Welcome to 2017! ‘New Year, new life’, as a famous saying goes. Are you thinking of doing something to improve yourself or your finances? Or maybe are you currently finding something that will add spice and adventure to your life aside from your daily usual routine? Do you feel unhappy about your job and because of that you are starting to think of looking for a better path in life? Or do you promise yourself that this new year, you will something new that will give impact to people? If you answer YES to any of these questions, then feel free to be my guest this morning, afternoon or evening.
This article is to give you some business opportunities s in the Philippines. If you’re looking for a way to make a significant change in your life this 2017, I hope this article will give you a head start. As Albert Einstein famously said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
I thought and researched some small business ideas that is feasible and will not require a lot of capital. I also provided some examples of existing businesses using the same concept to give you a background and something to pattern with. You can also read some concerns and challenges that may arise from the start from each business. If you can manage to overcome those challenges, welcome to the big league! So much for the introduction, let’s get the ball rolling!
1. RTW Clothes Online
This kind of small and good business in the Philippines with low capital has been here for a long time and it still clicks. Why? It is simply because we (especially the ladies) love to shop clothes every now and then and refill our closets with new styles. Using social media sites like Facebook or Instagram makes marketing much easier and cheaper! You don’t need a million pesos to start with this business. All you need to have is your fashion sense running through your veins and some 1000 peso bills.
If you have the eye for picking fancy dresses from Ukay-Ukay shops, your God-given talent can turn into a profitable small scale business! Also, a lot of patience is also required in finding those dress that will be trendy and popular nowadays. For locations of these famous Ukay spots near your place, Google knows a lot! This is one of excellent small business ideas for women.
Other sources would be if you know some suppliers or even manufacturers of RTW’s that are being sold at department stores. You can buy chunks of good dresses at whole sale prices. There are also some suppliers of ‘overruns’ of well-known brands which are sold a lot cheaper compared to boutiques. Here is one famous online wholesaler of theses overruns (Overruns Factory). They offer deals to resellers so you can inquire through their website, or Facebook Page with regard to the terms.
The challenge that I can think of in this business in the Philippines is the availability of sizes for your particular clients. They may love the design but if their preferred size is not available, it can delay or worse, cancel a potential purchase. It is also essential to post a size chart if you are catering a certain kind of shirt or dress. A constant update from your supplier about the available sizes is very important so your clients will be immediately informed of the availability.
2. Healthy / Low Calorie Meal Plan with Delivery
This trending business idea is so helpful for people who want to have a healthy meal despite their busy schedules, and also people who want to shed some pounds or the other way around. If you’re a health advocate who usually counts your daily calorie food intake, you can capitalize on that practice and share it to the world! Most of these ready to eat meals are cooked and delivered fresh daily. A meal would normally cost around 150 – 200 since all the ingredients are organic and the contents balanced. Clients can request depending on their health needs or if they are allergic to some ingredients.
In setting-up the recipes, you will need to consult every meal to a Nutritionist so that the meals get the daily nutritional need, or the target calorie intake per meal. If you enjoy cooking, you will enjoy this small business idea because it will enhance the best in you in meal preparation.
A handful of people most especially the busy ones would prefer this kind of setup due to their overwhelming things they need to attend. Choosing an organic and low calorie meal over a fast food meal between is easier to decide nowadays since a lot of Filipinos are becoming aware of their health. This can be a best business to start in the Philippines because not only you are making your clients daily lives easier, but also providing them a better health coming from food.
For delivery services, you will need to invest on a transport vehicle or if not, a taxi ride is always possible in Metro Manila and other cities. What the client wants is the food to be freshly delivered and prompt just like ordering a take-out from a restaurant. You can start having delivery services within your community first so the travel time will be the shortest possible.
To give you a background on this kind of business, you can visit Lunch Box Diet’s Facebook page.
You can see there how they present their meal plan including the prices. People can also put reviews on their experience which boosts the image of the business if it generates a lot of positive reviews.
