Several years ago, when this site was still in it’s infancy, I wrote an article entitled “Big Fish, Small Pond.” In recent days, I have been thinking over that idea again, and I had a few thoughts about it, which is why I am writing this article.
You may feel a bit put off by the title of this article, but truth is, the title kind of sums up what I am thinking about, although it is really not anything negative.
In the “big world” picture of things, the truth is that most of us, nearly all of us are pretty inconsequential in terms of the world. Now, if you are the CEO of General Electric, or the President of the United States, or somebody on that kind of stage, then yes, you can make a big impact on the world around you. If you are like me, and the vast majority of people… well… the truth is that you really won’t be making a big impact on world happenings.
In my original article on this theme, I talked about a time a few years ago when I was a speaker at the 1st Annual Mindanao Bloggers Summit when it was held here in Davao City. I talked about how, if I were still back in the States, I would not have such an opportunity, because frankly, if I were in the USA, I would be virtually unknown. However, living here in the Philippines, I have managed to build up enough recognition that I can have some impact on my community, and I do get a relatively large amount of recognition. But, this article is not about me, I only use my experience as an example for what I really want to talk about here today.
You see, the thing that is on my mind is mostly business. A lot of you tell me via e-mail, and even in the comments here on LiP that you really, really want to move to the Philippines and live here, but you just don’t have enough money to do so. Well, perhaps you should think that over again. You see, here in the Philippines, the “pond” is much smaller, and as a fish, your size will be increased. What I mean is that there is a lot less competition, depending on what you want to do, and also you have some inherent advantages that you would not have if you are back in your home country.
What kind of advantages? Well, for one, the simple fact that you are a foreigner is an advantage here. It sounds a bit strange, but it is true that many local people in business consider the fact that you are a foreigner to mean that you are “better” in business or whatever endeavor that you are following. I have a friend who is from Europe and has been in business here in the Philippines for well over 20 years now, and he always tells me that his “white skin” is one of his primary assets in business. It sounds racist, and perhaps it is, but it is also a fact here. Many people here feel that if you are from somewhere outside the Philippines, you have more exposure to your area of business, and that your increased exposure means that you are better in some way. When you have such a built in advantage, even though the racial overtones may make you feel a bit uncomfortable, it it an advantage that is there for the taking.
So, if you want to come here and start a business and succeed, you have a number of built in advantages. It makes you start out as “somebody” or “something” even though back home you really were nothing, just the same as everybody else.
So, think it over, and if you really want to live here as badly as many tell me they do, consider that there will be advantages available to you, and decide how you can exploit those advantages and use them to be a success here!
So, going back to the title.. no, I don’t think you are nothing! But, I do think you can be a lot more here than you already are.
Bob;
The only downside to being a Kano is, we can never own the pond. But the swimming is the fun part anyway.
With the talented local people I’ve met here, I’m not sure if I’d want to compete with them. They are far and above more knowledgeable about local markets and how to work the system then I’d ever be. But I’ll also admit I’ve seen some Kano’s do very well here, but they had the ability to flow with the tide and not against it.
Hi Paul – Yeah, you can’t own the pond, but the swimming is free and enjoyable! Ha ha… good analogy!
Bob;
Since many of my friends, know I had two nightclubs in Puerto Rico and made good money, they have all asked if I’d like to partner with them in a bar. 1. If you want to fail in a hurry, have a partner. 2. Not one had ever owned a bar, but are experts. 4. Chas’s 3 year rule is 100% correct (listed below) but they will not believe it. 5. The bar market is saturated, if you close your eyes and throw a rock in this area, you’ll hit either a stray dog, or another failing bar owned by a Kano. 6. You’ll never own the bar, but the bar will own you.
Being a customer is far and above more fun, kinda like that swiming thing I pointed out above.!
Hi Paul – It seems like every expat wants to own a bar… I just don’t get it. Most of them fail because, as you point out, they know nothing about the bar business.
My disagreement with Chas on the 3 year thing relates to online business where your start-up costs are next to nothing. To open up a brick and mortar business like a bar, you have to spend a lot of money, and thus it takes time to recover that.
