General Info

[QUOTE=ImAGuy;2018694]Is anyone here running a coffee shop here? I've been considering it.[/QUOTE]I'd go with RK's excellent advice. First, because you cannot open a business on your own. You don't know the system, have no idea how to get the myriad permits needed, and second because as a foreigner, you're not allowed to operate a business that isn't controlled by a Filipino. Even if you were somehow able to open a business under your control, you would find so many hurdles placed in your path that it simply would not be worth your while. I've had two businesses here, both of which were, at least on paper, controlled by Filipinos and it was they who took care of all of the endless paperwork and compliance issues. Believe me, you do not want to get involved with any of it.

As RK points out, there are hundreds of coffee shops in every major city here, and the first question you might want to ask yourself is what would distinguish your's from any of the others? There's Starbucks, there's Seattle's Best, and there are literally hundreds of other boutique operations all competing for the same customers willing to pay for "designer" coffee. Not sure what you could do to distinguish yourself from all the rest.

As strongly implied in RK's post, this is essentially a "closed" economy, and it doesn't welcome foreigners. So, unless you've got a wife / girlfriend / other friends whom you trust 100% with your investment capital, I'd advise you to invest elsewhere.

GE.

[QUOTE=ImAGuy;2018694]Is anyone here running a coffee shop here? I've been considering it.[/QUOTE]Can you give more details of what you are considering? Does it include food? Sandwiches? Sit down hot plated menu?

Also where in Philippines?

RK / GE,

Thanks for the detailed responses and no worries -- I kinda figured as much. I pretty much don't trust anyone here, anymore, but was willing to take a risk since I have some spare cash lying around. But you guys probably told me what I needed to hear. I'd probably have better luck in the stock market.

So business here is the same as China then, huh? Possibly worse?

DG -- nothing special, a Starbucks clone with similar coffee, more seating, different food. In my area, pretty much every coffee shop is at max capacity at almost any given time / day. Not exaggerating. People practically fight for seats around here. I'm not even near Manila, either. Common to see 40 something ladies with LV bags dropping 2 k on trays for family / friends. (When did this stop being a third world country, exactly?

[QUOTE=ImAGuy;2018967]RK / GE,

Thanks for the detailed responses and no worries -- I kinda figured as much. I pretty much don't trust anyone here, anymore, but was willing to take a risk since I have some spare cash lying around. But you guys probably told me what I needed to hear. I'd probably have better luck in the stock market.

So business here is the same as China then, huh? Possibly worse?

[/QUOTE]Having been a partner in two business in Manila (garment company and restaurant in Salcedo) stay far away from trying to do business in Philippines. China is also a closed shop for the restaurant business (just FYI. Any restaurants in China owned by non chinese is restricted to 40 seats maximum).

I say trying because that's all you can do. Lots of laws and lots of red tape and lots and lots of people checking on your business, plus the moment its known a non filipino is running a place, everything attracts a premium.

Talk to Billy King who used to run LE Souffle in Global City. Stabbed in back by both his Filipino partners who he had known and worked with for 15 years. One day they decided he would no longer be a partner and with their lawyers they fixed it. Billy was happy and sad a year later when LE Souffle closed due to lack of business.

Many other stories like that abound. Moral of the stories. Stay away, far far far away.

[QUOTE=ImAGuy;2018967]RK / GE,

Thanks for the detailed responses and no worries -- I kinda figured as much. I pretty much don't trust anyone here, anymore, but was willing to take a risk since I have some spare cash lying around. But you guys probably told me what I needed to hear. I'd probably have better luck in the stock market.

So business here is the same as China then, huh? Possibly worse?

DG -- nothing special, a Starbucks clone with similar coffee, more seating, different food. In my area, pretty much every coffee shop is at max capacity at almost any given time / day. Not exaggerating. People practically fight for seats around here. I'm not even near Manila, either. Common to see 40 something ladies with LV bags dropping 2 k on trays for family / friends. (When did this stop being a third world country, exactly?[/QUOTE]I am not sure if the stock market is any better. I do think it would be worse investing in China.

If you have spare cash to play with and the loss of it won't cause you to go to 2 meals a day instead of 3, then why not? Just remember you will have to be on top of it. You will be hard pressed to find talent and skilled workers like in first world countries. You will have employee theft like in any country. It may be more management intensive than you like.

