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One of the most common questions I get about business goes something like this:

“Caleb, you talk all the time about the collapse of the West and how Southeast Asia and other growth regions are doing great. So, shouldn’t I start my first business in a growth country? Shouldn’t I start it in Colombia, Vietnam, Dubai, or somewhere like that?”

On the surface, this sounds logical. In fact, it tells me you’re thinking in the right direction. You’re already looking ahead instead of blindly assuming your current country will always be stable.

But for your first business, this instinct is almost always wrong.

When you are starting your first business, the number one priority is getting to income as fast and as reliably as possible.

Not passion.
Not global impact.
Not impressing anyone.

Speed.

The faster you get from zero to real, usable income, the faster you can quit your nine-to-five job and become location independent. In my opinion, your first serious milestone should be roughly $7,000 per month in net income, or about $85,000 per year pre-tax. That level of income gives you real flexibility and real options.

The fastest way to get there is by keeping your business simple.

Very simple.

Complexity Is the Enemy of Your First Business

Starting your first business is hard. Starting your second, third, or fourth business is much easier because you already understand sales, clients, pricing, delivery, and psychology.

That’s why the rule for your first business is simple:
Reduce variables. Reduce friction. Reduce unknowns.

Starting a business in a foreign country does the opposite.

When you try to start your first business in another country, you immediately add:

• Cultural differences
• Different business norms
• Different expectations
• Often, a language barrier
• Legal and banking complications

Even if you speak the language, culture still matters. Colombian culture is not American culture. Vietnamese business norms are not British business norms. Dubai is not Europe or the U.S.

Each one of these factors increases friction. Friction slows you down. And slowdown is exactly what you cannot afford in your first business.

If you currently live in a Western country, even one that is clearly in decline, that is still the best place to start your first business.

Why?

Because you already understand:

• how people communicate,
• how businesses think,
• how sales conversations work,
• what expectations sound like.

That familiarity is incredibly valuable when you’re new.

So, if you live in:

• the United States, start by serving U.S. companies,
• the UK, start by serving UK companies,
• Australia, Canada, Western Europe, same idea.

There are a few rare exceptions, such as Americans doing business in Canada, where the cultures are very similar. But outside of that, you generally want to avoid cross-border complexity in your first business.

A Crucial Caveat: Do Not Work Locally

There is one important adjustment to this rule.

You should not start a business serving companies in your own city.

Why? Because the entire point of what we teach at Unchained CEO is location-independent income. If your clients are down the street, you will feel constant pressure to “just stop by,” have in-person meetings, and slowly drift back into location dependence.

Instead, here is the better approach:

Start your business in your current country, but serve clients in a distant city.

For example:

• If you live in Denver, serve clients in Miami.
• If you live in Manchester, serve clients in London.
• If you live in Sydney, serve clients in Perth.

This forces you to build systems that work remotely from day one. You stay mentally and operationally location independent, even before you physically move.

When International Makes Sense

International business absolutely makes sense later.

Once you are already making several thousand dollars a month, once you have quit your job, once you understand sales and delivery, then you can add complexity.

Your second, third, or fourth business can be:

• international,
• more complicated,
• more ambitious,
• even passion-driven if you want.

At that point, you know what you’re doing. You can afford mistakes. You can absorb delays.

But your first business is not the place for experimentation.

For your first business, your job is not to be clever.
Your job is not to be global.
Your job is not to be impressive.

Your job is to win quickly.

Start simple. Start where you already understand the rules of the game. Build income fast. Get free from your job. Then, once you’re mobile and financially stable, you can take those international risks from a position of strength instead of desperation.

That’s how this actually works in the real world.

Bottom of FormAI did NOT write this article. The article comes 100% from me and is 100% my content. However, AI was used to transcribe this content from some of my other social media which is why the voice is a little different. It’s still 100% my content and not written by AI. AI will never “write” my content!  Remember that you can always go to calebjonesblog.com and subscribe to my Substack if you want articles physically written by me with no AI involvement whatsoever.

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