Bob;
I’ll agree with your assessment on the online business, as I have no knowledge on that side of the house. The 100% I gave him will hold true on the brick and mortar businesses only! So I guess that, You, Chas, and myself are just some smart guys, albeit myself could be a stretch!
Hi Paul – Ha ha.. I was thinking that the stretch was including me! 😆
Paul: I have some familiarity with the bar business, because all of the restaurants where I worked had bars… It is still a different animal.
You are right, as with a restaurant, the bar will own you. So many people seem to have an idea that they will be standing behind a bar all day, chit chatting with customers. Yes, you may do some of that, but a bar requires your presence and attention 100% of the time. Hardly the retirement many people think about.
One of the first jobs I ever had was as a cook at a sports / biker bar in Tampa. Worked there for about a year while in school. Owner was an alcoholic, relentlessly henpecked by his wife. 90% of their business was “regulars”, with the odd biker club that would ride through town giving the odd windfall. He started the bar thinking that he could sit there and drink beer all day, which he did. Problem was that when you have an alcoholic / drug addict staff who think the same way, lots of your profits just disappear out the back door.
Hi John – I think that what you are saying about the owner who thinks he can just sit around and drink beer all day applies to a lot of expats here. They all want to open a bar, and mostly because they want to kick back with a SanMig all day long. Unfortunately, in most cases that just doesn’t work out.
Hey, John, how about a bartender who not only is an alcoholic, but a thief as well.
I know a bartender at a restaurant/bar in DC who brings his own bottle of liquor at the bar and sells drink after drink from it and makes a profit of from $25 to $35 out of that one bottle that he bought from the liquor store for $39.95.
Ricardo; That is why owning a bar requires you be there at all times. What you describe is not uncommon.
John
Totally agree with you on that. You should be there at all times unless there is someone you can really trust. When starting a business you should always have enough capital for at least one year of running w/o making a profit. Thats really something about the bartender. You have to really find people you can trust.
Ricardo;
Another bartender trick is to ring up a lot of happy hour drinks that weren’t sold, sell them later for full price, and keep half. at the close of business the register and inventory will be correct, and the bartender will be very well off.
John;
You are so right, I’ll add another little known fact as I’ve seen this happen. The bar goes bust, who’s the new owner? The bars old bartender.
Now for a funny but true bar story. My Master Chief I worked for in Charleston S.C., retired and leased a fully stocked bar there. He never opened it or applied for a license. Him and his friends, myself included, would just go there and hang around, and we’d restock it by bringing our own drink, listen to the jukebox, play pool. and play the gambling games. Six months later he shut it down and because of the games and jukebox, he broke ever. Havin’ your cake, and eaten’ too!
Paul,
I’m with you regarding running bars,i saw many blue collar workers collect their nice redundancy packages in the late 80s recession and plough it into leasing/buying bars.
Their only ever experience had been as a regular paying customer,need i say,most went broke a few years down the road.
Chas;
A fool and his money…
You can’t ignore the fact that being foreign and white-skinned is a built in advantage … go to a mall and look at the shops … you can move 10 meters without coming across yet another ‘skin whitening’ place, and you can’t watch a half-hour of TV without six or eight ‘skin whitening’ products being showcased all by models with very, very white skin.
Light or dark, a foreigner gets preferential treatment, if you don’t let this go to your head, you can use it to good advantage. I always get a kick out of foreigners who tell me they feel badly treated by Filipinos. That sure hasn’t been my experience. Quite the opposite for me.
Hi Dave – I fully agree with your statement about “if you don’t let it go to your head”. I think that most of us do let it go to our head. It’s hard not to, really. But, the real key is whether we can get back to reality and understand that we are not nearly as special as we are made out to be.
Bob
I think I understand how Kano’s are percieved there in RP but I dont understand why they put them selvesbelow Kano just because the White factor.
But alot of Kano’s take the white advantage and run with it in the wrong direction and when they do I think it gets ugly. Every time I hear of old fart social misfit Kano’s that go to the RP and all of a sudden turn into chick magnets kind of sickens me.
