From Gold Panning to Relocation Expert: 14 Years of Business Lessons in Panama

Austin Hess arrived in Panama with literally five days' notice, following a friend's adventure to pan for gold in rivers. Plot twist? He discovered within weeks that keeping gold is illegal in Panama - everything in the ground belongs to the country. But instead of heading home disappointed, he found something infinitely more valuable: a life he never imagined possible. Fast forward 14 years, and Austin has helped over 200 families successfully relocate, retire, or invest in Panama through his licensed and bonded company, DoPanama (PJ-1430-2023). His journey from broke expat living in a maid's quarters to successful business owner and father offers a masterclass in turning setbacks into opportunities. The kicker? After traveling to Italy and Peru, he still rushes home to Panama. 'I love this country so much. I'm so glad that I live here, that I get to raise my child here,' Austin shares. That authentic enthusiasm - not marketing speak - is what separates successful Panama expats from those who flame out.

Here's the reality check most relocation consultants won't give you: Panama has 33,000 attorneys, and as Austin bluntly states, 'I'm not saying all of them are bad, but maybe not all of them have the American standards that everyone's used to.' This is precisely why DoPanama exists - to bridge the gap between expat expectations and local realities. Austin's partnership with attorney Nalini Navarro Guardia, one of Panama's top legal minds who works with major developers, ensures clients get ethical representation with excellent English communication. The business model is elegantly simple: DoPanama doesn't charge consulting fees to clients. Instead, they earn commissions through real estate transactions while acting as a protective buffer between expats and potential pitfalls. Austin describes his role as 'selling protection' - ensuring clients work with vetted realtors, attorneys, pet relocation specialists, builders, and contractors. The accountability factor is crucial. As he explains, 'Someone has to hold people accountable, whether it's a trainer, a coach - I just assist and make sure people are doing their job correctly.' This matters because horror stories flood Panama Facebook groups about contractors who disappear, attorneys who drag out processes, and realtors who make impossible ROI promises.

Before becoming a relocation specialist, Austin made his mark on Panama's culinary landscape with two distinctive restaurants. Boulder 54 in Boquete offered mountain dining, while his Taboga Island concept was pure experimentation: guests took a sunset sparkling wine cruise to the island, enjoyed a six-course dinner with live music, and returned the same night. These ventures taught him invaluable business lessons - and gave him an unexpected hot take. After visiting Italy, Austin claims, 'Don't tell the Italians, but the Italian food in Panama is better.' His theory? The Italians who emigrated to Panama are risk-takers - 'outside the box' entrepreneurs who try harder, import quality ingredients from Italy, and aren't bound by tradition. Whether you agree or not, it illustrates a crucial Panama business principle: the expat community here consists of people who chose adventure over comfort. They're your potential clients, partners, and customers. Austin eventually sold his restaurant interests, discovering that while creating dining experiences was fulfilling, nothing matched the 'high' of helping families successfully relocate. The pandemic accelerated this transition - when advertising revenue collapsed, Austin faced what retirement might feel like and realized he needed to change his financial model. That crisis became the catalyst for DoPanama's explosive growth.

Austin gets visibly frustrated discussing the misleading ROI promises saturating Panama real estate marketing. 'A lot of people promise returns that are not attainable,' he states flatly. The reality depends entirely on location, property type, management, and target clientele. A Coronado beach condo might generate one-third to half the rental income of a Costa del Este property, but which makes you happier? Austin's philosophy: 'The most important ROI in life is life itself. What's going to make you the happiest?' He references advice from a financial planner: make decisions based on whether you can sleep at night. If you need the income, prioritize returns. If you don't, optimize for lifestyle. The Panama City rental market operates on a different plane than beach communities. Costa del Este benefits from medical tourism and multinational executives - steady, professional renters. Casco Viejo attracts cultural tourists. Obarrio offers urban convenience. Meanwhile, Boquete is experiencing a rental crisis - it's 'almost impossible to find a rental right now,' according to Austin, which is why four to five major development projects are simultaneously under construction. Developers from Panama City have descended on the mountain town, creating both opportunity and growing pains. Austin's team uses a detailed client survey to match people with realistic opportunities. When one client insisted on a particular building, Austin pulled up Google Maps and explained why the marketing was misleading. 'That doesn't look anything like the marketing,' the client admitted. This is consulting versus selling - sometimes the best service is talking someone out of a bad decision.

