Business advice for the clueless salaryman

[badkuk]

If there are any former salarymen/employees out there who have put up their own businesses, any piece of advice you can spare for an old IT guy?

Most like involving food ang iniisip ko...definitely not full service resto, more like canteen/food delivery. My greatest concern here is that the competition is very tight, and the barriers of entry are pretty much nonexistent.

If not that, probably a sari sari store that sells packaging products, detergents, etc. Whatever's being sold wholesale sa Divisoria, yung ang ibebenta ko.

i had a former officemate who made money when he bought and sold fish from the dampa to market vendors. There's something very appealing about getting up early ahead of the rest of the city, then be done with the day before lunchtime ^_^

Importing goods seem to have the most potential for profit, although the scale and networking needed are quite daunting to me.

Other than that, i'm clueless as to what other line of business to get into. Ang advise ng lola ko sa nanay ko, you need a business where people come to you, hindi ikaw yung lalapit sa tao(we're not people persons kasi, virtually no soft skills)


...my greatest fear in all this is that, after all the investment, hard work, etc., what if i earn less than what i'm making now, or worse, kung malugi? Hindi po kasi kami super rich, really can't afford to fail that many times. Lagi ko ngan sinasabi, if you have 10 million, gambling 1 million in business is nothing; if you only have 1 million, you will think twice, thrice before rolling the dice. But i realize, that's the biggest difference between having a job and having a business -- there is no guaranteed paycheck every two weeks.

Just thinking out loud. i may just be a bit paranoid about getting laid off -- the company really, really needs all the help it can get, especially at this very crucial stage, but i don't think i am being deployed properly(why? Nangagamoy pulitiko, to be honest) so i'm perceived to be "unproductive". And to be honest, i usually find myself at odds with their plans, which usually work, but are bara-bara and very short sighted(sorry i can't expound any more than that)

No bonus, pay raise for the past two years, and i don't think any more is coming my way. i take it as a subtle hint from the boss: "umalis ka na". In fact a lot of old timers have been complaining about that. i guess mas mura magpasweldo ng fresh out of college kesa beterano...even though it's the beteranos that are saving the company from making complete blunders

[Manilablock]

catering na lan muna ang pasukin mo, pwede side line, you keep your job at pag kilala na ung luto mo at meron ng regular na nag order sayo saka ka mag resign.

[dishcom]

^ agree. Ok din ang catering. Kung need mo ng mga baso at plate. Miron na rerent na noon.

[machine.pistol]

Our office serves free lunch to our 150 employees Mon-Fri. Cost is P85 per pax: soup, rice (unli), one meat or fish, one veggie, dessert (fruit or something processed. The caterer seems to be happy about the set-up. He is on his 3rd year now. I think he is serving no other company.

[yebo]

i almost went into the canteen business last year, di lang kami nagkasundo ng partner ko sa percentages.

try to look for contracts with locators at sbma, clark or the export processing zones in calabarzon. some of them pay a fixed amount monthly for their employees meals. so kung 2000 employees nila that is 2000 meals sure sales, daily, 6 days per week. problema lang they do not allow cooking and dish washing on site so you need to have a separate location for the actual kitchen. fire hazard kasi pag may kitchen, and dish washing clogs up drains.

[glenn manikis]

Me, I'm a former govt. Employee, went into sales.. Nung nakaipon started our own..

How much po ba capital na meron kayo?

[romeocharlie]

If you have a good size garage or a backyard good for 7-10 tables of 4; you can try a merienda-dinner kinda of snack bar that serves grilled burgers or hotdog/franks in a bun.. Yung mga worth 120-150 big burgers na typically 180-200++ on a known brand..

Dito samen sa batangas nag-boom yung ganung style of snack stop.. They open from 4pm-9/10pm yata..

Sa sobrang click nung ganun dito, i think we have atleast 10 grilled burger stops dito in a span of a year.. Baka nga maging burger capital na kame in the near future..

If snacks is not your forte, how bout good old silog shop.. Just invest in a winning recipe and for sure hahanap hanapin ka..

[glenn manikis]

And how much ba projected income mo?

[badkuk]

If you have a good size garage or a backyard good for 7-10 tables of 4; you can try a merienda-dinner kinda of snack bar that serves grilled burgers or hotdog/franks in a bun.. Yung mga worth 120-150 big burgers na typically 180-200++ on a known brand..

Dito samen sa batangas nag-boom yung ganung style of snack stop.. They open from 4pm-9/10pm yata..

Sa sobrang click nung ganun dito, i think we have atleast 10 grilled burger stops dito in a span of a year.. Baka nga maging burger capital na kame in the near future..

If snacks is not your forte, how bout good old silog shop.. Just invest in a winning recipe and for sure hahanap hanapin ka..

Andami kasing gumagalang beef este baka dyan sa Batangas sir ^_^

Thanks all for your replies ^_^ Now that you mentioned it i had a tita who did put up a commisary in a factory. OK naman daw yung kita, but nung huli, parang nahirapan na sila sa mga requirements ng kumpanya(menu variations, etc) kaya tinigil.

id' rather not mention how much capital i have...nakakahiya po yung amount compared to how long i've been working. Pero for a small business yakang yaka naman, it's the return that worries me more, kung di maganda ang kita and you're stuck with it.

[piapot]

My suggestion, wife manage the business and you help part time. Or vice versa.

This way you are not dependent on biz' profit yet. And if break even lang, just continue, you have a job to feed you anyway.

