It’s really pretty funny in a way … only a small percentage of comments and email I get regarding this blog have to do about business in the Philippines.  But so many of them do center on the Internet cafe business that I thought I ought to offer up some more thoughts on the subject … especially because many of the questions and comments I see indicate that people are looking at the Internet Cafe business with a very, very narrow focus … perhaps leaving tons of money on the table without even realizing it.

I have often been on record for saying it’s very hard to make money in the Philippines … especially for foreigners.  Now that I have lived here full time for nearly two years, I won’t actually retract that statement … but I certainly want to modify it a bit.

Let me say this … it’s not nearly as hard as many make it out to be if you step back and explore all the ways \you have available to make money … not just what might be the stream of income most people thing of first when they look at a given business.

Let’s look directly at the Internet cafe business … or, as it is so commonly called here a "computer shop".  In simple form this is a room or two that you rent from a commercial provider or use in your own home.  In that room or rooms you have computers in workstations and perhaps a few printers,CD-ROM and DVD burners and other common computer peripherals.

The standard business plan is that people with no computer or Internet access at home will drop buy and pay you an hourly fee to use your machines and Internet access.

What else could this facility be?  Wow, the possibilities are going to be more than I can list reasonably here in one post.  Talk about a small gold mine …. here’s just a few quick ideas:

• Cafe: Sounds obvious, doesn’t it?  But very few Internet cafes actually serve food and drink.  Folks, I shop locally.  I know how much you can buy small packages of potato chips and snacks at SM Hypermarket for.  I know how cheap a local cook who wants to get started in the food business can make simple merienda for.  I know how little you can pay for soft drinks by the case.  People get tired and hungry.  Feed them.  There’s a lot of profit there.
• Classroom: let’s see … you have anywhere from a couple to a couple dozen computers, all with a chair in front of them, an Internet connection … remind you of anything?  Well, one thing it reminds me of is a classroom … the kind most schools even in the US, let alone the Philippines, only wish they had.  What can you teach?  Internet skills, computer software applications, language, skills coaching for people seeking call center jobs, sales training for businesses getting ready to start an on-line presence, people who want to learn to blog or build web sites … the list is endless.  Run the classes yourself, hire an instructor, or rent the facility out to others who need a place to teach people.  I would also consider this … especially since a large percentage of your customers are likely to be students … and schools and Internet cafe proprietors often share a love-hate relationship.  Go to  a local school and offer them the sue of the facility during school hours to upgrade the training they provide … schools, especially public schools are likely to have no budget, but providing them instructional space for free is likely the best advertising you can spend … and you do something good for the community as well.
• Call Center: I have written before about thinking small instead of big .. start your own mini-call center or customer service facility.  medical transcription is big but there are dozens of call center opportunities for businesses who aren’t large enough to get on the "big guy’s" radar screens.
• Computer Shop: Hmm, didn’t I say earlier this was one of the common names for an Internet cafe?  let’s see, you have computers, people who know how to use them, probably a source for more computers … new or refurbed at a good price … why aren’t you selling computers to go?  Once people see the way they can use the ‘net to help their business or personal lives, why not have some simple package deals that will set up in people’s own houses or offices?  Sell the packages outright or lease them out at a per hour rate as if they were in your shop?  (You do use cafe management software, don’t you?  No reason you can manage computers in a different location as if they were in the same room.)  I actually see a whole new line of business here .. putting computer systems in businesses and actually being responsible to see they keep operating, rather than just being the on-call repair man who gets around to fixing things when he can.  One price, flat rate, computers that work ‘by the hour’.

If those aren’t enough business outside the box ideas, just let me know\, I have a few more ideas I can write up.

I also want to take a moment to announce something really good that will be available any day now.  My good friend and blogging colleague Bob martin is putting the finishing touches on a book that will blow wide open the idea that you can’t make money in the Philippines.  I’ll be announcing how you can get yours real soon now, stay tuned.

Related posts:

1. Real World Business — Running An Internet Cafe — Part 3
2. Real World Business — Running An Internet Cafe — Part 1
3. Real World Business — Running An Internet Cafe — Part 2
4. Can You Still Make Money With An Internet Cafe?
5. Can an Internet Cafe Make Money in the Philippines?

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