Street Vending in the Philippines
By Kenneth Zimmerle
Making money in the Philippines can be done with a little
effort and a small investment. This will not make you rich, but
give you enough money to live a very comfortable lifestyle. You
will need to work one of the larger cities where foreigners come
to visit. Your investment will be spent on supplies like sunglasses,
umbrellas, cigarettes, and cold beverages. You are now on your
way to having a street vending business.
This is not something that you will want to do yourself. It
is always very hot and if you are not used to this, you could
wind up in a hospital with a heat stroke. There are many local
residents willing to work but do not have the money to buy supplies.
This way you can help the local economy by creating work. Making
money here in the Philippines means investing it back into the
people who live here. This will help many who have a family to
raise with no income.
How Much Can You Make?
Start out with just one or two street vendors so you can see
where the business is. Pay them 60% of the profits while you
keep 40%. A lot of these vendors will make 500 peso profit or
more, which is a little over ten US dollars. Four dollars a day
profit does not seem like much but once you build up to 20 or
30 vendors, this will increase dramatically. When you consider
a lot of Filipinos only make around two US dollars per day, you
will see where you will be making a very good income for a small
investment.
Ways to Make More | Related Opportunities
| Tips
Have your street vendors work near airports and hotels where
foreigners are known to stay. Umbrellas are not just used here
for the rain. They are also used for protection against the sun.
Being near the equator, the sun will burn you in a very short
time. This should give you umbrella sales every day. The same
thing for sunglasses and cold drinks. The daytime temperatures
are usually in the mid to upper 90's every day, with night temperatures
falling into the upper 70's. This is what you want your street
vendors to tell the potential customers. Most are new here and
do not realize how hot the sun is when they arrive. This should
keep umbrella sales high.
Also, although everyone knows how bad cigarettes are for your
health, people continue to smoke them. This can be a good source
of income. People will buy them somewhere, so it might as well
be from you and your vendors.
Qualifications / Requirements
To make good money street vending in the Philippines you need
to be friends with your workers. The people here are very friendly
and if you befriend them, they will go out of their way to help
you. Most will work long hours and you will soon start to see
money rolling in with very little work on your part. Buying new
supplies and finding more workers will usually be all the work
that you will do.
First Steps
Save some money to invest in merchandise, travel or move to
the Philippines, and check into any licenses or permits required
in the city you choose to do business in. Then start looking
for vendors to handle sales. Street vending does not mean doing
all the work yourself--at least not when you do it in the Philippines.
Resources
Official Gazette
of the Philippines - This will give you some insight into
the government.
CIA Factbook Philippines - This will keep you
up to date on the political and economic conditions.
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