A Phenomenology of Thailand

Your jail-cell window to Bangkok.

Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Entrepreneurship 101

Attended a 2-hour seminar on entrepreneur opportunities in the Philippines yesterday. It was inightful -- felt like an entrepreneurship 101 course in college since they tackled the basics of being an entrepreneur (maybe it should be been Entrepreneurship For Dummies). Apparently, the Phil. government has various resources for budding entrepreneurs. It's a pretty good program since it aims to turn Overseas Filipino Workers into Overseas Filipino Investors (ok so maybe it only has a pretty name to it, but it sounds hopeful nonetheless). If that wasn't enough to make it worthwhile, the organizers even threw in a free Filipino dinner of caldereta, pinakbet, and sinigang!

Franchising looks like an interesting opportunity. Since I don't have much background (much less, aptitude) on the nitty gritty details of business modules, franchising offers an off-the-rack sort of business... all you have to do is find one that fits your budget and voila... all forms, charts, and even equipment are available to you.

On the other hand, if feasibility studies and business plans excite you, then creating a business must be for you. Personally I think this one rakes in more money than franchising, but it also takes a different set of skills (much, much different from mine) -- skills that have to do with calculators and Excel sheets.

Hmm, on second thought... maybe I can help entrepreneurs write their business plans. Hehehe. I never really had dreams of owning a business one day. The only thing closest to that is dreaming of owning a coffeeshop with good sunday books and magazines -- but that really isn't a real dream. It's just one of those things you look at and wish Manila had more of.

And then again, maybe I should make a career shift and just study Thai massage and open a spa-in-your-very-own-home service in Manila or Vancouver... beats being employed in a call center though.