Popularity: 11% [?]

World Class Philippine Publicity — Free

On Fridays I try to present ideas and/or commentary on business in the Philippines and business ideas you might use wherever you live, in preparation for a move to the Philippines or just as a way to free yourself from the current US phobia about jobs.  If you have a job and you like it, great.  (you are in a very small population of people world-wide who like their jobs, but if you enjoy being paid about one third of what you are worth to your company, then great.  For the rest of you, the ones who hate their jobs, don’t get paid enough to support their families, or who have lost their jobs …, take heart.  There has never been a better time to strike out on your own, and yes, indeed you can.  Even though the US and now many other developed countries are throwing massive amounts of money down the rat hole of propping up ‘buggy whip’ or mismanaged businesses, instead of working to create business and wealth, take heart.  It doesn’t matter.  You can do it, and the only permission you need is your own.

In case you weren’t really sure if claims that the Internet are magic are true or just hype, take a look at this:

Calling all entrepreneurs – introducing PitchTV

When I was starting out, I wish I could have had the chance to pitch my business ideas directly to people who could help make my ambitions a reality. We can now make that happen for you, on this very blog…!

If you’re a budding entrepreneur, we’re giving you the unique opportunity of getting your ideas heard not only by the online community here but also by top business professionals from around the world watching the in-flight entertainment on board Virgin Atlantic planes.

All you have to do is film yourself delivering the very best pitch possible, but make sure it’s no longer than 2 minutes. Then simply upload your video pitch here.

For those who don’t have time to follow the link, this is a service free service form Richard Branson.  Yes, the entrepreneur who starts and builds airlines when no one else can, and who owns about 400 businesses around the world.  As i was writing this article, my feed reader sent me this link to friend Ellen’s website (Ellen, for those who don’t know her is a Filipino based in Davao who is a lot like many other Filipinos, except for one unique fact … she has never started a single sentence to me with the phrase “If Only”.  How refreshing.  Anyway, you might want to look at Ellen’s bog and her nascent efforts to start a profitable condominium project there in Davao.  In addition to a very informative web site for the project she has also started to use another free business tool like Sir Richard’s tool i started writing about here … YouTube.

YouTube a business tool?  You better believe it.  Got a business you want to start?  or maybe an idea you want to test to see if there are enough people interested in your idea?  Put together an “elevator pitch’ and upload it to YouTube and to Branson’s service too … be sure you include an easy way to let people contact you … like a US call in number via Skype (now the world’s single largest carrier of international calls, wow) or Skype’s competitors , promote the videos through free sources like blogs, Facebook, Multiply, etc. and see what interest there is.  

One ‘sign off’ thought.  This will help anyone with any sort of business idea.  before you even work on boring, but necessary things like business plans, market research and such … make an “elevator pitch” for your idea.  The term refers to a salesman making a pitch to a potential client during the two minutes or less they might spend together on an elevator.  Forget all the stuff about “our company is so wonderful” and “our staff is the most experienced” and the other unadulterated crappola that so many business briefings consist of and just state: Our Company Provides the answer to this business need, and by using our answer you will save/make more money because of a,, b., and c.

It’s surprising to me how many people, even those who have been in business for years can’t sum up the benefits of their product in one or two declarative sentences.   Do it for your company and you’ll be miles ahead of the pack.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Philippine Business Resources

I write a lot about doing business in the Philippines (or anywhere else you may happen to live) online.  The term “online” immediately turns a lot of people off.  They start thinking about some of those spammy/scammy “buy my route to success” courses or worse yet, the male enhancement or female enhancement products.  Yuk.

Yes, it’s true that technically those bottom feeder folks are working online too, but I focus on ‘real’ business ideas.  A lot of people also have this attitude that money online is not ‘real’.  I don’t actually comprehend where this thought comes from, but a belief doesn’t have to be based on facts in order for it to seem very real indeed to the person who holds it.  All I can say is, I finally finished my taxes today (online, of course) and I wish one of you out there who thinks that online money isn’t real would contact the US IRS and make a case for me … it seems real when you pay taxes on it

Just a couple days back I published an article on teaching conversational English (or any other language you might be competent in) on line.  One of the resources I mentioned was a service called Skype.  In fact I pointed you to a Skype case study of a high-end English “brick and mortar” school who was expanding (profitably I might add) their services out from their real-world building into the rest of the world using Skype as one of their primary tools.

