MLP – Preview
Table of Contents & Sample Extract from the Book
Here is the Table of Contents listing the chapters along with an extract from the book.
Making A Living In The Philippines
INTRODUCTION PART 1 THE MARKETPLACE So You Want To Run Your Own Business? How Much Do You Want To Lose?
Location! Location! Location!
Who Is Your Customer?
Competition-Filipino Style
PART 2 INVESTING Notes On Part 2 Investing In The Filipino Economy
What Kind Of An Investor Are You?
Baboys And Manoks!
Hollow Blocks And Nipa Palms
Stock Market Surprise
Risky Business
PART 3 MINDING YOUR OWN BUSINESS Business Models Under The Radar
Product or Service Oriented?
A Pig In A Poke!
Franchise Anyone?
Staff! Number One Pain In The Asset!
PART 4 THE RULES Who, How And What If? Bringing Your Money In And Getting It Out Again!
How Can They Close My Business?
Getting Out Of Dodge!
PART 5 WORKING FOR A LIVING The Filipino Workplace What Can You Do?
Expat Fat Cat!
Making It Here, Spending It There
PART 6 WHAT DO I THINK? Five Possible Winners For Under Fifty Grand! Who Is Actually Making Money Here?
The Bottom Line
About The Author
ANNEXES & EXTRA INFO Annex 1 5th Foreign Investment Negative List A FIFTH REGULAR FOREIGN INVESTMENT NEGATIVE LIST
[Executive Order No. 139 dated October 22, 2002]
Annex 2 5th Foreign Investment Negative List B
FIFTH REGULAR FOREIGN INVESTMENT NEGATIVE LIST [Executive Order No. 139 dated October 22, 2002]
ANNEX 3 GENERAL REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS
ANNEX 4 REGISTRATION FEES TO START A BUSINESS
Handy Links To Lots Of Information
Business Plan Guide
So You Want To Run Your Own Business?
Before even thinking about starting a business in the Philippines, ask yourself a few pertinent questions. Do a little soul searching if you will. Remember, many of us dream of being an entrepreneur but few even start and fewer still succeed. My all time number one question is this:
IF YOU COULDN’T RUN A BUSINESS BACK HOME, WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN ONE IN THE PHILIPPINES?
Firstly, let’s look a those who tried and failed back home, be that the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, wherever. Anywhere but the Philippines. What kind of business was it and why did it fail? What were the real reasons? Be honest, brutally honest because you are only fooling yourself if you don’t confront the truth.
Starting any business at any level of investment requires money, amongst other things. Why waste money if you don’t have to? Why not put it in the bank and live off the interest, or some other probably more lucrative form of investment? At the very least you should always have your original deposit still safely tucked away. Which reminds me of something my beautiful Filipina Asawa (wife or spouse) once said:
ASAWA’s TIP No:1
“You can only spend your kwarta (money) once my love!”
Money, like time, is a finite resource. Even Bill Gates only has so much of it to spend and once spent, it’s gone. Maybe not gone for good because he would either not spend it all at once or it would be spent to generate more money. But if you were Bill Gates or even on his Christmas Card list you wouldn’t be reading this, would you?
If your previous business attempts failed then learn from them, analyze them and benefit from the loss. I lost seven grand investing in a bar and resort on a beautiful tropical island, if I shrugged my shoulders or had a good cry then that was a waste of a lot of money. If I choose to analyze why, what, how, who, where, and when it was lost then I have managed to turn the loss of the cash into something hopefully more valuable; experience.
Even the most successful entrepreneurs have usually had more stinkers than sweet smelling success stories. They manage to learn from their mistakes and apply their new found and hard earned knowledge to the next deal. Eventually they either find the magic formula or they get over their fear of heights in one swift step.
Running a business in the Philippines is no different in many ways to running a business anywhere else; at least as far as basic business procedures may be concerned. There are numerous little traps for the unwary and the uninitiated but the rule of thumb is this:
IF YOU COULDN’T RUN OUT OF SIGHT ON A DARK NIGHT IN SHINBONE ARKANSAS, IT AIN’T NO DIFFERENT IN DOWNTOWN DANAO!
In other words, if you couldn’t run a business at home, where you know the culture, the law and the market, how can you think you can run a business in the Philippines? Which is bringing us to my first tip:
GET A BUSINESS EDUCATION BEFORE YOU LEAVE HOME!
By business education I don’t mean a Harvard MBA. Buy some books and do some reading. Start with basic business concepts, some easy to understand bookkeeping and a good primer on sales and marketing. There are hundreds of books available for sale, on the internet or at your local library. If you are several months or even a few years away from the big move, then make the most of the waiting and give yourself an education. If you are already on your way or actually living in the Philippines, then you have plenty of time to read up. Your money won’t run away if you tell it to sit, stay and roll over like a good puppy in some decent obedience school such as a term deposit.
