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..

[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.

[glenn manikis]

And how much ba projected income mo?

[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.

[Vodka]

find yourself a niche. a small to medium size niche, so that others won't be too eager to get into that space

it could be a product that doesn't have any good distribution in the philippines. as long as there's some demand here in PH you'll do well.

find something premium so you don't have to sell too many in a day/week

it's gonna be a slow uphill battle at first but it's gonna be worth it. right now i'm into selling high-end *secret*. it's just a sideline but the profits gives me more than enough cash to buy a new car every year. but of course i don't LOL

[badsekktor]

Dati ang bilis ko magbigay ng payo na magstart ng negosyo pero sa ngayon i suggest na assess mo muna sarili mo if you are up for the challenge. First thing to do is assess yourself kung kaya mo physically. Assess mo din ang avail resources mo like manpower, suppliers, machineries, financial capability. Saka ka mag-isip kung anong negosyo papasukin mo. Then comes your target market. Food industry eh ok kasi steady ang income dyan. Matrabaho lang talaga. Yun mga product na necessity eh medyo mahirap pasukin yun "cartel". Hindi ka papansinin kapag hindi sizeable yun quantity(palay, bigas, meat, seafood) usually by ton ang min delivery para hindi ka snob ng middle man.

mahirap din magsuggest ng negosyo kasi depende yan sa connections mo. So ikaw talaga ang makakaalam kung anong negosyo fit sa yo. Iwasan mo mga negosyo na bandwagon. Hindi mo malalaman kung kailan hihinto ang trend.

traveling is good for scouting prospective suppliers and studying the feasibility of the business na gusto mo pasukin. Kung papasok ka sa negosyo, you have to learn to become a people person. Iwasan ang away at pagiging mayabang. Alalalahanin mo lahat ng makakasalubong mo eh prospective client. Their money is always good. Ok na lahat sila eh magaling at mas mayaman sa yo lalo na kapag may bonus na bibigay sa bayad sa yo.

[badsekktor]

Yun first na biz namin ni wifey eh si misis ang unang nagmamanage ng tao. Umaabsent lang ako kapag importante na andun ako like yun procurement at maintenance ng equipments. Kapag may kailangang fabrication. Kapag nagpapagawa ng bldg for compliance sa permits. After some time eh madalas na ko naabsent dahil sa pag-pickup ng negosyo then saka ako nagresign.

ipon ng ipon then start another biz. Kaya may pinapatakbo rin kaming farm ni misis.

from time to time, umiikot ako at bumibili ako sa competitor to check kung ok pa rin ang quality ng products ko compared sa competitor. If ever may way, alamin mo status ng competitor mo. Baka nagbebenta na ng equipment. Dun ka makaka-bargain ng equipment.

[zan]

very interesting thread.

[carwhacko]

Nice thread! Nakapag isipp ka na ba TS ng business mo? My family is also looking for other business ventures since my dad will retire next year. My mom is already in a lending business, lanzones business in Camiguin but low profit and seasonal (once a year) and now we ventured logistics. My brother who is also in the IT industry plans to have a business on his own and we are planning to franchise GrainSmart. Have you heard of that franchise business?

[Wh1stl3r2]

One thing learned from being an SME in the Philippines is, never get into something that involves you having to give out credit. Just don't.

[carwhacko]

One thing learned from being an SME in the Philippines is, never get into something that involves you having to give out credit. Just don't.

Why is that sir?

[1D4LV]

Nice thread! Nakapag isipp ka na ba TS ng business mo? My family is also looking for other business ventures since my dad will retire next year. My mom is already in a lending business, lanzones business in Camiguin but low profit and seasonal (once a year) and now we ventured logistics. My brother who is also in the IT industry plans to have a business on his own and we are planning to franchise GrainSmart. Have you heard of that franchise business?

if your dad is retiring and you do not have any ideas pa on what business to go, i suggest that you tell dad to park the retirement proceeds in a mutual fund muna so it can earn. mahirap isugal ang retirement money sa negosyong di pinagaralan masyado. pwede mawala lahat yun. now if your dad is a professional, you can suggest him to go into the following, while his money is parked sa investment channels:

a. he can do part time consulting.
b. he can teach.
c. he can be a financial planner/insurance agent.

walang gastos and investment yan mga yan masyado (that is kung meron syang masteral for item b.). kikita sya for day to day, while passively earning from the investments.

another option. if the retirement proceed is significant, he can invest in land. pwedeng taniman, pwedeng patayuan ng apartments na paupahan, o pwedeng ipa commercial lease.

suggestions ko lang ito ha?

[crosswind]

A water refiling station(like aqua best) we used to own one kaso no time para asikasuhin kaya binenta namin sa relatives
needs mo for invesment
Place
Water purifier, filters, and the likes
Delivery van a Suzuki carry(200k) or a tricycle

[champlm]

This is one of my dilemmas too. I am earning well naman but I know I can't be an employee forever. We don't know when the company will ax us, right?

Gusto ko pumasok sa business but don't know what and how to start. I have modest savings but these are hard earned money, I want to start small para konti lang muna puhunan and I can still breathe comfortably knowing na may cash on hand pa ko for emergency purposes. I tried partnering with a relative before for a small business pero hindi pinalad.