The challenge in this business in the Philippines is the storage system. Your goal is to provide them with a healthy food coming from fresh ingredients every day. You should have a storage that can assure the freshness and quality of your ingredients like meat and veggies. Rice particularly brown rice should always be freshly cooked. If you can address these concerns, you can have a lot of loyal customers for sure.
3. Discounted Authentic Perfumes
People likes to smell good in front of their associates, clients, friends, crushes, and the like. It adds to your confidence if you are wearing your signature scent. To achieve this, you need to shed around P4000-7000 for an authentic perfume at the malls. If you have a credit card, you can stretch it to 3 to 6 months. But if you’re a person who won’t spend that much just to smell good, there are other alternatives.
There is a handful of online sellers catering authentic perfumes at a lot cheaper price than those sold in malls. I happen to interview a friend of mine who sells authentic perfumes on Facebook and according to her, she gets them from a supplier who has connections to malls abroad. If you’re a perfume enthusiast, you know that a shelf life of a perfume lasts for around 3 to 5 years. If those perfumes are not sold in a span of 3 years, they are removed from malls. Testers are also included. If you are familiar to Cash and Carry Mall at Makati, a lot of stores sell these kinds of perfumes and testers for a lot lower price.
Quality has not depreciated that much because it is stored at a closed place (malls). Fragrance lasts from 6-8hrs compared to 10-12hrs from malls. People don’t care about the small difference as long as they save P2000 to P4000 for an authentic one.
If you happen to have a connection with one supplier, that would be a great start! Depending on your supplier, you can accumulate orders first then buy in bulk for a lot more discounted price. You will not risk having extra stocks because you have acquired orders in the first place.
The only concern on this small business in the Philippines is repeat orders. My 100ml perfume lasted for me about a year so it depends on how often your clients use their perfumes. You will need new clients on your first 6 months perhaps. But if you establish a large customer base, this business in the Philippines will have the lasting scent of success!
4. Patisserie
If you love baking cookies, cakes, or any pastries, you might as well share your awesome skill to the world! Parties such as birthday parties, office parties, reunions, fiestas, Christmas, New Year, and others are everywhere and people are looking for sweet and awesome desserts. Since you share the passion of making these awesome creations, you might want to take your baking hobby to the next level.
Baking tools will never be a problem since you have them since day one. You probably know where to get the best and cheap ingredients for your chocolate chiffon cake. If you have perfected your creation, isn’t it time to let the world savor your heavenly creation? The good thing about this is you won’t feel tired doing this because you love it in the first place! You can also practice making other cake flavors as well.
You can start posting your finished products on your social media page. You can drop some calls to your friends to inform them that you would like to be there dessert supplier in case they host their own parties. Or if you have your own party, you can exhibit your tasty desserts there so they can have a free taste. Of course, they will love your brownies and they would want to have those when they also have their own parties. They key to gaining more clients is how you expose your products and events can really do that for you for free! You may want to watch the movie “The Boss”, on how a mother’s hobby of baking desserts for her children expanded and became a big-time business. It’s an inspiring and very funny movie as well.
One challenge of this small business in the Philippines is the consistency of the quality of your product. I would rather supply five to ten friends and clients with my signature cake rather than having a lot of clients which can result to diminished quality. If you think you want to bring your small business to a higher level, you can also join some booth expos for events like wedding, and the like.
5. Handicrafts
If you have a special skill of creating awesome things from scratch, it is time to turn everything you touch into gold! Many skilled people are sharing what there are passionate about to do like making crochets. I have a friend who doesn’t make ordinary crochet crafts but has made exceptionally interesting and amazing designs as well. Please feel free to check her story here. If you also have the creativity to turn nothing into something, why not make something out of junk! When I say junk, is things that you do not need and perhaps you can recycle them into more useful things. Some made custom bracelets, origamis, or anything that is catchy and useful as well.
The good thing about this kind of small business idea is that you know where you can get the materials you need, and you can start right away! You can have a lot of potential first clients in your family and circle of friends. You just need to do the thing you love to do and everything will be fine.
