PhilFAQS

This post is a bit commercial in nature.  No, I didn’t get paid to write it … there are no ‘paid posts’ here on PhilFAQS where we answer your questions about the Philippines, but I do run low key advertising to a;, make a buck now and again and b:,

,, because I can normally make a pretty good guess that everything I allow here is of decent value and will of use to my readers from time to time.

But today I am going to give a little “boost” to an advertiser whom I really think is offering something unique.  The advertiser isn’t related to the Live in the Philippines market and I don’t think they realize that their product is absolutely ideal to a certain segment of the Philippines market either.  So I am bring it to your attention.  I do earn a commission from sales that are made, so if that is not to your liking and please tune back in another time when I won’t be making any money.

Actually, a little totally free tip.  Even though I sometimes writer about making money in the Philippines and sometimes don’t, I am always making money online in some form or another, 24×7.  I sometimes have nice successes, I sometimes stub my toe, and you can often observe what is going on, if you look and read closely, even when I am not writing about money, online, in the Philippines, or both.  You see not all teaching is done in front of a blackboard with a pointer and a lesson plan

Anyway on to the case in point.  One of my good friends and mentors in this business is Bob Martin, better known as Mindanao Bob, a fellow many of you are already acquainted with.  Bob is an entrepreneur, both on and off line and has almost never had a traditional job.  He knives in the Philippines but he doesn’t have a job in the Philippines.  As I have often said, and many people often miss, earning a living in the Philippines does not necessarily have anything to do with having a job in the Philippines.  One way Bob makes money is writing and selling books.  I reviewed one here, if you want a peek: 49 Ways to Make a Living in the Philippines — Book Review | PhilFAQS

Another way Bob makes money is the gift market.  You can see an example here at his WoWPhilippines site.  Some people irreverently call this the “Honey Ko” trade, selling gifts for (mainly) men who are smitten with love for their Filipina sweethearts and wives (hopefully, one and the same person .  Honey Ko is slang for “My Honey” or “my Sweetheart”.  Well, there is nothing at all wrong with that trade, I was “smitten” myself about 10 years ago, and I still am (yes, the same woman if you really need to be so bastos as to ask .  I even married her just to make sure some other guy didn’t try to steal her away.  being “smitten” with a Filipina sweetheart has been a very good thing to me.

Bob sells a lot of gifts.  Some of them are quite innovative.  I visited his headquarters, idea and design st6udio and logistics hub down in Davao City and I saw a number of gift items that really impressed me with their thoughtfulness and value.

But Bob doesn’t have this.  At least not yet, anyway.  My-Song.ca has the perfect gift for the person who has it all! Order Now! This is a really neat service that just popped up on one of the advertising networks I partner with.  It’s run by a couple fellows in Toronto, Canada who are music professionals and wanted a way to make a go of the music business without the typical path of trying to become the next American Idol.

For about $200 USD they will custom craft an original song, professionally record it and package it, making a absolutely unique, completely one-of-a-kind gift for the person you love.  (actually, it doesn’t have to be one that you love.  I laughed like crazy when I read on their website that they had been commissioned to write and produce a song by a fellow who was undergoing a divorce and not too happy about it, called the “Divorce Song”)

To understand why I am taken by this idea, you really have to understand just how important music is here in the Philippines.  Including corny love songs from 40 years ago, and how deeply appreciated gifts having the personal touch, as in from the heart, are.  You go to a birthday party, for example, and the stereo is going to be blasting.  And it will not be long before the obligatory “Magic Sing” comes out and everyone will find out who can sing and who can’t … because typically, all will sing.  I can’t carry a tune in a bucket, really, but I’m surprised by how much I enjoy it too.  And I have a couple nieces … they’re not bad, let me tell you, not bad at all.  You have a special pamangking with a birthday soon? Exciting sweet sixteen. Give the gift of song from My-Song.ca!.

And of course many of the fellows who get “smitten” eventually wind up proposing.  Always a big event.  nerve wracking.  Leaves a guy feeling goofy.  How to arrange it?  What to say?  may I suggest: Propose to her in style with a song from My-Song.ca! She will never forget it, I can assure you of that.  If it is possible to be too romantic in Filipina matters of the heart, I am not aware of it.  Do something special and you’ll be remembered.  Anyone can send roses ….

OK, enough flogging for the day.  Next post back to how you can make money in the Philippines.

Of course this post wasn’t at all about how you can make money in the Philippines.  Or was it?  Remember the disclaimer above when I said I am typically teaching even when I don’t say i am teaching?  There is a ton of musical talent in the Philippines.  There are a ton of romantic, song-oriented people.  Compared to the cost and shipping issues of a Canadian company in this market, I don’t see a single reason in the world why someone couldn’t set up a competing service using talent, studios, recording artists etc. here in the Philippines, no matter where the business owner chose to live. 

Did any of you see that opportunity pitch coming?  Sometimes you8 can learn a lot by trying to sell something, or even by reading ads.

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