There are other ways to use the Internet, with or without your computer) to use the Internet as a world-wide free, or very cheap, tool for business communication, but Skype is what I use and it has some tremendous advantages if you are starting from square one.  I just came across this article which confirms how big Skype really is in the “real world” now.  If you still live with ‘wire based” carriers, or if you are thinking of investing in any of them, think again.  Like “dead tree” newspapers, they are last century technology and Voice Over Internet protocol (VOIP) carriers are where it is at, for at least the first part of this century.  Doesn’t matter if your need is to chat with family members around the world or to make a business for yourself that will cause you to forget about that antiquated thing called a “job”, VOIP is where it is at and Skype is in the lead:

Skype Tops All in International Calls

By Ryan Singel March 24, 2009 | 12:29:40 PM

Skype is now the largest provider of international phone calls in the world.

That’s according to telecom research firm Telegeography, which estimates that Skype’s cross-border traffic shot up to 33 billion minutes in 2008, up more than 40% from the year before.

That includes about 25 million minutes of free "Skype-to-Skype" traffic that travels only through internet pipes and doesn’t even go over the traditional telephone network. A little over 8 billion minutes are paid "Skype Out" calls that go from a user’s computer to traditional telephones….

Now that you have communication needs in place, what else is available online that can help you run a business … or even make a business out of “thin air”?

Here’s one tool that a person could make money with right away, especially given the tight job situation in the US.  be and online assistant/virtual office staff person and be independent.  Work for a number of doctors, dentists, lawyers, service provider firms and drive their business profits higher, while they pay you only a fraction of what they would have to pay and in-office ‘real’ staff member:

This company, Lattiss, essential provides a basic business web site and online appointment and payment service for nay business.  It’s priced very low, a completely usable version is actually free.  The for pay versions are very little more, on the order of a buck or two per day per business you would serve.  Basically Lattiss’s business plan is to sell their service direct to business owners who need it … and what business doesn’t have a need for scheduling appointments, service calls, product demos, classes or even payments?

Their model is working fine, but you also can imagine a., they can’t catch the eye of every business in the world and b., many business owners aren’t going to sign up/set up an account with them.  That’s where you come in, my bussing entrepreneur friend, of any nationality, based anywhere.

You approach business (there are millions to chose from, maybe you focus on every business in your home town in the USA to start with).  You offer them an online presence, an online appointment system, and online staffer to keep the appointments straight for a very small fraction of what their monthly bill would be for a ‘real’ staffer to do the work, and then you use whatever flavor of Lattiss is best to actually set up the account and keep things rolling.  It’s like being a web hosting provider and website developer all rolled into one, except you don’t have to know anything about the technology … all you have to do is stay in touch with your client, and , if appropriate, make those appointment remainder calls that doctors and dentists love so well, mainly because they are proven, real-world money makers.  Piece of cake.

OK, there’s enough ideas for one day.  Maybe this idea is not for you, but it may open your eyes to something easier and more smart than the old standby of opening an unprofitable Internet cafe or competing with the other 7 sari-sari stores on your block.

My idea here isn’t to deliver a ready to open turn-key business package, but more to stimulate your thoughts.  They way I see it, there are two ways to make money in business these days.  You can get a job cleaning the toilets in the rest rooms, or you can be the owner of the whole office building.  The beauty of moving yourself online is, the investment required is virtually the same … zero or close to it.

I know which one appeals to me the most.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Finding A Philippine Pony — Part 3

To review the bidding (previous installments of this article are listed above) we have been talking about how anyone, with or without a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certificate or a formal teaching degree, can make themselves a business out of conversational English instruction, coaching or tutoring (pick the phrase you want to use if you are convinced only a degreed person can be a teacher … already had that argument, don’t care to go there any more.

Actually you don’t have to confine yourself to English, either.  Although the world-wide demand for English is high, many other languages are always in demand as well.  Friend and blogging colleague Ellen opened my eyes in a comment to one of the earlier sections of this series, when she talked about a school for the Finnish language in Davao she recently came across.  You mean you can make money teaching Finnish to Filipinos in a (modern, but still provincial city) like Davao?  Yes, indeed.  And think this through for a minute.  If Koreans come to the Philippines and pay not only tuition but living expanses to learn English, if Filipinos who want jobs in Finland pay to go to formal classes in Davao, how many more people, around the world, would be interested in learning one-on-one with a native English, (or German or Finnish or whatever language you know well) expert?  No travel costs, no away from home living costs, no need to quit their current job to go off to school … the benefits really stack up.

