Moving to and opening a photo booth in the Philippines

How many photobooth you have? Photobooth is a nice business here in the philippines. Im into events i might help you with it.

I have only two but they are really amazing quality and very unique. This is my website: thepicturepodium.com/

There is some information on this thread. Things to think about are visa, business set-up, and import duties.

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=456830

bsmith14u wrote:

and will a photo booth do well?

I think that depends a lot on where you are situated...  The areas I have spent time in, the local people seem to have little spare income left.

I just read a pinoybisnes webpage called "6 Reasons Why Starting A Rent A Photobooth Business Is A Bad Idea"

It scared me off, but I have no idea on that type of thing anyway.

It really depends on the area. Malls are expensive places to put a business in, but you can explore your profitability given the rent cost, and who knows it might do well despite the rent cost. There are many smaller malls to consider but it will be easier for you to decide once you are personally here to negotiate with Mall management. But yes it can do well. Filipinos love that kind of thing especially as you say that the photobooths you have are amazing and very unique. Depends on also how you market, package it. Another option is to coordinate/work with events organizers too.

Greetings! Hi my name is Sandro. I am originally from Albay south of Manila where the nearly perfect coned shaped volcano is Mayon Volcano but i go back. In fort to and from Manila due to i am looking for a possible employment. I came across this site and thought of making a post and look for a possible employer who has businesses here in the country or wanting to venture into any business. I might be of help if you are in need of a trusthworthy person which is very rare this time. I can be of service in the following areas: home, office and or business assistant. I am very friendly and flexible i wanna workclosely with the same person with same quality. Hope to hear from you and good luck

It will depend on your marketing really. There are lots of opportunities in the Philippines, and if you get good people to work with and have good marketing strategies, you will make it easier.

About the monthly money you have, if you know how to navigate and budget , you will live comfortably here. But avoid living in overrated destinations, such as Manila ,Boracay or Cebu. They are starting to be really expensive because of having many expats.

My two cents:

I don't think a photobooth will do well here. Many locals, even those who are low income, have cellphones or tablets with which they can take selfies, share them online, or print via bluetooth. There are also many full service photo shops which can take pictures for IDs, visas, and passports.

Retiring in the Philippines is expensive. You will have to economize, i.e., live as much as you can like a local, if your income is just  US$2000 / month. Also, you will need to avoid certain pitfalls and risky ventures: overspending, setting up a business, marrying / doing business with an opportunistic local.

The advantage here is US$2000 will be enough to live by comfortably without your having to work. In the US, one might have to continue working until one is disabled or dead if one just has US2000 per month.

I just clicked the link, now ok'd by the blog's admin. Oh, that type of photobooth. You'll need to determine customs fees. Does the equipment work on 220v? If it gets broken, can you fix it yourself? If not, do you think a regular electronics shop would be able to fix it?

Setting up a business here is complicated, with so many confusing steps to follow. (Setting up an LLC in California was a lot lot easier and quicker for me than setting up a single proprietorship here.) You can't have full ownership of a business. You'll have to have a Filipino partner. This could be risky as you might end up with unscrupulous partners, feeding you will all sorts of misinformation.

Say you were able to set up your business with honest partners, you would still need to establish contacts with party planners and coordinators and caterers. Unfortunately, many of them already have photobooth contacts. Also there are a lot of businesses offering photobooth services.

My advice: Starting a business can be a big headache. Just be content with being able to retire here comfortably on US$2000 per month income.

If you were able to import the Booths, there would ba a lot of competition.
There are photo services everywhere.

yes you do need o budget here as anywhere,but where i live it's fairly quiet (rare in the Philippines)in san fernando city pampanga,pay 6000 php rent for 3 br house ,2crs -small but cozy ,have a courtyard and fence and dirty kitchen area.this area is known for it's flooding but you can be selective and find spots that dont flood.i have a nice car ,chevy spark 2008 model ,pay also 6000 php monthly for that.food is the biggest expense ,but you can budget that as well with more veges and rice ,fish -i personally dont need meat .the fruits are cheap and healthy also.
i liv e ok on less than 1000 usd per month -have a side business that has money trickling in , a sari store that my wife runs .the visa extension can be a pain in the ass but if you're married to a filipina you're able to leave the country and return with ph wife in tow and get a year visa stamp on your passport free ,thats a big savings -like 6000 plus every 2 month .a promo tour to hk or other asia spots are educational as well as fun and cheap promos are easy to get.
i dont know about mall photo booths ,i think that could be a good business opportunity if set up right . risky though since there are so many people taking pics from cell phones etc ,what do they need a photo booth for ?maybe arts and native crafts would do well .mall space is very expensive .dweezerdog out

I think the best you can do is to tie up with events organizers. Putting up a physical store in a mall may be too costly.  As long as you have your online store / website and people can find you online, then team up with events organizers, then you will be fine.

I saw your site, well done! I also read you accept Paypal payments but credit cards can only be swiped in person. That is okay but I can teach you how you can accept credit cards online even without a secure shopping cart.  But I will not post it here, I can tell you how sensitive info can be sent confidentially.

FilAmericanMom wrote:

I just clicked the link, now ok'd by the blog's admin. Oh, that type of photobooth. You'll need to determine customs fees. Does the equipment work on 220v? If it gets broken, can you fix it yourself? If not, do you think a regular electronics shop would be able to fix it?

Setting up a business here is complicated, with so many confusing steps to follow. (Setting up an LLC in California was a lot lot easier and quicker for me than setting up a single proprietorship here.) You can't have full ownership of a business. You'll have to have a Filipino partner. This could be risky as you might end up with unscrupulous partners, feeding you will all sorts of misinformation.