Austin doesn't mince words about misleading Panama content flooding YouTube: 'There are people that say you can come live in Panama and retire for $1,000 a month. Yeah, where?' The technical answer is yes - you could survive on $1,000 monthly in rural interior Panama, living in a small space with breeze block windows, no air conditioning, and minimal amenities. But that's not the lifestyle most expats envision when they dream of Panama retirement. According to Numbeo, a single person's estimated monthly costs in Panama City are approximately $2,800-3,200 USD (excluding rent), while a couple might budget $4,000-5,000 USD for comfortable living with modern conveniences. These figures align with International Living's 2024 cost of living estimates for expats seeking a Western-style lifestyle. Austin's commitment to authenticity has become his brand differentiator. 'Probably 90% of the compliments I get, people say I love your videos but I always hear you're so authentic.' This authenticity extends to his team's work ethic - when he messages his designer Isaac on Sunday at 6 PM about a Monday deadline, Isaac completes it immediately. Not because he's exploited, but because Austin takes care of his team with bonuses and appreciation when the company succeeds. 'Take care of your team, they'll take care of your business,' he emphasizes. Starting a business in Panama requires getting a corporation and work permit - relatively straightforward processes with proper legal guidance. But success requires something deeper: understanding that 'mañana' doesn't mean tomorrow, it means 'not today.' Adjust expectations, hire passionately, and focus on authentic service.

One of Austin's favorite analogies addresses the vague 'I'm looking for a house in Panama' inquiries flooding Facebook groups: 'Which flavor of ice cream would you like? Do you like chocolate or do you want Oreo? Do you want vanilla?' For such a small country - roughly the size of South Carolina - Panama offers remarkable lifestyle diversity. Panama City delivers cosmopolitan energy, world-class dining, and modern infrastructure. Casco Viejo offers colonial charm and cultural immersion. Costa del Este provides luxury high-rises and medical facilities. Coronado Beach attracts golf enthusiasts and families. Boquete offers eternal spring weather and coffee culture. El Valle provides mountain serenity. Bocas del Toro serves Caribbean vibes and beach life. Santa Catalina beckons surfers. This geographic diversity means different areas suit vastly different personalities and retirement visions. A social butterfly craving restaurants and culture will suffocate in rural Chiriquí. A nature lover seeking tranquility will feel overwhelmed by Panama City traffic. Austin's consultation process involves extensive surveys to match clients with locations that fit their actual lifestyle preferences - not just where they saw pretty photos. The DoPanama network includes vetted realtors in every major region because what works in Boquete differs dramatically from Panama City transactions. Austin also emphasizes Plan B investors - people not ready to move but wanting residency options 'in case it hits the fan' in their home country. They purchase investment property generating income while securing permanent residency visas. It's insurance with upside - and increasingly popular as global uncertainty grows.

For years, Austin published both a newspaper and magazine focused on Panama tourism - work that forced him to visit 'every cool place in the country every single month.' He jokes about the 'rough life' of eating amazing food and staying in beautiful hotels, but this extensive travel created unparalleled location knowledge. More importantly, his social nature led to conversations with expats at every stage of their Panama journey. 'They were loving life, but they were like, oh, but this happened to me or this happened to me,' Austin recalls. He recognized a crucial gap: someone needed to serve as a protective liaison between vulnerable newcomers and the local service ecosystem. The pandemic crystallized this transition. When advertising revenue evaporated, Austin faced an uncomfortable preview of retirement without sustainable passive income. That's when relocation consulting evolved from side project to primary business. He recently retired from the magazine entirely - possibly selling it - because 'even with caffeine-infused ADHD, there's a limit.' The focus now centers entirely on DoPanama's YouTube channel, client consultations, and ensuring successful relocations. This publishing background provided unexpected advantages: strong relationships with developers, intimate knowledge of every region, and understanding of how to communicate complex information clearly. It also taught him about authentic content creation - the very thing that makes his YouTube channel successful and builds trust before clients ever reach out.