And here’s the point it of ten seems many of my readers miss … you can provide this training anywhere in the world you happen to be.  This is especially interesting to the majority of job-seekers, business side researchers who come here with the thought of finding some sort of income when once they move to the Philippines.  Don’t wait until your calendar says it’s now time to move … start now.  If your business grows and you like it, you can just make the move and virtually nothing changes except the time zone.  If, for whatever reason, things don’t work out, you will have invested virtually nothing and you won’t find yourself stranded in a foreign land, money running low and wondering how to get yourself out of your dilemma.

OK, so how would a person go about something like this virtual language training?  That’s the beauty if the Web.  It’s like having the resources of several major universities at your finger tips.  Here’s what I’d do to get something off the ground … remember this is just a rough outline, it’s up to you to get professional advice when you need it and do your own due diligence before you invest in anything. (by the way, nothing at all in this article is a sales pitch for anything, I am not selling anything you see mentioned here.

1. Set up a business with a US address.  Most professionals agree this is a smart first move.  You can incorporate a small business online in 15 minutes for less than $75 dollars.  (I’ve used these guys in the past, they are fantastic … not an affiliate link) http://www.smallbiz.com/) One reason to do this for the future, aside from all the other business reasons is when you are living in the Philippines you want to make sure your income is not Philippine sourced and if you are the owner of a US business entirety, this ought to be a safe strategy.
2. Put together simple course materials.  You can buy study guides, lesson plans, etc., you can find a huge amount of free materials (make sure it is licensed for your use, public domain, Creative Commons, etc>, or you can go to a site like elance and find degreed teachers looking for part time work who will build or edit materials for you for a small fee … you decide how much to spend.
3. Put up a website, essentially a blog … you can even start it by telling the story of all the research and decisions that went into your prep work.  There are dozens of free blog sources, Blogger, WordPress, MSN Live, Google Sites, the list goers on.
4. Do searches to find other language teachers and courses.  Note what they are doing, their terms of service, prices, etc., and how they have their business structured (Hint:  Competition is not a problem, indeed if you don’t see any competition for what you are trying to set up you should take warning … competition means there is an active market and people are making money.)
5. Find a delivery system.  Here’s a great one I came across recently, it’s free to try and less than $5 a month per student later with the whole ball of wax … they serve your videos, your slide presentations, track attendance measure progress, alert you to students who have gone dormant, etc.
6. Get a PayPal account so your students can pay you, anywhere in the world
7. Go to forms, Twitter, FaceBook, Multiply and other social sites and talk to people.  Focus on your preferred target country of choice.  For example, if you want Japanese clients, ‘talk yourself up’ on Japanese forms and social networks.  Remember you don’t have to speak their language, you only want the people there who are interested in English.  Believe me, people in Japan, China, etc. want English speaking friends.
8. Perhaps one of the most powerful and least understood “drivers” of business on the Internet is Google AdWords.  You can open an AdWords account, write some ads that will send people to your blog or home page … where you offer your “for pay” services, and target those ads only at countries you want them to appear in … and you pay nothing at all unless someone clicks on the ad and comes to your sales page … fantastically powerful tool.

OK, that ought to be enough for this “Pony”.  Remember this is an idea factory, not a textbook.  Based on what I know to be true, and what I pay taxes on, I really can not see any reason a person would settle for a “hard labor” job in a school when they could have the whole ball of wax for themselves.  Or so Dave opines.

Popularity: 17% [?]

There’s a Philippine Pony In There Somewhere

If you are old enough to remember Ronald Reagan’s speeches (and whatever your thoughts of him as a president (no political comments, please, I’ll delete them all) as a speaker Reagan makes the incumbent look like the boring college professor he is) you’ll likely remember this story:

It was Reagan’s favorite joke. Worried that their son was too optimistic, the parents of a little boy took him to a psychiatrist. Trying to dampen the boy’s spirits, the psychiatrist showed him into a room piled high with nothing but horse manure. Yet instead of displaying distaste, the little boy clambered to the top of the pile, dropped to all fours, and began digging.

“What do you think you’re doing?” the psychiatrist asked.

“With all this manure,” the little boy replied, beaming, “there must be a pony in here somewhere.”

I also heard this old “chestnut” dozens of time from some of my senior colonel and general officer leadership in the USAF, it certainly predates Reagan (I go back to Truman, you know).  What does the little parable have to do with living in the Philippines? Read more

Popularity: 24% [?]