Say you were able to set up your business with honest partners, you would still need to establish contacts with party planners and coordinators and caterers. Unfortunately, many of them already have photobooth contacts. Also there are a lot of businesses offering photobooth services.

My advice: Starting a business can be a big headache. Just be content with being able to retire here comfortably on US$2000 per month income.

Hi Ms FilAmerican Mom, I was wondering how I may message you in private. Would appreciate that so much!

ditto. import duties are brutal in Philippines.  Forget importing a car and for anything else need to examine cost vs benefit.  ditto also expat mom about the selfies.  Philippines is the selfie capital of the world.  Unless you are doing professional photography you will be hard pressed to get business and then you have lots of competition in the professional photography arena.  Most malls have at least 2-4 professional photography studios.  Professional photographers who do best are those who travel to the events and take pics, then have their own digital processing equipment also.  They usually operate from home or other no/low-overhead location.  The other consideration not mentioned here is the copy cat effect.  As soon as you set up your booth, you will have 6 copycats in the immediate vicinity cutting your profits.  All food for thought. Speaking of food, food seems to be one of the best businesses in the Philippines. 
Hope that helps and isnt too negative

When you do have a food business, I can help you out with online marketing, and this service can even be free, for anyone who has or will have a food business.

you would need start up money ,then the 2000 usd per month is very comfortable .i would s ell the photo booths in the usa and find another nic in the philippines.a lot of expats have income coming in from online businesses .online  business isn't limited to just one country but almost 90 percent are scams .there is also ebay and alibaba to consider if you have something to sell.

katefs4 wrote:

Hi Ms FilAmerican Mom, I was wondering how I may message you in private. Would appreciate that so much!

Hi katefs4. You can send me a private message via this blog / website.

Hi FilAmericanMom, I tried but it says you have disabled private messages

katefs4 wrote:

Hi FilAmericanMom, I tried but it says you have disabled private messages

Sorry about that. I didn't know I had disabled private messaging.I enabled it just now.

I have lived here 16 years. I don't think that iidea will do well.

It really depends on your strategies to market it.  Your best bet is to work with events organizers..because events management is getting to be a busy market, with more people opting their events professionally managed.  Offer the same to corporations/institutions/restaurants that accept reservations/catering/hotels...the possibilities are endless.  Don't let other people tell you that your dreams are too big.  Let me cite an inspiration from a billionaire, John Gokongwei. He has a knack for entering a market that already has big players, and he has won over many Goliaths; as he says, as long as you have a great product, great strategies, you can win.

I am not a pessimistic person but honestly speaking. If you want to put up a business here.  Photobooth its not a good idea,your just going to waste your effort. Most event planner here had their own photobooth.  Putting a business here easy, but you should consider your location, your target market. Honestly, Filipino are good in copying business ideas. If someone put a certain business and people knew its making money. In just nick of time there are 2 or  3  same businesses will sprout like mushroom.

hmmm..I know a lot of event planners who bootstrapped...they do not have much equipment but their talent in planning events is what they sell.  How do you know it isn't a good idea? Have you tried the photobooth business? Do you know the kind of product he has to offer? We don't know that. The fear of failing makes people lose opportunities as Robert Kiyosaki said.  And like I said in my previous example, Gokongwei always entered a market where there are big players, like his C2 drinks to fight against Coke...well guess what is the number 1 drink now?

So Mr. Marine, as long as you have a good product as you say, maybe even innovative...just know how to strategize...For all we know his product is indeed unheard of in the Philippines.

No,but there were lots of cheap photobooth available online.Putting up a business is bloody mess especially for foreigner. I am not trying to let him down. We all know the situation here. In this kind of business you  always need to look for market. You cannot guarantee your income here unless this is just a hobby for him. I think mr marine has lots of business idea in  his mind maybe he can try to focus on them.

Me and my friend used to run a small business. Before we take over this business, the owner told us it is only earning 3000 for whole day. When were the one who manage it we just find out it ls earning for more than that.15,000 a day and 30,000 a day during peak season. I don't need to explain this yo you.

Well we do not know Mr smith's/marine's product, he says it is amazing, and we all know that the US has far advanced technology than here in the Philippines, so one will never know if it will indeed wow customers.  We can never make a sweeping statement that one will not work out when we don't even know what the situation or the product is.  You will never know unless you try. It is not a gamble if you know what you are doing.

If you already own the photobooth equipment already and you're planning to live in the Philippines, there's no harm in trying to see if it will work here. I would suggest you take it slow the first couple of months by relying on your pension/retirement funds. While in the Phils, talk to people, locals n expats, and get insights yourself. Do these before you finally decide on whether to bring in your equipment or not. I see some good comments about tying up with event planners and organizers, perhaps even wedding photographers, hotels, an online ad in social media sites etc... whichever part of the Phils you decide to setrle down in, there will be other expats that you can find to get some good advise from. Being a marine probably gave you the training of doing a recon first before deciding to bring in the equipment suitable for the terrain you're in.

If you already own the photobooth equipment already and you're planning to live in the Philippines, there's no harm in trying to see if it will work here. I would suggest you take it slow the first couple of months by relying on your pension/retirement funds. While in the Phils, talk to people, locals n expats, and get insights yourself. Do these before you finally decide on whether to bring in your equipment or not. I see some good comments about tying up with event planners and organizers, perhaps even wedding photographers, hotels, an online ad in social media sites etc... whichever part of the Phils you decide to setrle down in, there will be other expats that you can find to get some good advise from. Being a marine probably gave you the training of doing a recon first before deciding to bring in the equipment suitable for the terrain you're in.