Those successful people started on just posting it on their social media accounts for fun. The capital in this kind of business is not the money to buy the raw materials since you can start from what you have in the house. Your time and effort is the true capital here. If you think your craft can do wonders and make people lives easier, you can bring it to the next level buy joining trade fairs, house parties, boutiques, and other events that will give opportunity for you to get exposure. To inspire you, here a story of a teenage girl who made millions buy making jewelries (click here).
The challenge I can see in this small capital business in the Philippines is the effort and time you will need to devote at the start. Since you don’t have workers for you, you will be the one making by yourself. That will not be a problem if you are passionate with what you are doing. Just like any other business, your commitment and your desire to succeed are the keys in making your small business work.
6. Gardening
Do you love designing your own garden with your green thumb? If yes, then let’s convert your green thumb into greener pastures! Landscaping doesn’t have to be learned from a class or seminar. You can definitely start with your current ideas and experience. And every home needs to have a beautiful garden around and most of them will need your services.
You can start with your current gardening tools and perhaps you can make a portfolio of your past designs. Capital here is mostly your time, effort, and your gardening skills. You may also know some of excellent suppliers for your landscape. You must also know the latest trends in landscaping because as fast as the world revolves, you don’t want to be left behind.
You can use your social media as an advertising tool for your small business. You can start with talking with your neighbors and informing them that you now provide garden design services. You can also post an advertisement in front of your house about your landscaping business.
The challenge in this business in the Philippines is also the time and effort at the start. This will not be a cake walk and it will bring the best in you. The good thing about this is you enjoy what you are doing and you also have the expertise and the experience to back you up. Here is a story of a man who loves gardening which gain him 7 figures in dollars’ worth of revenue in the past years (click here).
7. Computer Services
Are you born with a mouse in your right hand? Do you enjoy solving computer problems? Maybe you have experience in the past of people asking for your expertise to troubleshoot their computers. This is the time you make yourself valuable to the world! In this times where almost every household have gadgets or computers, your knowledge and expertise on these things have also become in-demand.
Your knowledge and experience is your main investment in this business in the Philippines. You can add some household tools such as screw drivers if you are dealing with hardware problems or computer assembly. You can do house services or make your home a one-stop shop for computer services and repairs. You can download a lot of installers from the internet so you will not need to buy CD or DVD installers. Subscribing into a good internet connection is also essential to run this small business in the Philippines.
You can advertise your services to your friends and to people who have asked of your services in the past. The social media can also be a great tool to inform people about your services. Some also post on websites like OLX and TipidPC to advertise their computer services. You must be always up-to-date to the latest trends, which I know you do because you just love computers!
The challenge in this business in the Philippines is meeting deadlines especially when you have increasing number of clients. Just always put in mind that deadlines should be always met because your clients may be using them for important stuffs like business, or meeting a school paper deadline. Time is very valuable to them and it should be to you because if you value their time, they will value your relationship. Remember that you are not the only one doing this business and they can easily switch to you competitors without batting an eye.
8. Network Marketing
If you are still thinking of what product to start with in your business in the Philippines, why not start with an established product with an awesome Research and Development team backing it up. The advantage of this business in the Philippines is that you do not have to worry about the product licensing, the bookkeeping (taxes), the logistics (deliveries), and even paying the rent of the office or the warehouse. These things are already taken care of the company itself! For purchasing a minimum amount worth of inventory, you can start already doing this business. Tools and trainings are provided by the company and it doesn’t look to your educational background nor your working experience. All you have to do is to start talking about this great product to all the people you know.
Talking about your product to everyone is easier said than done, right? Let me get this straight, you have assumption that people will say no or will think that you’re doing one of the pyramiding schemes. The truth is that Network Marketing is just a way of distributing products from the manufacturer to consumer without passing the traditional way. The traditional way of distribution involves a lot of middle men and maybe you’re familiar with advertising which makes the product more expensive. What will assure you that you are not working with pyramiding schemes? Let the Department of Trade and Industry speak with you about this (watch it here). To sum it up, a legit network marketing company or MLM (multi-level marketing) company gives earnings to their associates based on product they move or sell. Meanwhile, a pyramiding company gives incentives to their associates based on the people they bring in the business.
