Location: Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana

Capital: Caracas

Population: 25,017,387 (July 2004 est.)

Language: About 40 languages are spoken in Venezuela. However, Spanish, the country's official language, is the most common.

Lifestyle & Aspirations
Baseball, rather than soccer, is the national pastime and is played everywhere. Soccer is also gaining popularity, due to the increasing performance of the Venezuela national football team.
Other popular sports include canyoning, horse riding on the high Paramo grasslands, paragliding and hiking. In the north, people go to the beach at weekends. In the south, there are various rainforest resorts and hiking centers where people will go camping or stay in jungle lodges.
Although North American music is popular and widespread in Venezuela, the Caribbean salsa and merengue forms are also commonly heard. The national Venezuelan folk dance and musical style is the Joropo. Dancing is a popular evening activity and it's common for Venezuelans, in cities especially, to stay up very late.
Family is very important in Venezuela and even in the big cities, individuals will join large family gatherings at weekends, for dinner, occasional meals out, picnics in local parks or simply in a cafe. Caracas has a lively cultural scene, with opera, pop and classical concerts, museums and art galleries, theatre and clubs. Venezuelan women in particular are keen consumers and spend a lot of time shopping, but in the countryside, life is obviously more simple and moves at a slower pace.
Venezuela has several occasions during the year involving great festivity: carnival, just before Lent, when there are parades and a great deal of partying; Holy Week, which is a more sombre occasion; and the period leading up to Christmas and between Christmas and New Year, when most businesses close and everybody heads for the beach.

The Essentials (10 Key Tips)
1. Whether you agree or not with the extreme socialist policies of President Chavez, be careful what you say; he has a lot of supporters and there is considerable anti-US sentiment.
2. Venezuelans admire a strong leader and often accord respect to people who are rich, or highly educated, or both.
3. Networking is crucial to get along in business to take every opportunity that comes your way.
4. Business entertaining is seen as an important part of the relationship-building and negotiating process.
5. Venezuelans take it upon themselves personally to look after a visiting business guest, which means entertaining them after work and possibly at weekends too.
6. Venezuelans are risk-averse and need to have trust in an individual before doing business with a company.
7. Face-to-face meetings are always better than telephone conversations or emails and a presence in the country is important.
8. Always show deference to the hierarchy, which is strict. Those at the top are normally fairly 'upper class' and expect to be treated as such.
9. Venezuelans are usually calm and measured but can erupt suddenly if something insults them.
10. Be aware of the importance of holidays like Holy Week, Carnival and Christmas, when no business gets done and most people go to visit relatives or to the beach.

Working with the Venezuelans
Venezuelans are friendly and hospitable and have a desire to please. Generally, the focus is long-term, but many Venezuelans have an entrepreneurial streak. The gulf between rich and poor is enormous and the middle classes tend to hold the ruling elite in high esteem.
Venezuelans work well in teams and are generally supportive of one another. Positive feedback is welcome; negative feedback may be taken as a direct, personal criticism rather than something constructive.
Business is highly personal in Venezuela and anybody hoping to work here should network as much as possible, via trade associations, social events and by using an enchufado, a local intermediary who can make introductions. Venezuelans like to work with people they know; despite their enjoyment of making money, they are generally risk-averse. To this end, face-to-face meetings and a strong physical presence in the country are important. Having a local representative is not enough; you should visit often to renew personal contacts.

Making a Good Impression
First, despite this being an extreme left-wing country, money talks and you should dress smartly with discrete but tasteful jewellery and accessories. If you appear well dressed, you will be perceived as successful.
Aim to be open and friendly with your Venezuelan counterparts and to give them straight answers to their questions. Be on time for meetings, respect the hierarchy and always appear polite and calm.
Learning Spanish is tremendously helpful as business will almost always be conducted in Spanish. Even if you still need an interpreter, a few words and phrases will please your Venezuelan counterparts.

Business entertaining is important and you should always invite someone for lunch if you have a morning meeting, and for dinner to further cement the relationship. Always offer coffee to visitors at meetings and make time for them. Demonstrate your commitment to Venezuela with a physical presence in the country, not just a local agent.
You will probably need to set generous deadlines for projects and keep a close eye on them, but you should never appear impatient or aggressive in your desire to get things done. Accept the fact that business moves at a different pace in South America than in the USA or much of Northern Europe.

Business Etiquette
Business Cards
Everybody carries a business card so bring plenty and present one as soon as you are introduced to someone. A lot of emphasis is placed on titles so make sure your card states your full job title. Less is not more in this case. It's not necessary to have your card translated into Spanish unless you have a particularly complex job title.
Business cards of others should be treated with care and respect. Read someone's card before filing it carefully in a card holder, not stuffing it in your pocket.

