Of course, as I have mentioned before here living in the Philippines the issue of income always seems to come up.  Also literallythousands of searches per year wind up here as people look for the answer to “How to earn a liivng in the Philippines” or, very often in my case here, “How can an Internet cafe earn money in the Philippines”?

It’s no secret that I don’t think much of the standard “Internet cafe” model in today’s business world.  (by the way you often get a blank look when you talk about Internet cafes here, many Filipinos refer to them as ‘Computer shops” even if the sign on the door says ‘Internet cafe”.

The reason I don’t think much of the ‘standard Internet cafe’ model … where clients at random come in and pay for the use of a workstation and connection by the hour is that I feel the margins are way too small.  You absolutley can set up a shop today and barring any major mistake you’ll make money, but the money is such a pittance you’d be better off to leave it in time deposits at rates that don’t even equal inflation.  Why work hard, spend tons of hours on something and end up with less money overall than you started with?

But I do think you can make money with the ‘computers on line’ model here in the Philippines.  In some cases I think you can make a lot of money.  One idea I talked about reently is being a “latchkey Kid” monitor for cleints back in the US. Another would be providing almost any kind of monitoring service for a business function … I’ll write more on this idea soon.

But here’s an interesting outsourcing Philippines article I came across a couple, days ago that is at least a good topic for discussion … outsourcing blogging to the Philippines:

… A lot things you do for your blog is (sic) nothing but a waste of your time. Some of these things, while necessary, certainly does not generate more income for you. The solution: outsource!

While you can outsource to just about anyone, the trend today is to outsource to the Philippines. Why the Philippines and not India or some other country?

According to Replace Yourself, an outsourcing guide by John Jonas, here’s why:

1. Philippinos speak and write good English, are are easy to instruct
2. It’s relatively cheaper to outsource to Philippines compared to most other English-speaking countries
3. They value foreign employers and are happy to work for a Caucasian boss

I think the selling point is that it’s easy to tell them what you want and with a little training, get them up to speed with your working style and work rate. Plus, communication is key and generally speaking it’s easier to understand Philippinos than a lot of other people….

Personally I have a couple issues with the statements … especially on getting Filipinos to take instruction … it’s not that people won’t take instruction here, it’s that the concept of what you want contrasts so strongly with what they think you want that life may prove quite frustrationg, but that’s all a matter of degree.

The article is written from the standpoint of an American or other Westerner developing the concept of outsourcing and throwing out feelers to find a source overseas, saving money and even more importantly, time.

Seems to me to be an intresting concept from a different viewpoint .. what if you, the person who wants to make money in the Philipines … prepared yourself to ‘catch’ those feelers.  Something like an ‘Articles on Demand’ operation, using a non-profitable “computer shop” as your base of operations?  Worth a thought I think.

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