It Can Be Done In The Philippines Continues 2

Gosh am I on a Living in the Philippines roll here, or what?  I was doing some checking into the fellow who owns the two apartment complexes I wrote about recently (he’s still not set up for an interview and feature here, but I’ll keep trying) I found out that the project currently under construction isn’t his second project, it’s building number three.  Here’s a snap of the very first project, located right behind his home, right around the corner from me in our little “part-time-water” community.

The Original Mukti-unit success

The way the story was told to me, he had a grown son thinking about moving out, so rather than let the son move off to the wilds of Manila, the father built this three door complex on the side street behind the main home, and the son can live in one unit, collect the rents on the others and if the son really does decide to move up scale some day, he’ll collect on all three.  Not shabby. Read more

Popularity: 24% [?]

It Can Be Done In The Philippines Continues

My friend Bob started this thread, actually, on his Living in the Philippines web magazine site, when he talked about ideas of things he could invest in now that would be there in the future as something for a family legacy.

I’ve written about this several times already and while I was out walking yesterday I snapped a picture of the progress on the new townhouse/apartment project I have been following nor for a while … owned by the same fellow who put up the complex I first wrote about a few months back.

Wall Down, Working on Parking Spots

I don’t know yet how much these units are going to go for … as far as I know they are going to be straight rentals and not being sold as condos, but I feel the project definitely enhances my neighborhood.

And in spite of all the hugely overblown news you hear about a “lending crunch”, the banks here in the Philippines are really going after business and home owner loans.

Interest rates and terms are not quite what Americans have grown used to over the past 20 years .. 15 to 20 years are typically the longest and you can expect to pay 12% or so, but then again, mortgages at artificially low rates on property at vastly over-estimated vales are a large part of what got the US in the current mess anyway.

By the way, for those of you from the US who might contemplate something like this now or in the future (of course I am not a tax professional, you should consult your own), according to my readings and to some other research I have done, the IRS does not care where your primary or secondary home is located … you still get homeowner tax breaks even if the property is in the Philippines.

Also, if you build something like this as an investment, I see no reason you don’t get all the normal tax breaks any other investor/property owner gets … including reasonable and necessary expenses to visit your income producing property, taxes, fees, and of course a credit for the Philippine tax which you would certainly be liable for.

Providing decent homes for people who need them and building a solid investment portfolio for your children (no ‘toxic paper” or up and down like a yoyo mutual funds) can not be an all bad thing to do.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Philippine IT Job List — What Do You Think?

I just came across this excellent tool for finding IT-related jobs in the US the other day.  While the news media and everybody and his dog are blatting on and on about unemployment and jobs losses, here’s one fellow who just decided to go out there and find out how bad things really are.

Turns out that there is still some light around the edges of the eclipse, I think.

Now I see many of my readers puzzling over two things about this post already, so let me take a stab at addressing them:

First, I hear people asking, whatever has this got to do with living in the Philippines?  Fair enough question.  I’ll answer it in a couple paragraphs if you can hold on to the bar at the back of the Jeepney for just a few more minutes

Second I hear people saying, “But Dave. I don’t know anything about IT or computers or the web so how is this going to help me?”

Let me propose this idea to you, straight from the shoulder.  We are in a mess.  It has so far affected the Philippines less than the US, but as I wrote a few days ago, Jobs For Americans Overseas in the Philippines | PhilFAQS I see plenty signs of it getting worse here rather than better, for a while anyway. Read more

Popularity: 25% [?]

Philippine Things To Do

It’s almost that time again.  Starting Thursday the 12th of February 2009 the 14th Annual Philippine Balloon fest will kick off at the former “Clark Field”, now the Clark Special Economic Zone.  The official Philippine Balloon Fest schedule is here.  I attended this event two years ago and it was great, looking at the schedule there is more  added every year so I can assure you this would be worth at least one “early rising” day of the four day event.  I mention early rising because the balloons will be taking off by 0530 or so, so unless you live close by, you’ll ne leaving at 4 am or so.

To reach the event from Manila, take the NLEX to the last toll barrier, Dau, and take the Dau exit immediately beyond the toll barrier.  Turn left (west, toward the mountains) and follow the signs.  There’s a small entry fee … perhaps 100 pesos this year and a huge parking filed (IIRC the parking is an additional 20 Pesos or so.

Hot Air Balloons at Clark

There is a lot more to the even than the balloons, but hot air balloons are totally u8nder the control of the winds so the still air at sunrise is typically the only time they will be able to fly.  Lots of food, drink and static exhibits to occupy your day if you like anything to do with aviation, including booths and displays from all the major aviation training companies (a real growth industry here in the Philippines at the moment), so you can get information from many suppliers in one place … something it is not always easy to do in the Philippines.