Or you and others have written about when Kano goes to the RP and tries to get things done “The Ameican Way” and change the way filipino’s do things and insist the Kano way is better.
If this White advantage goes in the right direction I am sure it is a great feeling that you can actually have good impact on someones life. I am no expert but from what I read here it seems like the people are all doing well with their White advantage even if it is not in any type of business adventure.
Someday I will big in the pond, and the pond will be in San Francisco Agusan Delsur. There are alot of distant relatives there that are dirt poor that I will in some small way impact their lives for the better. Of course it will be feeding my head as well.
Hi Neal – Although I used the “white skin” as an example, I didn’t mean to make it out fully to be a skin color thing. It’s a foreigner thing. If you are from abroad, regardless of your skin color, many Filipinos feel that you have better ideas, are good in business and such. It’s strange, I agree with that, and I don’t know for sure why it is like that, but I do know that it is truly the way that it is.
San Francisco, Agusan del Sur… that’s not even a pond.. just a puddle along the road! You’ll be a shark in a puddle there! 😆
Perhaps because we are well equiped—especially with education maybe? My partner was enrolled in Mass Communication in Surigao. Part of their assessment was some thing to do with PE!! Yes Physical Education.. playing basketball and they will fail you for being late or not attending… go figure. it has nothing to do with Mass Communication…
Interesting, JC. It sounds like they are putting a lot of emphasis on that PE class!
Bob
Oh I hear you San Francisco is a bit off the beaten path, but the puddle is growing with all the rain they have had there recently.
I recently had a day of reckoning, even though we are thousands of miles away we are having a impact on their lives. We got 25 pictures from Christmas when the relatives were opening up the Balikbayan Box. It was so great to see the kids enjoying little simple things that we provided.
Ha ha.. indeed there has been a lot of rain, but don’t forget that the puddle may dry up when the dry season arrives! 😉
Yes, there is a lot of reward from helping others, I know that from experience!
Hi Bob,
A lot depends on the person and their experience,so many with no business experience seem to start conventional business’s they know little about,so most fail.
The old adage “Stick to what you know” comes to mind.
The ammount of times i hear of expats with little or no retail experience,who are going to open a Bar or Sari Sari store etc,and sit back as the money rolls in,is unbelievable.
Apart from knowledge and experience,it takes hard work,long hours and more hardwork,which some seem to forget.
I’ve just remembered another old adage:
1st year = loss,
2nd year = break even,
3rd year = profit.
This is a good guideline.
Personally,i would forget the vast majority of conventional business’s these days,online business is the future.
However,its still important to choose something you are knowledgeable about,it also takes time and a lot of hardwork.
Ideally,it would be best to build an online business that you can operate anywhere in the world, build it in your home country first,then relocate when its flourishing.
I also feel starting an online business from scratch in the PH is ok,if you have significant funds to cover you for the first couple of years.
Just my 2cents worth,lol.
Regards,
Chas.
Hi Chas – No doubt about much that you say… but I also disagree with some. That’s OK, though, friends can disagree. For online businesses, something which I have a lot of experience with, you can start on the cheap. I have never spent more than $100 to start an online business, and some of my online businesses have made me significant money. Also, in my thinking, you should be able to turn a profit with an online business within 6 months or so, sometimes even less!
Thanks for commenting, Chas!
No problem Bob,you know way more than i do about online business,most of my experience has been in the (old) bricks and mortar business,lol.
I hear what you say about turning a profit online within 6 months,but i feel it would be wiser for most online novices to have at least 1years living expenses (if they have no other source of income) rather than relocate there on a wing and a prayer,as some do.
“Different strokes for different folks”,lol.
Hi Chas – You and I do disagree… but not in the way you think we do. I personally feel that having one year’s worth of money to live on is not nearly enough! Anybody coming here to live should have 3 or 4 years worth of money (unless they have a pension or some other money that comes in regularly, without doubt) before they even think about moving here. Doing anything less than that, in my opinion, is a foolish move.
