Paradise is for learners

As the CNMI economy continues to transition to a totally government-based economy, anyone who wants to earn a living in the Commonwealth while remaining in the much-hated “private sector” has got a tough challenge.

But it’s a doable challenge. And, as I never tire of pointing out, it’s a challenge that technology is making a lot more manageable. Can you live in paradise and earn a living? Quite possibly, yes. So as you square your sites to cope with next year, here are some thoughts.

We’ll set the stage with a happy tidbit from earlier this year, May 23, when I featured a very motivating book titled The Long Tail in this column (I’ll put a link at SaipanBlog.com). The book is about the evolution and promise of Web-based commerce.

The book resonates with me. I was reading it in Taipei when I said, “Take this assignment and shove it” to my American paymaster in Taiwan. I was wondering what to do next, and The Long Tail inspired me to get cranking on a business idea that had been stewing in the back of my mind for a few years.

Fast forward to this week, when The Associated Press ran a story titled “Remote Wyoming towns home to broadband jobs.” It highlights a very remote town indeed, Ten Sleep (Wyo.), with a population of 350. It’s small but mighty: It’s the seat of a company that pays its Wyoming-based teachers $15 an hour (starting wage) to conduct English tutoring sessions for Koreans via Skype (an Internet telephone service).

Now, I’m not suggesting that companies are going to race to Saipan to establish such businesses, because I doubt they will.

But what will fly is small, entrepreneurial efforts, un-tainted with the greasy clutches of our bumbling bureaucrats, that reach out to the world.

Here are some endeavors that I’ve seen first-hand. Any bright person in the Commonwealth who can read and who can learn can do this stuff.

[B]1. Web-based web design services[/B]

Most Web designers I’ve met are self-taught. They get the program (e.g., Dreamweaver), read a book or two, learn their way around it, and, presto, they’re charging anywhere up to $40 an hour for their services. One such guy I corresponded with moved from Europe to Bangkok, and he seems very happy indeed.

It doesn’t take a school. Or a government program. Or a college degree. All it takes is a computer and effort. And a lot of coffee.

[B]2. Web-based programming services[/B]

I know an aerospace engineer who burned out on the volatility of that industry, so she bought a book on C+ (a programming language) and one on SQL (I have no idea what that is) and she now programs full time, as a tele-commuter. She’s very well paid, and sitting snug and comfortable working at home while everyone else is stuck in traffic or suffering through office politics.

Here we go again: It doesn’t take a school. Or a government program. Or a college degree (though she has one). All it takes is a computer and effort. Period.

[B]3. Web-based sales[/B]

I’ve known two people on Saipan who set up e-stores to sell stuff to the U.S. mainland. One such endeavor fizzled. But the other was alive and kicking the last time I checked, as the owner was making buying forays to the west Pacific and exporting his stuff (in entire container loads!) to the U.S. mainland.

And here we go yet again: It didn’t a school. Or a government program. Or a grant from the Deputy Director of Baksheesh. All it took was a computer, lots of effort, and a few thousand bucks in capital.

The foregoing is merely three out of six niches on my list. And I’m not talking airy-fairy, pie-in-the-sky stuff here. I’ll leave that to our Usual Suspects. What I’m talking about is what real people are doing in the real world. This isn’t urban legend. It’s reality.

Never mind the Commonwealth’s pity party. Motivated people who are willing to put forth effort (instead of living off of other people’s effort) and take some risks (instead of calling for “somebody else” to take the risks) have some interesting options. For such people, it’s not a question of being able to earn a living on Saipan, but more a question of how other tropical venues, such as the Philippines or Thailand, compare to the CNMI in terms of lifestyle and living costs.

[I]Ed is a pilot, economist, and writer. He holds a degree in economics from UCLA and is a former U.S. naval officer. His column runs every Friday. Visit Ed at TropicalEd.com and SaipanBlog.com.[/I]