If you don’t like 0-dark-hundred departure times, many people prefer to stay over at least one night I one of the many hotels on Clark or in surrounding Angeles City  here’s a list of Angles hotels,

I was reminded to give a shout out about this event on Sunday when I was watching a show on ANC (the Philippine Channel that goes out world-wide over satellite and cable) called Asian Air Safari.  This is a weekly half hour show that is put together by a great “booster” of the Philippines, Captain Joy Roa.  Capt. Joy learned to fly in the Philippines and could just make a living in obscurity, or else just run off to some other country where it’s easier to make money, but he’s a true Filipino hero and he does things others will just say “can’t be done”.

Not only does he make a successful TV show out of airplanes and travel … no telesere drama or semi-obligatory T&A shots needed, he runs a business venture of the same name, Asian Air Safaris who offer high end structured and customized tours around the Philippines and many other Asian countries.  “You can’t build and run a high end business in the Philippines” is the kind of opinion you’ll hear all the time on web sites about the Philippines.  Or even more common, “all the high end businesses are foreigner developed/managed, Filipinos can’t build or manage a ‘real’ business”.

Well you can believe that sort of clap trap if you wish to 9and even many Filipinos feel that way too, sadly) but guys like Capt. Joy prove how wrong those attitudes are.

There’s a lot of opportunity here in the Philippines, most of it just needs someone to believe in themselves and their country.

Popularity: 29% [?]

Philippine Business Above the Internet Cafe Level

Starting a business in the Philippines is a frequent topic here on PhilFAQS where we cover the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS) about living in the Philippines.

I saw this business (Harbour Yacht Services) featured on TV the other night and it really resonated with me in many different ways. Read more

Popularity: 27% [?]

Why You Can’t Get a Job — Interview Prep

I wanted to write more on proving your actual worth to a company … rather than telling them how smart you are, or how much you need a job … and I will.  But I saw this very good article today and I felt it was too good fto pass up, becuase the author says alot of what I would say and says it beter.

One tip I see misisng that I personally belive in is “LinkShare”. There are thousands of folks on LinkShare.com with Filipino connectuions and hundreds of businesses. At the very least, learn what a business does before you even make your first contact. Nothing will make you look less valauble than to ask someone “Are you looking for engineers”?  when they turn out to be a firm that does contract radiology work … little things like that do matter.

One of the more impressive resume’s I ever saw back in my hiring days was from a programmer answering and ad which specically called for a Visual Basic expert.  In his cover letter the gentleman had me sold until I got to his last paragraph when he asserted that not only did he not work in Visual Basic he told us, in no uncertain terms that we were dumb to be using it as well.

Hey when a client pays you to hire VB programmers, you hire VB programmers … let the knowledgeable ones argue about what system is best after work in the bar … it’s amazing how many people want a job but also want to tell their prospective employer how the employer should do business … instant disqualification in my book. Read more

Popularity: 43% [?]

Philippine Business Must Be Doing Very Well

Well for those of you who hate posts about making a living in the Philippines, especially making a living in the Philippines on line, or supplemented by the online world, this will likely be another post you don’t enjoy.  Sorry about that, I write when I’m “in the mood” and this is what I’m “Moody”  about today.

If you think I’m somewhat unidimensional from the impression you have of me, you ought to see the view from inside my head … it’s absolutely flat as a billiard table from inside here at times.

It’s really hard for me to believe how many people make a living without the power of the ‘Net in today’s world, and it’s even more of a surprise to see those who succeed do so in spite of their on-line efforts rather than becuase of them.

If you feel you’ll never be doing anything to make money online in your life, that’s ok, read along, becuase for sure you’ll run into a friend or relative here in the Philippines who does want to and I’m going to reveal a couple of elemental truths that everyone can use.

I’ve been having a discussion with several online associates about the importance of responding to people on the web, and I recently had a prime example when someone whose site I had featured in a write up here on PhilFAQS months ago left me a comment.

Now the fact it took that person months to respond is neither here nor there.  I’m not writing because my nose is out of joint about not getting instant gratification.  I wrote about a lot of people and sites who never respond … that’s almost the norm … and the fact it is almost the norm is what today’s message is about.

Here’s the bottom line suggestion I have for anyone interested in people, money or both: Read more

Popularity: 11% [?]