So, what I am saying is that you can turn a profit in 6 months online if you have the right idea. However, I don’t think you will make enough profit to live on within that time! And, you will probably experience a number of failures before you find that right idea that will fund your lifestyle.
Take care, Chas!
Hi Bob,
We are running along similar lines,lol,although my previous estimation of 2yrs living expenses was a bit too optomistic.Lets face it,if you don’t know,who does.
Lets hope this discussion gives PH wanabees serious food for thought.
As you know,i will have a reasonable pension when i finally arrive,so any future online enterprise for me,will just be a nice bonus.My priority will be to get Sheryl doing something educational online.
All the best,Bob!
Yeah, Chas, I think we are thinking along the same lines. Whatever figure you come up with, I think we both agree that a backup plan is needed, and plenty of money to get settled here nicely.
Hi Bob – All I can add is I’m so glad I have retired and I don’t have to worry about competition or how other people see me and as for the pond, I’m not keen in playing in dirty water.
Regards.
Jim.
Hi Jim – If you are happy, I am happy for you! In my case, I moved here at a much younger age than you did, so I have to have some means to support my family. Besides, business is in my blood, and I suspect that I will always have some sort of business, even in my older years.
Bob: I would agree about the white aspect (like it or not). Generally, we also agree about the brick / mortar timeline… Reminds me about that South Park episode “Underpants Gnomes”
Step 1: Collect Underpants.
Step 2: ???????
Step 3: Profit.
Where so many businesses fail is in determining step 2. There are millions who understand step 1, whatever the business. Step b2 is having a proper business plan… Those who reach step 3 have taken the time to adequately develop a plan.
Hi John – I agree with you. However, I have to admit… I have never really done a true “business plan” on paper before. When I think of a new business, I plan it out in my head and go with it…. never really do a formal business plan. I’ve been lucky!
Hi bob thats an interesting slant on things ,i never thought that being a white fella was really that important , or that it could woprk to my advantage ,in our country if you are white normally its the last on the line call me a racist if you like but here , boat people ,aboriginals and others seem to get the better end of the deal than your average aussie ,it has not always been this way but all the do gooders ,and human rights people have seen to that ,at present we have some nutta in sydney claiming he wants to make australia a muslim state under islamic law ,i think you have a similar problem there ,hmm to many nuts and not enough bowls to put them in i say ,i have to agree with paul i think that most philipinos would leave me dead in comerce they have had to be able to make something from nothing and some i beleive have done very well as for me well i will probably stay a small fish
chris
Hi chris – Just to be clear, I want to say that I do not agree that a foreigner is better at business than a Filipino. But, that is the thinking by a lot of people here… so as long as that is what people think… might as well take advantage of it!
Chris, I tend to disagree with you that you say that the whites here in Australia are last in line. As a Filipino living here, I find it hard to move up the ranks. Us migrants we feel can only move up to certain grades. Once we reach that—it’s all whites from there, which so happens where the big bucks are at.
I can’t speak for myself on this matter as I gave up well before I could get to any notable position in an industry I wanted to call a career. But looking at hospitality specifically hoteliers, it seems the “whites” moves faster than us migrants.
Whilst I do agree with you that we are lenient with the new comers and appears that our “aeta” erm.. Aborigines that is and some islanders given what seems to be an biased preferrential treatment. They are even listed in some of government forms that we fill in. They are also the ones who are struggling. Who appears to be in the bottom of our totem pole. It’s not right I know. But it’s what is.
Like you I am sick and tired of the bickering in Australia with racial crap and especially our current issues with our middle eastern counter parts—no, not the ones who migrated here but the ones who are born here and cry racist! Issues like you mentioned about Islam and what not—where if you go to their country where non-christian values dominates and we somewhat enforce our Christian values in theirs we can get punished by lashes, jails and tortured. Yet they come to Australia and cry foul. You know the words we use for that. You don’t like it here, go back home! To which they reply.. YOU’RE RACIST! You know it Chris, our political correctness has gone to the toilets! Badly!
