5 ms·

Ramen profitability is easier in Asia: Travel is perfect for micro-entrepreneurs

5 points by ollierattue 15y ago

phlux 15y ago
I am interested in doing this a little differently - I am trying to hire folks that have some of the skills that I have and outsource myself. I find the work here in the US and feed it to them. I have only just made the decision I want to do this, so I am not sure where to start other than Odesk etc... Anyone done this yet?
- gexla 15y ago
  Depends on what you are looking to outsource. The term "yourself" can mean a lot of things. Simple tasks which aren't critical are fine. Technical tasks such as web development are a bit tricker. You get what you pay for. Someone who is good will understand that he / she is working in a global market and can charge accordingly. I live in the Philippines but my rates don't reflect this. I live in a city which is a regional hub but not as big as Cebu or Manila. There are a lot of universities here, so the talent pool should be great. Even my local developer friends have a hard time hiring competent staff from the surrounding area, and they LIVE here. I imagine hiring a remote team that would function well would be even more difficult. When I look at the types of jobs these low earners on Odesk pick up, I get the feeling they are working for people going for "low but good enough" quality and don't have a high standard. Why not just jack up your rates, go for higher end clients and hire good developers? Your margin for profit could be as good or better.
  - phlux 15y ago
    Thats an excellent point, thanks - as I was specifically wondering about hiring someone from the Philippines. Are you in Cagayan?
    - gexla 15y ago
      Dumaguete, which is a hub of the southern half of the island of Negros. Edit: If you are serious about this, your best bet is to move here and get it going. Then when you have it running smoothly, you can move on but still drop by occasionally. However, as I mentioned, I know people who live here and have a hard time finding good staff. Think about all those articles you see about businesses in India trying to hire good staff from the pool of college graduates. I imagine the Philippines is worse (smaller pool of people to choose from, schools on average are probably no better) except that English is an official language here.
gexla 15y ago
Yes, but there are drawbacks as well. Frequent brownouts. Frequent internet outages. Slow internet. Large distance from other hackers in your home country (more expense to travel to conferences and other meetings.) Also, some things are cheaper, some things aren't. Global commodities such as oil and food are just as expensive. Imports are more expensive. The big savings is from labor (which in turn helps drive prices for everything down) and in some cases land (some places in developing countries, especially big cities such as China have land prices which can rival big cities in the U.S.) Currency fluctuations can have a huge effect on fragile bugets, especially if your earning / holding currency is in a relatively volatile period (look at what the Austrailian dollar has done compared to the U.S. dollar in the past 12 months.) For me, another big savings is not so much from being in a foreign country, but rather the mental shift I made. Living simple is the norm here. Most people who come to live here drop the majority of their personal possessions and move into a far smaller place than they might have had back home. At home you might feel you have to keep up with the Jones' but simplicity is accepted here. If you begin to make a shift back the other direction, then your expenses can rise to eat up your entire income, just like anywhere else.

5 points by ollierattue 15y ago

phlux 15y ago

I am interested in doing this a little differently - I am trying to hire folks that have some of the skills that I have and outsource myself. I find the work here in the US and feed it to them. I have only just made the decision I want to do this, so I am not sure where to start other than Odesk etc... Anyone done this yet?

gexla 15y ago
Depends on what you are looking to outsource. The term "yourself" can mean a lot of things. Simple tasks which aren't critical are fine. Technical tasks such as web development are a bit tricker. You get what you pay for. Someone who is good will understand that he / she is working in a global market and can charge accordingly. I live in the Philippines but my rates don't reflect this. I live in a city which is a regional hub but not as big as Cebu or Manila. There are a lot of universities here, so the talent pool should be great. Even my local developer friends have a hard time hiring competent staff from the surrounding area, and they LIVE here. I imagine hiring a remote team that would function well would be even more difficult. When I look at the types of jobs these low earners on Odesk pick up, I get the feeling they are working for people going for "low but good enough" quality and don't have a high standard. Why not just jack up your rates, go for higher end clients and hire good developers? Your margin for profit could be as good or better.
- phlux 15y ago
  Thats an excellent point, thanks - as I was specifically wondering about hiring someone from the Philippines. Are you in Cagayan?
  - gexla 15y ago
    Dumaguete, which is a hub of the southern half of the island of Negros. Edit: If you are serious about this, your best bet is to move here and get it going. Then when you have it running smoothly, you can move on but still drop by occasionally. However, as I mentioned, I know people who live here and have a hard time finding good staff. Think about all those articles you see about businesses in India trying to hire good staff from the pool of college graduates. I imagine the Philippines is worse (smaller pool of people to choose from, schools on average are probably no better) except that English is an official language here.

gexla 15y ago

Yes, but there are drawbacks as well. Frequent brownouts. Frequent internet outages. Slow internet. Large distance from other hackers in your home country (more expense to travel to conferences and other meetings.) Also, some things are cheaper, some things aren't. Global commodities such as oil and food are just as expensive. Imports are more expensive. The big savings is from labor (which in turn helps drive prices for everything down) and in some cases land (some places in developing countries, especially big cities such as China have land prices which can rival big cities in the U.S.) Currency fluctuations can have a huge effect on fragile bugets, especially if your earning / holding currency is in a relatively volatile period (look at what the Austrailian dollar has done compared to the U.S. dollar in the past 12 months.) For me, another big savings is not so much from being in a foreign country, but rather the mental shift I made. Living simple is the norm here. Most people who come to live here drop the majority of their personal possessions and move into a far smaller place than they might have had back home. At home you might feel you have to keep up with the Jones' but simplicity is accepted here. If you begin to make a shift back the other direction, then your expenses can rise to eat up your entire income, just like anywhere else.