Artificial Intelligence: Mexico edition

Every plan starts with the place. Read Mexico as your customer does before you choose a sector.

• A large market with strong regional differences. Start in one city and one niche.
• Many customers use bank transfers, cash-payment points and cards; a lot of buying is on messaging apps.
• Electronic invoices are part of daily trade: learn them in week one.
• Close to the northern trading partners: near-shoring creates demand for services, testing and training.

Activity. Write a one-page market page with sources and dates. Ask two local people to correct it.

Standard to meet. Cite a source and a date for every line, have two local readers confirm the facts, and name one risk with a response.

Artificial Intelligence sits in the cluster "Technology and digital services". Judge its fit for Mexico before spending money.

• Local angle: Strong fit: near-shoring means firms need IT support, testing, security and cloud services in Spanish.
• Score demand, skills you hold, start-up cost, rules and partner access from 1 to 5.
• A rules score below 3 makes this a later project.
• Not on the regulated list, but check any activity licence.

Activity. Write a fit table for Artificial Intelligence with scores and reasons. Ask one local reader to challenge two scores.

Standard to meet. Score five criteria with reasons, name one rule risk, and state the regulated status.

Rules differ by place. Check current rules with a licensed local adviser before you act for real.

• Register with the tax authority (a tax ID) before you invoice; choose sole trader or company.
• A simplified small-taxpayer regime may fit a first year; read the current limits.
• Issue electronic invoices as the tax rules require; learn the tool before the first customer.
• Some activities need extra licences (food, health, tourism, money); list yours before the first order.

Activity. Build a licence table for your chosen sector with issuer, cost, time and the date checked. Do not apply; this is a plan.

Standard to meet. Complete the table with a public source for every row, put the steps in a logical order, and write one question for an adviser.

Trust is the real product. Protect customer data and keep your promises in writing.

• The private-sector data law needs a privacy notice (check the current text): who you are, what you collect, why and how to correct it.
• Customers may ask to see, correct, remove or object to use of their data; set a reply time.
• Keep marketing consent records; offer a clear way to stop messages.
• Keep a list of every tool that stores customer data, including messaging apps.

Activity. Write the five-line notice and a data map for your plan. Ask a peer to find any gap.

Standard to meet. Write the notice in plain words, list every tool in the data map, and write and date the refund and complaint steps.

Go where your customers already are, in the language they use. Language: Spanish first; add English for tourism and trade customers.

• Channels: messaging apps, social media and marketplaces; local fairs and markets for a first test.
• Language: Spanish first, in plain words; add English only if customers ask.
• Payments: bank transfer, cards and cash-payment points; show prices with the sales tax clearly.
• Trust: tax ID, address, delivery days and a refund note on every page; consumer rules apply.

Activity. Test two channels with 20 people. Record results in a table and write the next change.

Standard to meet. Test has a start and end date; results are counted, not guessed; one change is chosen and justified.

Know your numbers in MXN. Tax rule in one line: Income tax plus a sales tax (IVA); a simple regime may fit small firms, and most sales need an electronic invoice.

• Write MXN next to every number.
• Contribution per unit = price minus the cost of each unit.
• Break-even units = fixed monthly cost divided by contribution per unit; round up.
• Add tax and duty explicitly; never bury them in a price.
• Check against a worse case: if sales are 25% lower, do you still cover costs?

Activity. Build your own sheet in MXN: price, unit cost, fixed cost, contribution, break-even and a 25% worse case. Put the tax and duty rules in a separate line with a source.

Standard to meet. Complete all six lines of the sheet in MXN, have a peer check the arithmetic, and show the worse case.

Plans become real through people. Hire, partner and write every promise down.

• Employers register staff for social security and pay the year-end bonus; budget both.
• Staff may share in profits; small and new firms can differ, so read the rule before you hire.
• Written contracts and signed copies for every helper, even part-time.
• Partner with a technical college or business chamber to find helpers and to practise.

Activity. Write one role card and one partner letter (what each side gives). Role-play a first meeting for 10 minutes.

Standard to meet. Write a role card with pay in local currency, hours and a review date, balance the partner letter, and keep signed copies of both.

Finish with a one-page launch plan and a plan to review it every month.

• Dates: first test, first order, first review.
• One measure per week: enquiries, orders or revenue; pick one.
• A monthly review: what we planned, what happened, what we change.
• Keep a risk list with a response for each; include a rules change.
• Local caution: A large country: start in one city, test one offer, then grow.

Activity. Write the launch page and present it to two people for 10 minutes. Record their questions and your answers.

Standard to meet. Plan has dates, one weekly measure, a go or no-go rule and a risk list; presenter answers three questions with evidence.