Another Philippine Pony Idea — Kids Parties

I’ve written about the

Party Business in the Philippines

before.  But a few days back I got a real example thrown my way which really brought some dollar and cents realities back to me.

I took my dear wife and (literally) three car loads of her family to a special lunch at a great Italian restaurant we like in Quezon City.

This place is good, but it’s not cheap.  And with more than 20 people at pour table, the check wasn’t small either … nearly P10K (with service charge).  Expensive, eh?

One of the big issues people interested in doing business in the Philippines has to realize is, you have to cut your sails to march the cloth.  High ticket items, expensive restaurant meals and such are a hard sell, especially outside specific metro areas.

But one thing I have noticed, even in small towns, kids parties are sort of a “never never land sort of thing.

People pay for kids birthday parties, and pay big.

And example.  A very popular venue would be a Jollibee or McDonalds restaurant.  Many even have a whole separate party room, where 50 or so kids and parents will be shoehorned in and served an insipid meal of one piece of friend chicken and a small scoop of sickly-sweet spaghetti,

A few balloons will be hung around, and an employee will be forced into a Jolibee or Ronald McDonald ‘sweat suit” costume and made to go around the room and laugh and joke with the kiddies.

Aside from a few lame jokes and a lot of hollering and singing of happy birthday … cake costs extra, by the way, there isn’t much else to these parties.  Typical costs?

The start at P11,000 in my area … way more than my high end Italian lunch blowout cost.

You can read more here

Almost Time To Cut The Cake

and here:

We Still Never Cut The Cake

Is there demand?  ha!  Just go to a local Jollibee and try to book  a party.  Better not wait until a week or two before the kid’s birthday … you will likely be disappointed.  the demand (and the money) are there, folks.

A reader here is, as we speak in the process of moving to the Philippines.  Unlike about 99% of my readers here, their nationalities are reversed … he’s a Filipino and she’s a US citizen.  My reader wrote and asked a number of questions including ways his non-Filipino wife might keep busy and even help contribute to the family finances without going through the hassles of trying to get a job here in the Philippines as a foreigner.

Well since this couple has four small children, one of the largest drains on her time, no matter if she has a job or not, is taking care of the four little ones.

In the US she had already been doing day care from home.  My thought is, she can just keep doing the same from her new home here … it’s no easier for WAHM’s (Work  At Home Mom’s) here in the Philippines to find good, reliable, affordable day care than it is back in the USA.

But another thing she might consider is her own version of the kids party business as well.

So Could You Compete Against the “Big Guys”?

Oh heck yes, for sure.  What would you need?

A Venue:

Your own home, the celebrant’s home, a restaurant, coffee shop or other business’s “meeting room”.  In my barangay we have a lovely, roofed meeting/eating/party picnicking area that’s open to any barangay resident.  Perhaps a few hundred pesos, depending on where you make a deal for, perhaps even free.

Tables and Chairs:

There are plenty places around me who rent tables and chairs for a few hundred pesos per day, pick up and delivery included.

Food:

Go right to the “competition” and buy it there. All the major fats food chains have a “kids meal” menu average P50 for a complete meal, including drinks.  And typically, they have delivery service as well.  Food for 50 will run lP2500 or less, QED.

Balloons and Other Party Favors:

Cheap, readily available any place I’ve been.  another few hundred Pesos at the most.

Entertainment:

Tailor To Age and Availability:  There are always clowns and cartoon character entertainers looking for a gig, or  a juggler or a magician … or be one yourself. It’s a kid’s party, not an audition at Carnegie hall.

Not going to cost more than p100 or P200 for an hour’s work.  And although I have never been to a kids birthday party yet where they have one … karaoke!  people may think of this as something for adults, but from the age of two or so my nephews and their friends have been fascinated by our home karaoke setup.  You have a 2nd grader’s or so birthday party and you let them sing and clown with the karaoke mic you are going to have a hit on your hands, trust me.

Bottom Line:

So what am I up to here, P4 or P5k?  At most?  Half the cost of the “name brand” kids parties which are such a business here.  Licensing, permissions and such?  Oh come on, nobody is going to bug parents getting a little help for their kid’s party.  Not even a factor in my view unless you get so big you have employees, vehicles and such … and who would want that, really, anyway.

Four or 5 parties _per_month_ will easily clear more pure income than most Filipino jobs, and you don’t need to worry about all the hassles of “stand alone” businesses or, worse yet, a ‘real” J*O*B.

Plus factor?  It’s fun.

Real World Example:

This woman is running a similar business sin the USA.  Read all about it at here website (which you would use heavily in marketing your own party business, if you are smart).  Just click on the logo:

And how did she make such an attractive and profitable site and business, starting from the point of knowing nothing at all about “the Web”?

Easy!  Just click here to learn how:

Related posts:

1. Thoughts and Opportunities in Philippine Education — Another of my Philippine Pony Thoughts
2. Philippine Education — Another of my Philippine Pony Thoughts — Part 2
3. There’s a Philippine Pony In There Somewhere — Find a Hungry Crowd
4. There’s a Philippine Pony In There Somewhere
5. Idea 51 — Conclusion