I'm neither greedy nor needy, but my purpose as a professional writer is to always learn, and, of course, in so doing, to plan for my son's future. I don't want him to grow up poor and hungry like I did.
Writing provides me with a steady income. I have a nice place on the beach and am able to pay all of my bills in advance, plus save money. As much as I enjoy read.cash I know it is not an optimal platform for earning as some believe. For me, it's a hobby, a way to hone my writing skills and make a few bucks on the side (when I have the time).
Well, as I pondered my son's future, I thought there were more ways to make money than just writing, so I discussed it with my jowa and he agreed to join me in opening up a sari sari store. We made sure we did it legitimately by obtaining a license to operate. Lord knows how many businesses fail to pay taxes!
Starting small
My jowa is also a professional writer and his focus is on entertainment. He writes screenplays and related articles and press releases. He's also shooting a short film to enter into film festivals right now. And though we had the financial capacity to rent a storefront and go big, we decided to play it smart and begin small.
I've personally observed sari sari stores begin big and eventually fail. You probably have as well, especially during these trying economic times of the pandemic.
Since we live on the beach, there are a lot of foreigners and Filipino tourists who flock to our area. We observed what they were buying at nearby resorts and bigger stores run by some BIG Chinese investors.
Beer, Emperador, cigarettes and snacks topped the list. We noted that the Chinese sold their items at high prices so we undercut them to gain a competitive advantage. In any business, you want a competitive advantage in order to gain a bigger market share.
I sold some of my #BCH and purchased $150 worth of products. We figured if we failed it would be no big loss and we could make up the loss by writing a couple of extra papers, press releases or whatever our clients wanted.
The results thus far
Over a period of 30 days, we have earned our original investment back and made a profit of 6,000 pesos. Not a bad start. The above mentioned resorts and Chinese stores sell their Red Horse and SML for 75 pesos a bottle. We sell ours for 55. Once the word got out among the local expats, they began buying from us and sitting on our shaded patio to drink and eat.
Several Filipino neighbors also frequent our store, and they now we are always open, holidays, Sundays, and from 6 a.m. until whenever the curfew begins. We are selling products quickly now and adding more items. Unlike unwise business owners, we do not spend our profits but instead reinvest. In fact, we are making a move this week to buy an ice cream franchise.
My advice is that anyone can do what we have done. The key is to reinvest rather than spend your profits. Also, if you do use some of your own products, pay for them. If not, you will eventually go bankrupt.
The beer truck is due any moment so I'll close this out. Remember, the key to making money is to diversify, not just through earning crypto.
Unfamiliar with sari sari stores so I checked it out on the Internet. Now I know. Thanks for the information, and good luck to your other half on his short film.