“YeHey” Ph.

Making money in the Philippines is an interesting subject because there is no typical way of doing it for a foreigner. Most foreigners have a retirement / pension that may, or may not furnish the income that is needed to have a comfortable life in the Philippines, I for one do not have this as I am to young to be receiving social security, and did not spend the required 20 years in the military to receive a pension. So I am left with figuring out a way to generate the necessary income to live in the Philippines.

 

As I see it, I have several options:

 

1.      I can open a business in the Philippines:

 

·        Disadvantage: Typically it takes quite a lot of up-front money to open a business, and you can never own 100% of the business in your name.

 

·        Advantages: You can generate income, if you find the right services / product to sell; you can own property through the business name.

 

2.      I can start an on-line business:

 

·        Disadvantages: It takes quite a long time to get an online presence established, the internet service in the Philippines is not reliable, and down time can cost a lot of money in lost sales. You must find a nitch area of the market to make a good profit.

 

·        Advantages: Once you get established, you can set your own working hours, the labor rate for staff is very cheep, and the products you  sell can be bought locally at a very reasonable price making the resale more profitable.

           

3.  I can purchase property, and rent the property for an income:

 

·        Disadvantage: The property in the Philippines can be very expensive, and for the most part foreigners can’t own the land a house is sitting on, so only condominiums / townhouses are available for this.

 

·        Advantages: You can make a very nice profit, with low maintenance fees if you rent to foreigners that are willing to pay higher prices for western style living accommodations.

 

4.  Taxi or transport business:

 

·        Disadvantage: Startup cost can be high, and competition for the jeepnee / tricycle routs can be vicious, you will need to pay for the rout, and you cant deviate from it, except for in the cases of a taxi, but you will need a dependable driver that wont tear up the vehicles

 

·        Advantages: In my humble opinion there is none.

  

I have listed only a few of the most popular ideals that I have heard about, I have tried only one so far, purchasing property for rentals. I am also looking at e-commerce, you know an on line store.

 

Well if any of you know of a possible method of making a living in the Philippines that is not listed above, lets talk.