When I was still living in Philippines and called Philippines home, before leaving it under 10 years of age, I was looking up to the “whites” already. The only whites I knew were Americans. It didn’t matter where you are from if you are white you are American. I was even trying to eat like one, knives and forks only. Erm.. now I eat with chopsticks! But going back, I somewhat grew up somehow taught that whites were a lot better than us in every single way with the exeption of family values.
That’s another thing the gets to me! A see Filipinos portray themselves as god fearing Christians and then behind doors grrr!!!!
Hi jc ,i am not sure i agree with you there ,the people i am talking about are the boat people who are crying refugee status ,now as you would have seen on the news there have ben rioots on christmas island ,burning of accomadation ect .Where i work we have a number of young philipinos who do such thngs as project managers ,cad ect .My wife has been here three years now ,she could have gone into a career as someone in the financial sector with her degree but after realizing how much extra schooling she would have had to do to atain the same qualifications as she had in the phillipines she settled on a carreer as a carer .J ust recently she was accepted into a undergraduate course for a registered nurse ,not bad for three years in a foreign country ,this is why i say that this is the lucky country and you can just about do anything that you like here ,i get angry to when i hear the cry your racist if certain people dont get there way ,whta i think the problem is is that people think that we just let anyone into this country ,it aint so you will know the hassles and greif to get here i salute all migrants who come here through the correct channels and hope that they will embrace there new country and its traditions the same as i would were i to be living in the islands (one day hopefully) but they must leave the greif and problems in there old homeland dont bring them here .We as australians can be very rascist i am certain of that ,my eyes were really opend on my first trip to th phillipines ,i thought i had landed on another planet i have never seen poverty and a way of life like that before ,but i have never met people so warm and friendly towards a stranger and this is why i wish to return ,,i hope this tries to explain what i was trying to say in my reply to bobs post
chris
“Many people here feel that if you are from somewhere outside the Philippines, you have more exposure to your area of business, and that your increased exposure means that you are better in some way. When you have such a built in advantage, even though the racial overtones may make you feel a bit uncomfortable, it it an advantage that is there for the taking.”
so very true, bob.
some of the earliest (pre-world war II) entrepreneurial pioneers in Cagayan de Oro alone were expats who decided to stay and made good, eventually becoming to integral the community with at least 3 generations of descendants with mixed-pinoy ancestry today.
foreign-sounding surnames considered essentially kagay-anon today include willkom (german-american), fournier (french), malferrari (italian), challoner (american), marfori (italian), aberasturi (i’m not sure if originally basque or italian), among others.
hardly any spanish friars there like most people attribute where mestizo-looking features come from! hehe ” )
cheers,
Hi Biz Doc – Yes, I agree that it is true for sure… not that I agree though!
Darn… I just suffered through a major “brownout” here in Florida. Lasted maybe 1 millisecond!!! lol Just long enough for the lights to blink, the TV to stutter, and Norton Antivirus software to kick in and start scanning my external hard drives that just blinked off for a second. Thank god for UPS systems — the computer stayed up and running.
Bob, maybe you need to add one more business to things Expats can do to make money in the Philippines — distribute or resell UPS Systems — primarily to other Expats!
As for keeping a good perspective of your relative “importance” in this crowded world, my x-first sergeant summed things up pretty well when he would tell someone to go down to the ocean and put their hand in the water. Then pull your hand out quickly and see just how much an impact you have on the level of the ocean. That would be the impact most of us have on this earth. However, we can all certainly have more relative impact, good or bad, on the ones who surround us in life.
Hi Rich – Starting a business to sell to expats is a losing proposition! There just are not enough expats to make a business out of anything! 😆
Glad you made it through that long brownout, Rich! It must have been hell! 😉
Hi Bob
I guess im fortunate as i will get a pension when im finally retired , its not a lot but im sure my wife and baby will be ok on it…but that would not stop me from investing into something that i could share with my wifes family so that their standard of living gets a boost. I have thought of buying and selling rubber which seems to be quite good and something my wifes younger brother could do for us and receive a salary or bonus…but at this stage i dont have a truck for taking the harvested rubber into the dealers so i need to research the cost of hiring a truck and how much the added expense would take away from the profit margin…all in good time i guess.
