Good afternoon, everybody, we are going to have a conversation about

underemployment, business, and finance.

Hey! Alexandra? Oh! my friend! I thought I would never see you again since
you traveled to Singapore I haven’t heard from you. It´s good to see you
again. How is it going?
Hey! Hello Negro, yes, I am back. I have been here for 3 weeks. I stay at my
parents’ house for a while. And, what about you? What are you doing here
in Miraflores, you are so far away from Carabayllo.
Oh! Yes, my friend. I am working in a Call Center around here. As you know,
I’ve put myself through college and learned Portuguese, but even so, I
couldn’t find a job where I could develop my skills, which is what I’ve always
wanted. My father warned me not to study Portuguese, he recommended
studying Chinese, it is such a sophisticated language, but I might have gotten
a good job with it.
And what about you? What do you do?
Well, I am working in a low-paid job at a Mall. I work as an assistant. I am
not happy at all. My boss is such a jerk, he stares at me all day long, and
wearing a skirt and a blouse with a plunging neckline is mandatory. Such rule
had to be established by a man! I assure you it was! Fortunately, they told
me that, this month they would either send me to another area or give me a
raise.
Well, that last one sounds good, what about your fiancé, did he stay in
Singapore?
Oh please, don’t talk about him, he was such a swine, he just wanted what
all men want, and then he got rid of me. And it seems that he had done it
many times before he did it to me because he accused me of cheating so he
hadn’t had to pay alimony or any compensation. I even had to pay for my
return ticket.
Well, it seems that now you need to find a man whose bank account has a
large number. Although there is another option. Neither earning minimum
wage nor depending on someone is pleasant. Then you can either continue
relying on a man or work your way up on your own.
Listen, I got this flash of inspiration a few days ago, I think we can work on it
together. It's about providing a service. Look, it is hard to get by with the
minimum wage, I know. In my case I’ve saved up money, I have 10 thousand
soles, and I’ve figured out a way to invest it, look with you as my guarantee,
we can take out a loan of 10 thousand more, and with that, we can open a
small company, which would help people and companies that want to
recycle old technology equipment, such as the metals used in things like
cellphones, believe it or not, they can worth a lot of money, and we can use
my house as our office space. It’ll be perfect. It’s such a good idea. Look I am
aware that you don't know anything about running a business, don't worry
about it. I just want you to be by my side, to stare at your breathtaking face
all day long, just as your current boss does. So, what do you say?
Hmm, sounds interesting. Better to have you staring at me all day long than
my current boss. And if you insist on paying for everything. I am in. Let me
tell you that I became interested in business while I was living in Singapore,
let me warn you though, that I am neither hardworking nor punctual.
Neither of us is a businessperson, but we can give it a try. Come on, so many
companies here in Lima were started by men who weren’t entrepreneurs at
first but they gave it a try and succeeded. It’ll be good, I promise. I have
some relatives who own companies, and we can persuade them to invest in
our company, and with my savings, we have enough to cover our operating
expenses. You’ll see, you will find this experience neither boring nor
regrettable.
So, do we have ourselves a deal?
Ok, we have a deal. Despite I don't want to get into debt, I’ll take out the
loan with you. If Satan wants, we’ll be able to pay it off in a few years.
Oh, my Satan! My break is over. I gotta go, now. I suggest having dinner
together tomorrow at 6 pm to talk more about it. Is it ok?
Yes, it’s ok. So, see you tomorrow at dusk, my friend.
Well, that was our presentation, thanks for paying attention.