Body Language
Venezuelans are very expressive and are animated in their conversations. They stand closer than North Americans are accustomed to and sometimes grab the arm of the person they are addressing to make a point. Do not back away when someone talks at close range and maintain eye contact to show your attentiveness.

Communication Style
Communication is more direct than in some Latin American cultures and a Venezuelan will say no and mean no, albeit in a way that will not cause offence. It is considered rude to express very strong or personal opinions with people you do not know well. Language tends to be flowery and elaborate and a Venezuelan will typically take a long time to get to the point.

Gift Giving
Exchange of small business gifts is perfectly acceptable and expected and will not be interpreted as a bribe. Something tasteful with a discreet logo, or a good bottle of wine or spirits is appropriate. Anything larger may be misconstrued, so be careful and always respect your company's policies, the laws of your country and the laws of Venezuela regarding bribery.

Business Meeting Culture
Planning a Meeting
Make appointments and arrangements for meetings a couple of weeks in advance and reconfirm them a few days before by email and telephone. Try not to have meetings planned for Friday afternoons as people may be heading for the coast for the weekend and will be either distracted or simply won't turn up. Also avoid the days before a national holiday, when the same may apply.

During a Meeting
The point of a meeting is for discussion and the exchange of ideas. If your Spanish is not very good, it's important to bring an interpreter as Venezuelans tend all to talk at once and you may lose the thread of the conversation.
Expect people to turn up on time and if you are attending a meeting but not hosting it, you, too, should be on time and even early.
Offer coffee and biscuits as refreshment when people arrive. You can draw up an agenda but it may not be stuck to and discussions may be circular rather than working through a list of topics.

After a Meeting
Follow up in writing, reiterating points that were discussed and any action plan. If you are hosting a meeting, it is advisable to invite your counterparts out for lunch or dinner afterwards - and if you're being hosted, accept any invitations they offer to you.

Motivating Others
Venezuelans are highly motivated by money and power, and are inspired by strong, charismatic leaders. They are materialistic and appreciate expensive things and designer clothes. The gulf between rich and poor is very pronounced, however, and what might motivate a factory worker is quite different from what would inspire a middle manager.
Employees are legally entitled to up 15 days' annual leave per year of uninterrupted service. Extra days can be accrued by long term service to a company. All employees receive an annual bonus, although pension plans are rare, and employers tend to use this bonus as a motivator, by paying more than the legal minimum. Other perks, like company cars, are less common.
Job security is important. So is an easy life with a strong support network, a good leader and friendly colleagues. Venezuelans have a desire to please and succeed, but are not known for being especially ambitious. Work life balance is more important for those who can afford to enjoy their leisure time.
A lot of young Venezuelans are also motivated by the idea of working for a foreign company; the prestige, training and benefits are perceived as being greater.

Effective Presentations
Presentations should be clear and without a "heavy sell" or exaggeration. Use visual as well as verbal communication. Do not be afraid to display a passion for a product or an idea. Venezuelans are emotional people and will respond to this. It is also acceptable to talk about possible downfalls in a project - better, in fact, than making it appear too positive.
Remember that you are being judged as an individual, not just a representative of your company. Dress smartly and make sure any handouts and visual aids are professional-looking and pleasing to the eye. Be fully prepared and practice your speech so that you come across as articulate and fluent.
Maintain eye contact with the audience and appear friendly but professional. If there is someone in the room who is obviously senior, make more eye contact with them than with the other attendees.

If at all possible, make your speech in Spanish, even if you use an interpreter for the Q&A session at the end.

Audience expectations
Venezuelans can easily become distracted and a speaker will have to be extremely charismatic to hold the attention of an audience for a long time. In smaller, more informal presentations, the audience expects to be allowed to interrupt and ask questions, and will often go off at a tangent as new ideas are explored.

Managing Relationships
Most foreign investors enjoy excellent relationships with their Venezuelan business partners. A good, personal friendship is essential to do business and Venezuelans will work with an individual rather than a company. Frequent visits are important, to both customers and suppliers. Relationships with suppliers need to be monitored carefully to ensure that deadlines are met and targets achieved; time is perceived in a different way here and Venezuelans tend to have a long-term outlook. They also tend to leave things to the last minute and then complete a project in a rush.
Feedback tends to be given on a fairly informal basis and needs to be delivered with care. Positive feedback is always well received but negative remarks can be taken personally. Venezuelans are more direct communicators than other Latin cultures and will say what they mean.
Venezuelans are highly motivated by money, in a country which is fairly black-and-white as far as wealth is concerned. Despite the social reforms that are going on, a lot of people are trapped in a life of poverty, with little hope of breaking the cycle. Job security is also important to Venezuelans.