Austin casually drops a crucial warning for anyone considering business in Panama: speak carefully about competitors and service providers. 'In Panama, if you talk badly about people, you can get in trouble. And it's not cheap either. I think it's like $50,000.' While he qualifies this - 'talk to an attorney, I don't know everything, but I know everybody that knows everything' - it highlights important cultural and legal differences. Panama's defamation laws are stricter than many expats expect, particularly those from the United States where free speech protections are broader. This creates a business environment where reputation management takes on elevated importance. Rather than publicly trashing poor service providers, Austin's approach focuses on steering clients toward verified professionals. He'll tell a client privately why to avoid a specific building or realtor, but public criticism requires careful consideration. This legal reality also explains why DoPanama's value proposition resonates so strongly. In an environment where public reviews and complaints carry legal risk, word-of-mouth recommendations from a trusted consultant become exponentially more valuable. Austin's 14-year track record and extensive network provide the due diligence that expats can't easily conduct independently. For entrepreneurs considering Panama, this suggests a business culture that prioritizes relationships, discretion, and private networks over public callouts and online reviews. It's not better or worse than other systems - just different, requiring adaptation and local knowledge to navigate successfully.

Austin's mother instilled a principle that shapes his entire business model: 'Be a win-win for people. If you can win while you're creating a win for someone else, you're going to win forever.' This isn't just motivational poster wisdom - it's the structural foundation of DoPanama's model. Clients pay nothing for Austin's consulting services. He invests hours understanding their needs, researching properties, connecting them with vetted professionals, and holding those providers accountable throughout the process. DoPanama earns commissions when real estate transactions close, aligning incentives perfectly. If the client doesn't win (finding the right property, getting proper legal support, successfully relocating), DoPanama doesn't get paid. This structure explains why Austin will talk clients out of bad decisions - like the building he pulled up on Google Maps to show misleading marketing. Short-term, killing that deal costs money. Long-term, that honesty builds trust that generates referrals and repeat business. The win-win philosophy extends to his team and affiliate network. In-house agents receive support, resources, and bonuses when the company thrives. Affiliate realtors across Panama know DoPanama sends serious, pre-qualified buyers - not tire kickers - making those relationships mutually beneficial. Even his designer working Sunday evenings does so voluntarily because the culture emphasizes shared success. For expats considering business ventures in Panama, this philosophy offers a template: find models where your success depends on client success, invest in team welfare, and prioritize long-term reputation over short-term transactions. In a small expat community where 'your name gets whispered in back rooms of social media,' ethical operations aren't just moral - they're strategic survival.

Beneath the business success and relocation expertise lies Austin's deepest motivation: creating a beautiful life for his son in Panama. After traveling to Italy - marveling at the art, though diplomatically critiquing the food - and Peru, he experienced the profound relief of returning home. 'The right when I got home, I was like, oh my gosh, I'm so happy to be home. I love Panama.' This isn't marketing. It's a father who found gold after all - just not in rivers. His son learns geography through time travel jokes on flights. They explore Bocas, Boquete, El Valle, and Santa Catalina. They build a life in a country where Austin arrived broke, sleeping in a maid's quarters, knowing nothing about the culture or language. That transformation - from aimless gold panner to successful entrepreneur and devoted father - embodies the Panama promise that Austin now helps others achieve. When discussing real estate ROI with clients, Austin always circles back to his core belief: 'The most important ROI in life is life itself. What's going to make you the happiest?' This question cuts through spreadsheets and cap rate calculations to address what retirement and relocation are actually about - designing a life worth living. Maybe that's lower rental returns in Coronado but daily beach walks. Maybe it's higher yields in Costa del Este but urban convenience. The numbers matter, but they're tools for achieving life goals, not the goals themselves. For anyone considering Panama - whether for retirement, investment, or adventure - Austin's journey offers permission to leap without perfect plans. He had five days' notice and a failed gold mining scheme. Fourteen years later, he's helping hundreds of families while raising his son in a country he genuinely loves. That's the real story behind DoPanama: proof that Panama's greatest treasure isn't in the ground - it's the life you can build above it.