Remember you will be making pesos and have to trust someone to hold title and money. Which I have had a few people holding cash and title for me and never had a problem. This was about 100 k plus, so there are trustworthy people in Philippines. Also the permits and licensing can be a pain but not really that bad. I had one girl that could handle that every year and she learned how quickly after the first time.

My problem was the staffing did not want to learn and got lazy. I had daily staff of 4-6 and averaged firing 1-2 a month. Your operation will require strict management and supervision. Not for an absentee owner for sure, in my opinion.

[QUOTE=ImAGuy;2018967]RK / GE,

Thanks for the detailed responses and no worries -- I kinda figured as much. I pretty much don't trust anyone here, anymore, but was willing to take a risk since I have some spare cash lying around. But you guys probably told me what I needed to hear. I'd probably have better luck in the stock market.

So business here is the same as China then, huh? Possibly worse?

DG -- nothing special, a Starbucks clone with similar coffee, more seating, different food. In my area, pretty much every coffee shop is at max capacity at almost any given time / day. Not exaggerating. People practically fight for seats around here. I'm not even near Manila, either. Common to see 40 something ladies with LV bags dropping 2 k on trays for family / friends. (When did this stop being a third world country, exactly?[/QUOTE]Keep it mind, just because a business is full of customers does not mean it is making money. Only amateurs and non business owners would draw that conclusion. Sometimes a siomai cart makes more money than these businesses.

Like I said if you got money to play with and don't mind losing it then why not.

[QUOTE=ImAGuy;2018967] *** Thanks for the detailed responses and no worries -- I kinda figured as much. I pretty much don't trust anyone here, anymore, but was willing to take a risk since I have some spare cash lying around.[/QUOTE]Question: What's the best way to leave the Philippines with US $1 million?

Answer: First come in to the Philippines with US $2 million.

An old joke, with more than a grain of truth. Have heard it applied to China as well.

Angeles in particular (and the Phils in general) is / are replete with chronicles of "porriners", especially newbies, who sought to start businesses with trusted Filipina wives or girlfriends, or trusted Filipino lawyers or other Filipino partners, only to be fleeced and disillusioned, and often impoverished and embittered.

Not surprisingly, the local game is rigged in favor of locals.

Having said that, there are a comparatively few expats who have started and manage successful ongoing businesses in the Phils. I reckon there might even be a few who are posting on ISG. In many cases, these are very savvy guys who have been around since God made corporal, and who often have accumulated scars of experience along the way.

Who needs the aggravation? I can p*ss away my money quickly enough just having fun.

OM.

P.S. Those Chinoy taipans of course are Filipinos of Chinese descent.

[QUOTE=ImAGuy;2018967]Thanks for the detailed responses and no worries -- I kinda figured as much. I pretty much don't trust anyone here, anymore, but was willing to take a risk?[/QUOTE]Has anyone been anywhere in the provinces where you don't come across a hotel, or a restaurant, or a combination of both that isn't owned, run, and operated by a Filipina and foreigner situation? These places are everywhere. And like everywhere, you don't take a partner without love or leverage. Since last summer, we've seen tons of these places in Camiguin, Bantayan, Malapascua, Siargao- all nice islands where businesses can capture tourist money.

Just a PSA to would-be investors: make sure you understand the Philippines' anti-dummy law, [URL]http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/comacts/ca_108_1936.html[/URL].

[QUOTE=Golfinho;2019155]Has anyone been anywhere in the provinces where you don't come across a hotel, or a restaurant, or a combination of both that isn't owned, run, and operated by a Filipina and foreigner situation? These places are everywhere. And like everywhere, you don't take a partner without love or leverage. Since last summer, we've seen tons of these places in Camiguin, Bantayan, Malapascua, Siargao- all nice islands where businesses can capture tourist money.[/QUOTE]The other thing to notice is the amount of capital that was invested to return bugger all. So often we can sit in these places and see no one else. The money has been spent on the building, it cannot be recovered, it cannot leave the country. The business will survive because of the low cost of OJT labor. The country is also filled with poorly maintained resorts.