Philippine Submarines — Making Money Underwater

There’s more to Subic than just blue water and white sands.  To many readers the term “Freeport” probably means little, just some sort of marketing-speak, but in the Philippines, it means a lot.

The Philippines has a very bad environment for starting a business.  It’s one of the worst countries in the world for registering a business and getting all the permits and permissions in place.

But the Special Economic Zones, like Clark and Subic change all that.  It seems almost every day I see something new getting started at Subic and here’s one idea that seems to hold water.

SUBIC BAY FREE PORT— It looks and moves like an aircraft, but it can also dive underwater.

Prototype Sports Sub at Subic

The Amuza “leisure submarine,” a two-seater vessel the size of a compact car, may soon be built by a Japanese firm in this free port with the help of a Filipino-British car body-parts maker.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator Armand Arreza said a prototype of the submersible was successfully tested last week in the waters of Subic Bay.

Submarine builder Amuza Co. Ltd., which first gained popularity for its limousines, wants to start building about 10 production models by the end of the year. The company has been developing the prototype for the last 10 years and has spent about $1.7 million for the project, said Amuza chief executive officer Kiyotaka Miyagawa.

These macines will be battery and electric motor-powered, good for about 5 knots underwater and will have a range of 40 kilometers or so.  No word on price.

Sample of one of Amuza

The company in charge of the prohect, Amuza has a long histoty of building some very well operating on-ground vehicles, like this one … they are the premier luxury limosine company in Asai with factories in japan, Australia and other countries.

There will be a full factory ‘pilot’ training and certification school at Subic that new ownrs will be required to attend … don’t think I can afford one, but I want one.  More jobs and more business in the Philippines … they say you can’t make money here.

Popularity: 45% [?]

Do You Feel “Philippines Lucky”?

OK, show of hands here. How many of you have ever bought a Lotto ticket or purchased a ‘Scratch and Win”   ticket at your local convenience store?  Aha, a lot of hands went up, didn’t they?

Many of us, even those pretty much opposed to gambling and casinos and such participate in the government sponsored lottery programs in the US because in addition to the (infinitesimally small) chance of winning the games serve as an important revenue source to a lot of valuable programs.

A pundit once quipped that Lotto games are a tax for people with bad math skills, but who cares?   They can be fun and it’s only a dollar or two, so why not?

In the Philippines government has wasted no time getting in on these programs.

Philippine Sweeostakes Hq, Manila

Here’s a business idea for making money in the Philippines that doesn’t involve the Internet for a change.  If you have ever been around one of the mall kiosks or terminals in stores where they sell the whole line of Sweepstakes Lottery products when the prizes are big you have seen lines and line sof people, cash in hand, just waiting to get a chance to buy a ticket.

A franchise outlet for this product starts at PhP 50,000 or so .. about $1,000 USD give or take, and the clients do all the work except make change and carry the money to the bank. More information at the headquarters site.

I have no idea what the overall profit potential can be but I know it’s a simple, self-contained government approved, easy to understand business that is certaily worth loking into … especially for people inclined toward operating a store, Intent cafe, etc., anything where you are going to have foor traffic and a roof over your head anyway.

Once again, you can make money in the Philippines, if you actually want to.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Saving Energy for Practical People — 6

First of all, let me state this is not a picture of our "dirty kitchen" here in the Philippines.  But it might be someday, though.  Probably not, but one of the things my lovely wife and I have discussed at some length is smarter ways to make ourselves more energy independent.  The idea of making our own fuel from what is otherwise going to waste is attractive.  Diesel fuel from waste cooking oil is a very "trendy" item in these days of $4 gas.

In addition to using waste oil diesel for automotive use, we’ve talked already a few times here about people who want to live off grid and of course one possible solution for that kind of lifestyle would be to simply have your own diesel powered home generator … be your own power company.

If you buy your diesel fuel for a setup like that in today’s environment here in the Philippines you’ll find the numbers don’t work out at all … in other words if I replaced my 500 or 600 Kwh per month of commercial power with power from my own diesel gen set (a diesel engine and an alternator that puts out 220V 60 hz power) I would spend about five time my current bill to Meralco.  If I used a cheaper, lighter gasoline gen set it would be closer to six or seven times as expensive,so I think that idea is pretty much a non-starter.

But if my fuel costs were zero … wow, it suddenly becomes a very practical sounding proposition, doesn’t it?  Truth be told, it can certainly be done, and for some people it might be something worth pursuing.  However, first I’d suggest you read this Wired.com article on the state of the current cooking oil diesel fuel community.  This article covers the nuts and bolts of how the technology works and does a much more through job than I can.  After you’ve read it I’ll summarize what I feel are some important points about this home brewed biodiesel here in the Philippines.

