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I have been reading this forum since, oh let's see, I believe 1998.

Please excuse me for not being a regular contributor to this forum.

I'm just wondering what kind of business ideas and how much US dollars would be needed to start a business of some sort in the Philippines
for an American citizen married to a Filipina.

I would like to ask about non-retiree opportunities.

I've read of some guys starting beach resorts (Ron Perry's Farmtours
Virgin Beach Resort comes to mind), and karoke bars and what not.

Please forgive me if I've missed something in the archive. Also, the search function is not working at this time of my post.

Thank you all and have a great day!

Yes, I know a traditional agency is illegal - but how about in partnership with a US based company who posts the ads? With worldwide servers, paypal accounts, snail mail forwarders, ATM cards working worldwide, etc. who knows where an operation is based. Or maybe a publication listing Foreign men interested in marrying Filipinas?

http://www.apmforum.com/columns/orientseas.htm

I thought of a floating Jollibee where I would put the whole store on a barge and tow it around the islands. Just pull into a different coastal town or barangay every other day or so and that way many more Filipinos would have the opportunity to clog their arteries with junk food without making a long trip to the nearest major city. If business was really bad, you could always tow it over to Hong Kong and set up shop there. Then I thought of what would happen when the first typhoon blew through so I gave up the idea. If you think you can make it work, I’ll take 10% of the profits for the initial idea :-)

Seriously, you better do some real major homework before you do to much planning. Foreign ownership of a business can be severely restricted and may require millions of dollars in paid-up investment from the start. Read up on Philippine foreign investment laws and the Foreign Investment Negative List. You can’t own property and practically speaking, a business would probably have to be in your Filipina wife’s name so if you ever piss her off, you could kiss it goodbye :-)

Ray

I think OutWest touched on the key- base the enterprise on foreign customers that the locals could not access without you. And avoid physical plant/inventory that can be coveted.

Business is cutthroat everywhere. Contracts and non-competes are junk if you don't have the juice to back them up. Payola is simpler. (Which is why the RP has learned to keep the foreign devils out- they just bribe their way into raping the place.)

On the other hand, a good businessman can make money anywhere. If you are not a good business man- and few have that fire in the belly- the learning curve is steep and expensive. And if you are relying on it to survive, you are pathetically vulnerable.

There are two basic strategies: copycat and boldly-go-where-no-man-has-gone-before. THERE IS NO FORMULA.

That's what I think. :)

On the "kiss it goodbye" comment. I knew some retired military guys who owned businesses in the Philippines; bars, restaurants, beach resort, etc. They all had to register the business in their Filipina wife's name because of business laws regarding foreign nationals in effect at the time.

I knew one guy who lost it all because his wife caught him screwing around on her. She simply sold the business and left for the province. There wasn't anything that he could do because she had the law on her side.

That's a big risk that all of those guys had to take, on top of the usual obstacles to starting and running a successful business. But I guess it's a lot better than getting "Bobbitized"... :-)

Ray

    I would be pretty careful doing any business there- if you are the foreigner, YOU are the target, believe me. Internet cafes are a dog eat dog business in RP and not very many make money- I know several owners in Mindanao who can attest to that. Businesses in many catagories operate there on profit margins that would not be considered a living by western standards. Remember, the entire Philippine economy for  80 million people is about the size of the economy of the state of Washington. Go slow, I know of many more stories of regret in this regard than stories of success (do know of a few successes too) I suppose if you could opperate a business managing money stolen by government official there, you could make a killing. Remember, in the Philippines, when it comes to
money or power, corruption is king at every level of society.
It can be a good place to live or retire( I likely will move back there and retire) but otherwise be careful!!!!!!!!!!!

My $.02 worth...

Nathan

 If you want to move there and retire, that's each individual's business....but even that doesn't look very attractive to me once you think about it.   Being far far richer than everybody around you can put you at too much risk for me to feel very secure.   I think it's better just to take long visits.

         SteveG

Anyway, I like it here, but I don't think I can earn a living here.

Don

- Jeff

   Well, you know what I am talking about...Make your money in the USA, spending some of it in the RP is fine.
As you point out, many businesses there operate at margins that most of us could not live on very well.
   

Nathan

Good day to all!