What's a viable small business for expats to stay busy?

Jackson4 wrote:

Would a pizza-to-go kiosks work in the Philippines too like it does in the US?
Like Little Caesar's, Papa John's, etc.

Filipinos love to eat,  but a vey common business dream for Filipinos is starting foodcarts and such so the competition is EXTREEMLY hard.   So very FEW earn good. most earn bad even at Filipino messure or even lose.
The Filipinos, who earn good (at their messure),  talk about good LOCATION

Bizwizard, Your post has me curious. I'd like to get more details. carlisom78@outlook.com

coach53 wrote:

Jackson4 wrote:

Would a pizza-to-go kiosks work in the Philippines too like it does in the US?
Like Little Caesar's, Papa John's, etc.

Filipinos love to eat,  but a vey common business dream for Filipinos is starting foodcarts and such so the competition is EXTREEMLY hard.   So very FEW earn good. most earn bad even at Filipino messure or even lose.
The Filipinos, who earn good (at their messure),  talk about good LOCATION

This is so true coach, no matter the country. We looked at businesses here for years and nada. Far better returns in Australia for us to date. Location is the key and with location comes added costs. Big business, franchises like banks or jolly bees, cashed up and prepared to bow to the ridiculous out lays and rents or build (another issue),,,, long term should/could be OK but. Oft times better the old dog that you know. I'm here for retirement and honestly the last thing that I look for is a headache unless it makes me 20+% annually. Not here so far. I'm sure your business ventures here will prosper as you seem to be in control and are prepared to deal with the malarkey that officialdom offers.

Cheers, Steve.

Cheap/Clean/Tasty/Sweet/Easy to prepare but maybe a not so healthy food/snack here sounds like a winner to me. (omo)

manwonder wrote:

Cheap/Clean/Tasty/Sweet/Easy to prepare but maybe a not so healthy food/snack here sounds like a winner to me. (omo)

You will compeete against houndres of other such    

Foodselling, tricycles and sarisaris  are there far far far to many of in Phils allready. Concerning food that DON'Tmean it's impossible to succeed, a FEW do, but it's among the hardest to succeed in because foodcart/restaurant so mamy Filipinos have as favorite to start. ..

And IF you succeed, then will a bunch of Filipinos soon COPY and start CLOSE to you      because very few of them have any understanding of a so basic thing for Business as Supply&Demand...

That's why I stay away from all business ideas, which are sensitive of close copying.  Many PRODUCTIONS don't have that probllem, except if geting shortage of raw material.  (That's a reason we will control whole chain from geting enough raw material to finnished prodducst.  Perhaps we will add retail step too, but if so by agents, because I find that boring and not located where I want to be.)

bigpearl wrote:

This is so true coach, no matter the country. We looked at businesses here for years and nada. Far better returns in Australia for us to date. Location is the key and with location comes added costs. .

Did you look at PRODUCTION?   The succeeding foreigners I know of started different such.
Big foreign companies have productions in Phils too.

Most Productions aren't much location sensitive and can be started at nuch cheaper locations. 
(As e g the business type I'm starting suit to be rural, so the 3-4 businesses we are buying including rather much land cost LESS total than a tiny shop in good location in a city.)   
Then we will transport lorrry loads of the products to markets elsewhere. When we start geting biger production we will probably sell container loads to Manila and perhaps even export, but I expect reaching that will take at least 5 years.

Btw - restaurants had a very high failure rate in Sweden too before covid too.  I suppouse it's similar in other "western" countries.

Supply and demand, that's why fuel is 4 bucks a gallon in the US, AU 5.20, EU 3.36. and 200 plus pesos per gallon here so the average worker works all day to purchase two and a half gallons of fuel. OPEC regulates the price but who regulates the supply? Coach, raw materials, ask China. Wants, wishes and politics.
You are correct with the copy mentality and all struggling to make a meagre living, happens in many countries not only here. If you can corner a niche market go for it but given time? Patents? Protection? Not here.

Cheers, Steve.

bigpearl wrote:

Supply and demand, that's why fuel is 4 bucks a gallon in the US,
Cheers, Steve.

According to Gas Buddy, the cheapest gas is in Mississippi $2.59 a gallon and 38 states have gas at less than $3 a gallon.

bigpearl wrote:

Supply and demand, that's why fuel is 4 bucks a gallon in the US, AU 5.20, EU 3.36. and 200 plus pesos per gallon here so the average worker works all day to purchase two and a half gallons of fuel. OPEC regulates the price but who regulates the supply? Coach, raw materials, ask China. Wants, wishes and politics..

Well. It depend of too how much "energy taxes" and  VAT governments take. In Sweden they are high so 5+ USD per gallon.

bigpearl wrote:

You are correct with the copy mentality and all struggling to make a meagre living, happens in many countries not only here. If you can corner a niche market go for it but given time? Patents? Protection? Not here..

Concerning copying business ideas isn''t the copying the problem, it's Filipinos copy TO CLOSE to the origin so everyone lose - except the customers   
E  g at one tiny island ONE started selling load some years ago and earned good in Filipino messure.  Soon copied a bunch so everyone have to drop the prices to get sold. It ended up with some even sold BELOW what they bought it for to get cash for the stock...

Yes you're right.
I was buying a local SIM card, I think it was SM (near NAIA) where small kiosks are.
There are a good number of these little stores selling 'loads' and SIM.
I was about to leave from the Philippines in 3 days. I told the seller I also wanted to buy a SIM and the needle so I can replace the local SIM with my US SIM once on the plane. They don't sell it. 😱. Of all the 10 SIM sellers in the 500 sq.ft. area, no one sells the needle. I offered to buy the one the seller was using, but got denied. They can sell me one at a high profit margin, but they don't. I bet you once one store start selling those, all of them will sell them too. 😂

Enzyte Bob wrote:

bigpearl wrote:

Supply and demand, that's why fuel is 4 bucks a gallon in the US,
Cheers, Steve.

According to Gas Buddy, the cheapest gas is in Mississippi $2.59 a gallon and 38 states have gas at less than $3 a gallon.

I stand corrected Bob.

Cheers, Steve.

bigpearl wrote:

Supply and demand, that's why fuel is 4 bucks a gallon in the US, AU 5.20, EU 3.36. and 200 plus pesos per gallon here so the average worker works all day to purchase two and a half gallons of fuel. OPEC regulates the price but who regulates the supply? Coach, raw materials, ask China. Wants, wishes and politics.
You are correct with the copy mentality and all struggling to make a meagre living, happens in many countries not only here. If you can corner a niche market go for it but given time? Patents? Protection? Not here.

Cheers, Steve.

In the states the Federal Tax & State taxes added on to the price of fuel. Now with more fuel efficient vehicles, hybrids and electric cars the Government is not collecting as much tax money. Electric cars will lead to less demand for gasoline/diesel fuel. To make up for the lost revenue some think someday we may be taxed by how much we drive. The technology for monitoring your car is in easy reach. A scary thought is that you will receive an ebill according on how many miles you drove. if you don't pay your car will electronically be disabled.

Finance companies are doing that now.

Now offset the lessening demand for fuel the developing nations will be selling more cars.

A comment on other threads about location, if it's for retail to the public it's three things Location, Location, Location. If it's online your apt/house will do, If it's wholesale manufacturing the cheapest place you can find.