and the natural elements.

HBR is greatly supportive of the earth-friendly challenges by addressing some of the myths about environmental protection. In a survey conducted by the Manhattan-institute.org to determine what Americans believe about energy and environmental issues, the survey found that the views that many Americans hold about a wide range of these issues remain, in key ways, inaccurate.  For example:

• Forty-nine percent of respondents believe Saudi Arabia exports the most oil to the U.S., while just 13% correctly identified Canada as our top foreign supplier.
• More than 67% believe we can meet future energy demand through conservation and efficiency. Historically, in contrast, energy demand actually increases alongside efficiency gains. And because energy use is not static, conservation leads to only marginal reductions in demand. The EIA projects global energy consumption to increase 50% from 2005 to 2030 and U.S. energy use to increase 11.2% from 2007 to 2030.
• Just 37% correctly answered that no one has ever died from the actual generation of nuclear power in the U.S. Though the U.S. has not built a nuclear-power reactor since the nuclear meltdown at Three Mile Island in 1979, 104 active reactors safely generate roughly one-fifth of our nation’s electricity.
• Sixty-three percent of those surveyed believe that human activity is the greatest source of greenhouse gases. In fact, such emissions are significantly smaller than natural emissions. The burning of fossil fuels is responsible for just 3.27% of the carbon dioxide that enters the atmosphere each year, while the biosphere and oceans account for 55.28% and 41.46%, respectively.
• Less than 28% correctly believe that U.S. air quality has improved since 1970. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the six most common air pollutants have decreased by more than 50%; air toxins from large industrial sources have fallen nearly 70%; new cars are more than 90% cleaner, in terms of their emissions; and production of most ozone-depleting chemicals has ceased.

We're beginning to realize that this is not someone else's problem; it's ours. And as a result of that, whether we call it the environment or not, we're doing things to change it. So it's no longer going to be a white, middle-class, affluent movement, it's all of us doing it. It just seems that some of us don't have the media or the publicity machines to show what we're doing.  HBR will use resources to help national enterprises understand the economic and sustainability benefits of Living Green.

What can HBR listeners do to help? Here are a few green takeaways from our friends at Ecopreneurist to save money and our planet :

1. Printing Less Stuff = Using Less Paper

Paper makes up about 35% of our waste stream – even though it’s one of the easiest materials to re-use and recycle!

2.   Go Digital with Your Documents

To reduce paper use and get contracts and documents signed more quickly is to use electronic signatures.

3.   Program automatic shut-offs in the office

Program your computer to turn off automatically at a certain time each night, just in case you forget. Set the monitor to turn off after a few minutes of inactivity and place all chargers into one power strip for easy one-click turn off to eliminate secret pilfering energy.  Stock your office with energy-saving appliances and compact LED lighting.

4. Recycling bins

Place recycling bins in convenient locations all over the office. Everywhere there is a trashcan, there should be a recycling bin.  Add a compost bin in the office cafeteria…makes great plant food for anyone’s garden.

5. Seek out green vendors to work with

Part of being a green business is making sure that you do your best to ensure that your supply chain is green, too. During engagement, always ask vendors if they are going green or certified green.

6. Become a Freecycle Affiliate!

You never know what you might find on freecycle. One person’s junk is definitely another’s treasure. If you have a large company, you could even organize an office-wide barter party, where everyone brings items they don’t use any more to swap for things they might need from others. When you upgrade your office equipment after years of use, pass it on if it’s still useful. List it on freecycle or donate it to a charity that may need it.

7. Eliminate Junk Mail

There are free services out there that will remove you from mailing lists, and you can also remove your name from the Direct Marketing Association’s member prospect list.

Educate yourself about making your household more sustainable. Do you take 20-minute showers? Do you turn off the water when you brush your teeth? All of those little things are big things, and it all starts at home. But I think people can also organize themselves and work toward a common goal: get involved in cleanup days, organize a save the beaches campaign like Wyland and the California Angels have , take ownership and pride in your neighborhood. If you want a community garden, look for empty land. Get to know your neighbors. I think all of these things are good for strengthening our barrios, and for raising the next generation of Hispanic activists.

Energy & the Environment: Myths & Facts is intended as a primer for educators, business owners, and public of­ficials—for concerned citizens generally—as we seek twin goals: an energy supply sufficient to fuel continued economic growth and environmental policies that will protect public health and the quality of our lives.

By building environmentally conscious practices and seeking out sustainable life solutions, HBR will pay tribute on our show to anyone demonstrating awareness of environmental protection and sustainability.

What does environmentalism mean to you? 
Tell us how your taking steps toward sustainability.

<insert feedback form here>

The Empower Latinas segment is for women striving to grow their business, advance their careers and to further develop the women helping women environment by spotlighting new and exciting business opportunities and connections to women all over.

By tuning in, you can come together with others to grow as women entrepreneurs, artists, professionals, consultants, executives, inventors and more.

You can connect with other Hispanic Business Women to network for customers, career advice, capital, access to leaders, technology, products or distribution channels.

The goal is to make this an unparalleled social network community to inspire, share information, identify business opportunities, business referrals and mutual support.

Join host Belinda Rodriguez as she presents a weekly snapshot of information from well-researched relevant topics to encourage interactive contributions that are more relevant to Latinas than any other site.

Special guests will include Grammy winners Mariachi Divas, Pro Tennis Hall of Fame Legend: Billy Jean King, Secretary Of State Madeleine Albright, Author of “latinovating: Green American Jobs and Latinos Creating Them,” Graciela Tiscareño, Sonia Maria Green, Director at General Motors and more…

This segment will reach out to the nation's most influential Latina business owners, famous artists and entertainers.

Topics will include:

• How to use Social Media to grow your business.
• The Do's and Don'ts of designing a search engine friendly website.
• Breaking the Glass Ceiling in a Male Dominated Society - Interview discussion with Successful Hispanic Women and their strong opinions about perseverance, talent, ambition and determination to overcome obstacles and discrimination in the workplace. We'll discuss strategies to facilitate women's progression to management and executive positions.
• How to Prepare Now For The Pain — And Opportunity — in this new economy.

Business Vitals is a ‘go-to’ resource destination and one of the best mix media marketplaces for information related to small business. It provides selling, buying, business development and partnering opportunities.    It’s a great segment to learn about policy issues that directly affect the bottom line of your business.

The goal is to see progress being made in the small business community as a result of discussions and exchange of information.

Joining the Business Vitals online community is a natural extension of the weekly radio segment heard on our network in Spanish and English.

“I searched across the globe for involvement with organizations where we provide tools and resources to our small business community and help them help themselves as a Business Vitals member.”

As a Co-host of the show, it’s important to offer a platform for Hispanic professionals and entrepreneurs to come together in a community to foster economic success for business.

In the Business Vitals weekly segment, part of our job is not only to assure our listeners that Marketing strategies, tactics, and tools we’ll be sharing are effective but to usher them into a world of Marketing 2.0 by having open discussions about the Future of Marketing…where is it going?

The world has changed. Buyers no longer buy the old fashion way! Business Vitals will explore how you must have the marketing conversation (solve problems, provide answers, give value) before the sales conversation gets any traction.