That's what we did. Now we're into our second year. Not much profit, but better established.

[glenn manikis]

If you ask me.. Import ka nalang ng kahit anong producto... Then benta mo dito.. You can go to-- canton fair.. Malulunod ka sa dami na Pwede mo Palang Gawin negosyo.. That you can double your money in a years time.. NASA sayo na yan kung paano mo ma market ng maganda chosen product mo..

Pero if I were to choose.. I'll look for a product na isang bentahan Lang malaki na agad ang income... And you only need to sell a few units per month..

[badkuk]

If you ask me.. Import ka nalang ng kahit anong producto... Then benta mo dito.. You can go to-- canton fair.. Malulunod ka sa dami na Pwede mo Palang Gawin negosyo.. That you can double your money in a years time.. NASA sayo na yan kung paano mo ma market ng maganda chosen product mo..

Pero if I were to choose.. I'll look for a product na isang bentahan Lang malaki na agad ang income... And you only need to sell a few units per month..

Yun po ang kagandahan, if you can find a product that really clicks, and ikaw ang nauna, malaki ang margins, then sell off the business once the copycats come in ^_^

i'm actually leaning more towards mass market, mas safe ^_^ Although the logistics, manpower etc nakakahilo

[glenn manikis]

Actually halos lahat ng producto bastA MuRA mo nakukuha, mag click yan...

[akosidab]

Im also an IT guy and im in late 20's na. Matagal ko na rin iniisip na mag business. After trying selling stuffs online, mlm, etc. Sabi ko sa sarili ko this is not my passion and not my skills, ginagawa ko lng yun for the sake of iwan ang corporate world.

Late last year, me and my friends decided to create a software that we can sell, still the project is around 30% from completion and we're just developing it on top of our current corporate jobs and hopefully before the year ends matapos namin.

Para saken, if ur going to choose a business dapat yung lapat sa hilig mo at skills mo, though wla namang masama mag try ng iba.

[badkuk]

Good luck on that project sir. Pag big time na kayo wag nyo kaming kalimutan dito sa tsikot ha ^_^

Cooking(as well as eating) has always been a thing in my family, though admittedly our tastes aren't as sophisticated. Me mga sideline din akong pa buy n sell ng konti, and lately i find it more rewarding.

Hobbies/sidelines are one thing, putting up a business at laying everything on the line is a big scary step. The interaction with people(employees, clients) is what i find most tedious.

[akosidab]

Good luck on that project sir. Pag big time na kayo wag nyo kaming kalimutan dito sa tsikot ha ^_^



Cooking(as well as eating) has always been a thing in my family, though admittedly our tastes aren't as sophisticated. Me mga sideline din akong pa buy n sell ng konti, and lately i find it more rewarding.



Hobbies/sidelines are one thing, putting up a business at laying everything on the line is a big scary step. The interaction with people(employees, clients) is what i find most tedious.

Haha. Sana mag dilang anghel ka sir.
Tama ka jan that sidelines are one thing, pero marami akong nakitang business na successful na nagstart lang as sidelines.

Meron sa office nagbebenta ng kung ano ano. I also have a friend na nag develop ng arduino (not sure of the spelling) blutooth device and he's making money. All of them started small and sideline.

Saken kc ndi ko kya pa iwan current job ko dahil wla nmn akong malaking ipon, pero if u can do it wlang msma. Mas mataas lng sa tingin ko ung "risk"

Bakit kasi ang hirap mabuhay sa pilipinas, we still need to do these things. Haha.

[badkuk]

That would be a dream, making/inventing something and selling it. i had a college professor once that came up with some circuit design and received royalty checks from electronics firms. Not exactly a business, but it's an inventor's wet dream, even if it isn't Facebook-level game changing.

[dishcom]

Im also an IT guy and im in late 20's na. Matagal ko na rin iniisip na mag business. After trying selling stuffs online, mlm, etc. Sabi ko sa sarili ko this is not my passion and not my skills, ginagawa ko lng yun for the sake of iwan ang corporate world.

Late last year, me and my friends decided to create a software that we can sell, still the project is around 30% from completion and we're just developing it on top of our current corporate jobs and hopefully before the year ends matapos namin.

Para saken, if ur going to choose a business dapat yung lapat sa hilig mo at skills mo, though wla namang masama mag try ng iba.

Ok ito ha..

[unmarked]

I'm an IT pro too, and like you its a personal goal for me this year to start a biz. Kahit on the side lang bec hindi pa realistic ang full time for me right now. Things that i am looking into, and i suggest baka pwede mo consider.

Lugawan/gotohan - cant argue with tubong lugaw philosophy. Estimate ko kung mataong lugar 100k investment baka sobra pa.

Catering/food provider - sa office or schools. Mejo challenging to. Pero from experience its still the safest, most affordable meal an employee can get apart from bringing a packed lunch. Sigurado ko ikaw mauuna gumising hehe.

[badkuk]

ang problem lang sa food, andali lang gayahin, low barrier of entry ika nga. i still remember the lechon manok story - a few stalls were put up, made money, other people copied, until the whole street was filled with rotating chicken. In the end none of them made money.

same story with internet cafes, ongpin gold/jewelry shops(altho madami pa namang bukas ngayon)

The good and bad thing about food is that nauumay mga tao -- bad because magsasawa sila sa food mo, good because magsasawa sila sa iba ang they may buy your food instead ^_^