Opening a small business?

[Dave Hounddriver]

4 minutes ago, Chrisfa said:

all the profits/costs and operations would have to be handled by me (not sure if I'd be allowed to?)

I don't see a problem with doing that at home over the dinner table, provided you are not on-site.  That's where they would come for you, at the job site.   I can tell you from experience you can talk about that stuff until you turn blue and a filipina is gonna do it here own way anyhow. 

[Chrisfa]

1 minute ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

That describes 99/100 businesses you can get into for 10K Canadian.

Lol fair enough, would you have any idea how much it would cost to start a small hotel? And would I legally be able to do that? 

[Dave Hounddriver]

Hey, there is one loophole I forgot to mention.

If you are handy at building houses you could get her to buy a tiny piece of land in a good location and build a house on it.  Sell at a profit and repeat.

This is a grey area.  If you are building and selling too many houses in a year then someone will decide it is a business.  But if you are building a house for your fiance, that usually slides through the cracks.  To be precise I have not heard of anyone being punished for doing that, although I know a couple of guys who eventually lost the house to the fiance.  But that can happen anywhere.

[Dave Hounddriver]

3 minutes ago, Chrisfa said:

would you have any idea how much it would cost to start a small hotel? And would I legally be able to do that? 

I know guys who have done it, but I have not enquired into the legality or cost of it.  

[Chrisfa]

1 minute ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I know guys who have done it, but I have not enquired into the legality or cost of it.  

Any idea where I could find this info? Lol the building houses I can see but I'd probably need enough help with the first few that I would loose all profits 

[Dave Hounddriver]

10 minutes ago, Chrisfa said:

Any idea where I could find this info?

Yes, but by the time you paid all the consultation fees, incorporation fees, mayor's permit, etc, etc your 10K Canadian would be eaten up . . . . . and that's why I have not looked into it further.

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, Chrisfa said:

I've also thought about opening a small hotel/bnb type idea as it is my professional background

Do you have the professional background to manage one?

https://www.jobstreet.com.ph/en/job-search/resort-manager-jobs/

[fillipino_wannabe]

Rice mill looks decent to me. You can buy a decent one for $6k from China that processes 1,000 kg per hour, most charge around 2 pesos per kilo so that's 2,000 pesos per hour. Uses about 25 kwh of electric so around 300 pesos.
Average hectare of rice produces around 5,000 kilos per year so you'd only need to be milling around 100 hectares of rice to make decent money.
There's about 4 million hectares of rice growing in the Philippines. 
The rice mill would hold it's value if it doesn't go well anyway, or you'd maybe make a profit seeing as you'd be getting it cheap from China.

Edited September 7, 2018 by fillipino_wannabe

[Gas]

If you do decide to get married and change your immigration status there are plenty of opportunities in the Philippines IF you are both willing to put in the time and effort. 

We started of with very little capital in the 90's and now have 5 small businesses which provide us with a very good income.  The early years were not easy, however it is possible and worth a try if you wish to live in the Philippines full time. Personally i think your young age will work to your advantage, as younger people tend to be more flexible and adapt quicker.

Over the years i have heard and read foreigners say that it is best to think outside the box when planning to open a business here, but from my experience  i would say the complete opposite. If you live in a town that is famous for making native baskets why open a business that makes cookies, when you already have a workforce that are skilled in making baskets. If you girlfriend is from Bohol i would probably start by  looking at the tourist industry to make a living.

[Gas]

6 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

 

 The rule of thumb is:  If you want to make a small fortune in the Philippines you must start with a large fortune.

I have several foreigner friends who run small businesses that would disagree with that statement. Over the years i have found that the people who started with very little tended to be more successful.

Edited September 7, 2018 by Gas