Pros:

• In spite of the messiness factors involved, this will work.
• It’s simpler than it may appear once you get things set up
• It’s likely to be simpler and work better here because many of the tricky problems in making a good quality fuel are related to the climate … here it’s always hot so glycerine, waxiness problems and such are minimized
• There is a lot less regulation in semi-urban and rural areas.  If you want to, just do it (YMMV)
• Labor is cheap
• "junk" is big business here.  There are "bote boys" passing multiple times per day, asking for glass bottles, plastic trash, metal cans, scrap, newspapers, etc.  They earn their living selling their daily finds to "junk shops".  It would be very simple to have a number of these guys collecting waste cooking oil and delivering it to your processing plant. 

Cons:

• Of course, comma, what people say is "free" now has the price they paid to the origin plus their markup that you paid for their work, plus containers, and so on added in … still cheap, but virtually nothing is "free".  And prices go up and down rapidly depending on supply and demand.  Right now, in my area, no one collects.  A soon as there is any demand, expect a price to develop.  Remember, a hundred years ago, refineries could not give gasoline away.
• The physical plant is simple, but again not free.  And the process takes time.  It has to be worked, day in and day out.
• This is stinky, slimy, and poses a significant fire hazard in a country where most neighborhoods have virtually zero fire protection.  Is saving money worth burning up your house and maybe your children?  Look at the flammable slime on the floor and walls in the picture.
• You need a lot of caustic soda (lye) … Drano for example.  Where does the excess of that get disposed of?  Where I live, almost all houses are on septic tanks.  Do you know how much lye you can let into your tank before the digestion process stops and you become very good friends with the "Poso Negro" man (Septic tank sucker-outer)?
• If you have make more than you need, what will you do with it.  Can you sell fuel legally without a license, regulations, taxes, etc.?
• Motor fuel is highly taxed and regulated.  Make your own and you are legally stealing from the government.  (don’t bother me with your"live free or die" type arguments, I am talking here about life’s realities, not philosophy).  Do they care?  Will they come after you?  Something to consider.
• There just is no where near enough cooking oil used to support and significant amount of production.  Onesy-twosey operations like you always see in magazines are great stories … but can a town sustain 5 such operations, or 10, or 20?  This a big fallacy to me, I have seen biodiesel experiments for more than 20 years now, but all the McDonalds, Jollibee’s and KFC’s in the country don’t use that much oil.

Interesting, isn’t it.  especially how US media is suddenly "rediscovering" a lot of technology us "hippy types" of the ’60’s were trying to ’sell’ 50 years ago.  Let me know what else you want to know about in the energy department.

Popularity: 6% [?]

More Philippine Burger Thoughts

As many readers already know I keep very close tabs on what people search for here at PhilFAQS, the site for people who want to know the FAQS (Frequently Asked Questions) abut moving to and living in the Philippines.  If you found this site by a search from Google or one of the other search engines you likely found the first thing you were presented was a list of related posts, along with the entry here that most closely matched your search query.

One "perennial favorite is ‘How to make money with an Internet Cafe", or its close cousin, ‘Can an Internet cafe make money’.  Here are just a few samples of the work already published on that subject:

More Internet Cafe Thoughts

Can an Internet Cafe Make Money in the Philippines?

Real World Business — Running An Internet Cafe — Part 1

FWIW you could make money with an Internet cafe in many places in the Philippines, but it feel it is something that should be way down on most people’s list, especially for foreigners.  It’s more competitive every day, operators accept profits margins that are razor thin a sit is, and the people with disposable income who sued to make up the crowd of customers today are much more interested in the iPhone and similar hand held devices where they get their Internet along with their text messages, MP3 music and even live television in metro areas.  A person from the US, for example, knows virtually nothing about the wireless world here, the US is so far behind in what people used to call cellular phones that they think they’re ahead .

One thing people people from the US do know smelting about, though, is hamburgers.  I published an article a while back about the little-known business of burgers here that seemed to be popular with a lot of readers.  One franchise operation that is very popular here in Luzon, at least, is "Burger Machine".  these little free-standing kiosks are seen frequently (the most usual location is along main roads where there are bars and night clubs, I think a large part of their trade is the pulutan (drinking food) crowd.