[QUOTE=BrainDrain;2019323]The other thing to notice is the amount of capital that was invested to return bugger all. So often we can sit in these places and see no one else. The money has been spent on the building, it cannot be recovered, it cannot leave the country. The business will survive because of the low cost of OJT labor. The country is also filled with poorly maintained resorts.[/QUOTE]I know several foreigners who have done very well here running a variety of businesses. What sets them apart from the rest of the crowd is their intimate knowledge of the country, their carefully cultivated and maintained connections, and the almost impenetrable webs of fronts they've managed to establish. Conversely, I know of not a single foreigner who arrives here fresh off the boat, so to speak, starts a business, and winds up successful. It's not only the law cited by Huts, which prevents event astute but naïve foreigners from generating significant investment returns, but a failure to understand how things really work and a concomitant knowledge of how to operate under the constraints. Virtually all aspects of business management here, from the initial securing of requisite licenses and permits, to the management of inventory, supply chains, credit, bank accounts, labor practices, Human Resources management, accounting and endless government reporting requirements requires a reasonably deep level of understanding, which is something that newly-arrived foreigners simply do not have.

My advice to those who, despite all of the caveats, are determined to create something here is to fly well below the radar, which means having a network of folks you absolutely trust, to take care of all of the aspects of the business that you cannot begin to manage.

GE.

[QUOTE=BrainDrain;2019323]The other thing to notice is the amount of capital that was invested to return bugger all. So often we can sit in these places and see no one else. The money has been spent on the building, it cannot be recovered, it cannot leave the country. The business will survive because of the low cost of OJT labor. The country is also filled with poorly maintained resorts.[/QUOTE]These places exist to either provide an income for the Filipina's relations, or else as residence and income in instance where the foreigner is full-time expat, hence no need to recover money spent on the building. This is an end game strategy, although of course in can be sold off to another incoming foreigner.

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;2019332] My advice to those who, despite all of the caveats, are determined to create something here is to fly well below the radar, which means having a network of folks you absolutely trust, to take care of all of the aspects of the business that you cannot begin to manage.

GE.[/QUOTE]This is great advice, equally applicable across most S. E. A. Countries.

[QUOTE=RedKilt;2018169]BD is correct.

The Philippines is a breeding ground for the next strain of superbugs because the locals, with the assistance of unscrupulous pharmacy assistants who allow locals to buy pissy little numbers of antibiotics, are merely building up the resistance within the bug populations. Most people cannot afford to buy the full regime of treatment so they get just 3 to 6 capsules of antibiotics and assume they wil work. Watsons are getting stricter now selling the full sealed box of required treatment to prescription holders only but just yesterday in Mercury I stood next to a woman buying 3 pieces of Amoxycillin (co-amoxyclav). That's one day's treatment, not 7.[/QUOTE]A broader view of these issues needs taken.

(1) Credible authority has recommended that antibiotic therapy can be suspended 3 days after the patient is asymptomatic (10.1136/ bmj. D7955). Since the longer the antibiotic is used the greater the evolutionary pressure on the bug to evolve resistance. Thus using antibiotics for a shorter duration is better in terms of minimizing the evolutionary pressure on the bacteria to develop resistance.

(2) The greatest consumer of antibiotics in the US are farm animals which are fed antibiotics as a part of their daily diet. If we must limit the use of antibiotics, I would rather first limit its use for livestock.

(3) Each use of antibiotics puts evolutionary pressure on the bacterium to evolve resistance. Thus lessening the use of antibiotics is merely postponing the inevitable. Bacteria will in time develop resistance no matter what.

(4) A Filipina has a sick child that she must nurse at home and lose time away from her job. She wants antibiotics and we should be grateful that, unlike the USA where the doctors have a well-protected monopoly over the availability of drugs, this mother can obtain antibiotics without the needless expense of paying for an MD's approval. The mother should be advised that antibiotics are useless against viruses. However viral infections can weaken an individual's immune system allowing easy entry for a secondary bacterial infection which can be treated by antibiotics.

[QUOTE=Pompetus;2020268]The mother should be advised that antibiotics are useless against viruses. However viral infections can weaken an individual's immune system allowing easy entry for a secondary bacterial infection which can be treated by antibiotics.[/QUOTE]The key problematic is: "the mother should be advised. " The mother's lack of awareness of the inability to treat viruses with antibiotics is consistent with RK's fellow customer buying three amoxicillin pills. Even when "advising" does occur, it falls on a mass of people who generally lack reliable information and education and don't have confidence in their government to regulate and consistently provide them with correct information.