Hi David – You and I are both lucky, my friend! You are lucky that you will have a pension. I am lucky that I got to move to the Philippines at the young age of 38! We can both count our blessings!
Hi Bob … its Richard (the New Zealander) from Kidapawan City (Island of Mindanao). Thought I would write a few words on living and running a business here in the Philippines. I’ve been living here now for 3 years with my Filipina wife. In that 3 years we have been running a Sari-sari store which has been growing in size and turnover. I’ve seen articles from other writers that say the Sari-sari store should be avoided to foreigners as a means to live by. However my experience is the opposite. Having previously been a farmer (milking cows) for some 18 years in New Zealand I’m not worried about getting my hands dirty and so am involved at the “coal face” so to speak repacking charcoal (uling), cooking oil (mantika), sugar etc etc.
One of the advantages about being a foreigner serving in a sari-sari store is that people come to the store to learn english, test out their level of english, have a laugh (sometimes) at the white man (puti) being a Filipino or just because you provide a good service and always have the product they want.
The very first “downside” I identified about Sari-sari stores was that many of them are “sorry sari stores”. What I mean by this is that people didn’t or don’t have the capital to start and continue to run the business properly. This doesn’t just apply to business here in the Philippines but also in “Western countries” as well. If you are going to run a business you need to do it properly otherwise you become a “sorry (fill in the blank)”.
Our income stream is not just from the Sari-sari store as the income from this source only puts food on the table, pays the power, water and cable TV, wages (1 person) & two thirds of the house rent. Any extra capital input or extra expenses like new clothes etc comes from rice harvests and coconut harvests where we have money loaned out to local farmers.
Of course there is also the downside to being the foreigner in that the “skin tax” can, more often than not, come into play but there is also the up side to being the foreigner which Bob has already pointed out and which I have found, from first hand experience, to be the case in running a business here in the Philippines.
hi richard,
glad to know your 3-year old sari-sari store is “…growing in size & turnover”!
most people here forget that countless chinese migrants to the philippines became the business tycoons they are today by starting that way, repacking volume products to sell as sari-sari store retail sachets, eventually expanding to grocery- and supermarket-scale operations over the years where margins are kept low but the turnover volumes are huge.
sari-sari stores in growing cities such as kidapawan typically start out selling stuff primarily for home consumption, eventually adding sections for OTC medicines, hardware stuff, fertilizer & animal feeds. given the tropical heat/humidity and the cost of transportation fares, people tend to gravitate to stores that carry almost everything so that they need not waste time looking for essential stuff elsewhere.
distributors carrying products from manila tend to look for ’embedded’ retailers who’ll stay in place through thick & thin, and reward them with stocks for retail with up to 45 days credit. most of these van-driving fellows sharing the retail territory eat & sleep in the same places, and oftentimes share the unsavory tidbits about which retailers don’t pay on time. reputation goes a long way, so it helps that you’ve committed to remain in kidapawan for the long haul.
if you’ve not been extended credit by any of your suppliers, maybe it’s time to ask!
here’s wishing you all the best to make it good in PH!
cheers,
Hi Biz Doc …. thanks for the information you passed on. By the way are you also living here in the Philippines ?
hi richard,
yes, based in Manila but grew up in Mindanao. best wishes!
cheers,
hi bob my wife and got a waterfront property givien to us. its 60 by 100 ft we are thinking of starting a outside grilling business and fruit stand. her mother has great exsperiance in that. do you think it could be profitable enough for us to live there.
Hi Mark – It’s hard to say without knowing more. If the area is in a good spot for traffic and such. That said, though… a grill place and fruit stand are so common, and there are so many of them around, it will be a tough business, for sure.
hi mark,
guess you’re one of the lucky few expats with something on hand to build on!
it would be good to study your area and find out what consumer demand niches are not being served, or are currently under-served. what’s the population in your place, and where is it exactly?
cheers,