Making Money on Samal Island{7}
I expect that by the time we are able to move to Samal Island that I will be retired and we will be living mostly off my retirement income. I’ve often thought that it would be nice to move there earlier, but what I do for income? I’ve also given thought as to what I and my asawa will do, as in will I just be retired or have a small business.
Most expat-erts that I have had the pleasure of getting advice from, either directly or from their website, have emphatically recommended that one should start some kind of online venture. That could be one of a variety of things, but the point is to do it online. Physical jobs working in the Philippines for an employer is not advised due to a number of valid reasons. A few of those being:
- Extremely low pay
- Foreigners not employable
- Too old to be employable
Having your own business seems to be the best chance of making a go if it, if you aren’t going to take the advice of the expat-erts to make money online. Of course there are legal issues to maneuver that I’m not well versed in. Suffice to say, it’s likely you will need to have the business in your spouse’s name. Business licenses, permits, etc. are also obstacles that must be dealt with. I’m not going to get into that here.
What can I do?
My thoughts have gone from the possible to the improbable, but that’s what ideas are for, right? As with everything, there is a cost involved starting a business. Some more than others.
Restaurant
The tried and true restaurant, or restro bar. Many have tried, some have succeeded and most have failed. That’s true here as well. I have about 15 years experience in restaurant work, and I was very profitable. I’ve got an idea of how to make this work with the unique clientele of the island, but I think it would be a lot of work with little return.
Resort
It would take quite a few bucks to get this going AND you would have lots of competition. If you had the resources and had a good set up, I feel it would be pretty easy to make this succesful. Over half of the current Samal Island resorts don’t even have websites. Good luck making a reservation online and/or getting any information. Email – what’s that all about? This alone would almost insure success.
Travel Agent
Actually this would be more of a online service, with some leg work being done locally. It might be difficult to get any resorts to work with you, but that might not really matter. As I said, you can charge for your service in the fact that you can offer advice and reservations, because you respond.
Real Estate Agent
As I understand it, it’s not easy to become a real estate agent even if you are a citizen. I’m not even sure you could if you aren’t a citizen, but if you could it could be a big benefit to those looking for land there. Especially if you have a great website AND answer email (notice a trend?). To make this work you would need establish some good relationships with the resort developments and individual land owners.
English Teacher
A number of people have looked into this possibility. I don’t know that I have any real desire or the patience to do this. It seems that if you were good at it, and didn’t charge too much, you might build up a decent amount of students. More advanced would be to open a more formal school. Might be a good idea for just a little bit of extra income.
Convenience/Specialty Store
This seems to me to be something that is more plausible than some of the others. The number of stores on Samal Island is limited. Getting anything but basic items probably requires a trio to Davao. That’s OK if you live there, but what about the tourists? It might take a little bit of research to determine what kind of specialty items to feature, but I think there is a place for this.
Agriculture
Lots of possibilities here, but I particularly have interest in coconut and ginger. The export market seems to be open for certain products from within these items. There would be a large learning curve for me. It’s intriguing though.
I guess one could go on and on. It’s probable that I’ll do none of these, but it’s fun to contemplate.
Google+
Feb 12, 2010 @ 13:39:28
Randy,
Some good thoughts there. It’s good to explore every possibility. I’m looking into teaching English on the side — after I’m done with the science teaching. Q: have you checked out any other shopping cart plugins besides zen cart?
Feb 12, 2010 @ 18:58:15
Hi Kevin – it’s been quite awhile since I looked at and set up my shopping site. OS Commerce and Zen Cart are very similar and frankly overly complicated. I think it’s because of the way they developed over time, and they try to do everything.
I’ve seen a couple of nice looking ones out there, but you probably have a better idea as to what is current and good than I do. I think even one of the theme companies has a full blown shopping cart theme that looked nice.
Good luck on that, and let me know what you find out.
Good to hear from you!
Feb 13, 2010 @ 09:40:53
I’m checking out some shopping cart plug-ins for WP. Just something simple to start selling some items. Hope all is well.
Feb 13, 2010 @ 15:56:11
Keep me updated as to what works. Always interested in something better/simpler.
All is fine here.
Computer Cold Turkey | Journey to Samal
Feb 14, 2010 @ 10:27:58
[...] or more accurately stated, I don’t believe I would. Maybe you own a online business for making money and the thought isn’t even remotely possible. Probably your regular job requires it, whose [...]
Aug 07, 2011 @ 15:45:43
Hello Randy,
I can put you in contact with my father in-law. He is a farmer and knows Samal. He would be the best to learn from. If your interested let me know. I will give you my email address if you are.
Aug 07, 2011 @ 16:51:39
Thanks, Matthew. I’m not really to that point yet, but I appreciate the offer and I’ll keep it for reference when I am.
I’ve got your email, as it is required when you post. Only I can see it though.