These businesses are usually on a trailer.  They don’t often move, but because they aren’t on a foundation they fall under "hawker" and street vendor regulations in most cites, making licensing and  permits much easier to obtain and keep up to date.  The common prices are from  30 pesos and up, and as you can see from the sign, Buy One take One deals are the norm.  Could you make money at approximately 15 pesos per hamburger then?  Well you must be able to, I just did some looking and found there are more than 89 of these trailers in Quezon City alone and the article I found that data in was about the city government engaged in a legal wrangle with the parent company alleging there were many more than the 89 permitted locations which were operating outside the law.  That’s a lot of burgers. (photo courtesy of the Unofficial Cook, used with permission).

On a higher end scale, I visit the Subic bay Freeport frequently, (the former Subic Bay US    Navy base).  It’s a place that is always looking for new businesses, in addition to many other ’start a business’ assistance tools they have a pretty neat inducement … all business on Subic pay only a flat 5% tax on gross revenues, no ups, no extras, no roving ‘city inspectors’ with their hands out.  Burger-related business there range from purpose-built to one of may favorite ‘real’ burger joints, Meats Plus, where the dare is relatively pricey imported Angus beef burgers, charcoal grilled. The customers are mainly Filipino and you had best not show up for  a burger at noon time, you’ll park a long way from the building and wait in a heck of a long line.

I’ll close with a place I walk or drive buy almost every day.  I must stop in and try them out.  It’s just a small storefront operation and you can see that the prices are well within Filipino tastes … it’s been there for years and sells a lot of burgers.  My wife is aquatinted with a lady a few blocks in the opposite direction who retired from a Philippine government job some years back and opened a similar little cafe/burger joint.  She only opens a few hours a day in the evening for the dinner trade and even though her prices start 21 pesos she has been doing ok for years now.

So a couple things you can take away from this is, yes, Filipinos do eat burgers and yes you can make money with a cafe in the Philippines … but I’d forget about the "Internet" part of the cafe equation myself.

Popularity: 10% [?]

A Lot Depends Upon Whose Ox Is Being Gored

Interesting news item that flowed across my desk today:

LATE-NIGHT calls to one of the State’s main directory inquiry services are being answered from the Philippines after the company that operates the service, Conduit, outsourced the night shift to a call centre in Manila.

The move involves the loss of 10 jobs in Conduit’s Dublin headquarters and has prompted fears among the 120 staff working on the day shift of the 11850 directory inquiry service that their jobs could also be transferred to southeast Asia. The night-shift workers, some of whom have up to 10 years’ service, are being laid off later this month. Staff say that they have been offered a redundancy package of two weeks per year of service plus the statutory minimum.

Conduit switched the answering of directory inquiry calls between 10pm and 7am to Manila last June on a trial basis, and recently decided to make the new arrangement permanent.

KGB, a large US call centre operation that owns Conduit, runs a call centre in the Philippine capital employing 3,000 people. Wages in such call centres are typically about $2-$3 an hour, much less than the rates paid to Irish call centre employees… More of the article on Irish call center workers here.

Couple of interesting points, not all of which are readily apparent on first reading.

• This same article, with different details was written in some US paper or another a few years back when the company which is now KGB (no, not the same as the former USSR Secret Service ) "stole" the jobs from the US and shipped them to Ireland, because the Irish workers would do the work for a lot less than the US workers.  Did someone just whisper the word "karma" under their breath?
• Those who are blindly investing billions in one call center after another here in the Philippines might want to consider who is going to undercut Philippine Call Center prices.  It will certainly happen.  Actually, few if any call center employees in Manila are working for $3 an hour as the Irish article suggests, wages have been climbing steadily in pace with demand.
• The blind spending of my own countrymen, still buying Hummers and other gas guzzler’s comes home to roost in mysterious ways.  the jobs mentioned, and many, many others are no longer American jobs or Irish jobs but they have become the ‘property’ of KGB.  The own of property can essentially do anything that he wishes with it, and KGB is a Bahraini company.  It’s not the Irish or the Indians or Malaysians or the Filipinos who are "stealing" American jobs, it’s the oil princes who have them pressed into their hands as tribute every time Americans prostrate themselves toward Mecca and offer tribute at the pump.
• Last item I found worth a chuckle.  In spite off all the paragraphs in the article bemoaning the poor folks who lost their jobs … actually none did.  ten were asked two change their shift because of cut backs.  Two did and eight others said, "I’d prefer my severance package" and departed.  Somehow I think a person who actually had no job might consider being asked to move to a different shift a little less life-changing than these folks did … but then again, it wasn’t me.

Popularity: 11% [?]

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