Now that we're almost days away to a new presidency, the hopes of putting the country into a Federal state of government (if allowed by the congress) is coming to us. Nevertheless, with all the stress in the metro and the moves of various companies to relocate their sites outside of it, you should follow the same.

There's a lot of benefits in setting up your business outside of the metro, such as:

• Ease of access. You won't have to stay in traffic for two hours just to get to your office - plus points if you already have a home nearby, or better, you have a home-office setup.
• New customers, new behaviors to observe. If you think you know how your target customers behave, you're wrong. In every place, there's set of customers with different behavior, with different needs and wants, so it depends on the environment your business is into. Closely observing these behaviors will add more to your decision-making knowledge. Say, if a client gets to you and asks help to you, you know what you will answer. 
• New opportunities. Sure, you have to keep up with your target market, but that is the challenge. You can't take a bigshot coffee chain to a place where there's a few who can buy it, but you can size it down to reach your audience further.
• You got there first. Being the first in that area is a struggle, but you can put that short-term business into long-term with sheer dedication, and perseverance. If you were able to pull that off, chances are your business will be the first thing that your audience will recommend to.

If you are setting up a business in the countryside, there's definitely risks to take; but with risks comes opportunities to look further to accomplish your goals. The government support is there, the opportunity to serve your market is there, you just have to take the first step.

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There are lots of ideas and concepts on doing business in the Philippines at the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City. You can talk with fellow entrepreneurs, or just observe and gain knowledge to polish your business and expand it further.


This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.