Since this is already cleared out, what product would you like to endorse? What company should you choose? Let is start with the product first. One question is, do you like the product? Will you be willing to tell your friends about this amazing product that you are using? Will this product help people make their lives easier? Is this product continuously improving through their R&D (Research and Development)? If your answer is YES to all of the questions, you have found the right product!
Next is the company. Is it a stable company? Being listed in a stock market is a very good thing because when a company is publicly traded, it means it is audited by 3rd party institutions. To make it simple, the company is not a fraud! Next question is, is the company expanding to other markets? It shows that the company is growing to reach more people. It is not enough that the company has an office or a website because many fly-by-night companies have an office and a website. Just think this way, if you’re doing this business for the long-term, then you should be marrying a company who will last. Lastly, is their compensation plan also changing for the better? If yes, it means the company is adapting to the changes happening around the world. You know, companies acquired by bigger firms, banks merge. So, if that company is your eyeing is stagnant, expect it to get eaten alive soon.
The challenge in doing Network Marketing as business in the Philippines is people think it is easy money but it is not. Just like other businesses in the Philippines, your time and effort is your real investment here and not the small capital you used in buying your initial inventory. Your goal here is to educate people that there is a business which they can start part-time but can reward them bigtime 5 to 10 years from now. Training is really required in learning this business. Think of it as studying another course in college only it is shorter and much more rewarding in long-term.
I am proud to say that I am working with an MLM company for 6 years and counting. That is why I am very confident in putting Network Marketing in this list. Aside from the advantages I mentioned above. You don’t need to do this business for life. If you have established enough client base that patronizes your product, which means they regularly buys the product for their daily lives. Then you will be compensated for the rest of your life. This is not a one-time-big-time business. It is a relationship and leadership business. Just like other business, it will also make you a better person. It is very rewarding to see your clients improving their lives and your teammates also making a difference in their lives by working with you.
9. Food Catering
Do you cook awesome recipes that your friends always consult you about cooking a certain dish? Or maybe have they suggested they hire you as their personal chef or told you to start an eatery business? Have you acquired cooking expertise from the past years, and you don’t know what to do with it? Well, I think now is the time to making people love food even more with this small business idea at home!
When you hear the word ‘catering’, the one thing that automatically comes to your mind are weddings and other social gatherings. You are imagining those hundreds of plates, utensils, glasses, and of course different dishes that can feed 250 people or even more. It can be possible if you have the money to invest into that but as I previously said, we can make your imagination your ultimate goal.
Are you familiar with Tamayo’s Catering? It is one of the most successful catering services in the Philippines. Did you know that he started in just making packed lunches for companies? In his first catering service, he used the catering tools of his friend. But look at his business now. It started from his love of cooking, and determination to succeed. That is his success story. Let us now make yours!
Think of your signature dishes and start perfecting them. I know this is a piece of cake because you have been cooking all your life. Now is time to make your cooking prowess be known to the world. You can start by talking with your friends that you will start making pack lunches for them as a trial. By this you can start right away. You will need some disposable utensils and food containers. It is cheaper than buying trays or glass plates. Then you can expand by getting referrals from your friends, mostly their officemates. Next time, you will be supplying the whole company with packed lunches.
The challenge of this kind of business in the Philippines is as your client increases, it is possible the quality of your dish decreases. That is where quality control takes place. You must have a goal of a number of clients per day. Then if you think you can increase them without sacrificing the quality of food and service, increase them little by little. Little that you know, you are now able to play in the major league, the catering business! Starting small is a lot better than not starting at all.
10. Pet Grooming Services
Do you love pets like dogs and cats? Have you acquired the skill or the expertise of grooming these loyal creatures? Do you also get well with dogs other than you dogs? If you are affirmative to these questions, you are capable of starting a small business in the Philippines about pet grooming services! To give you the confidence, did you know that the Philippines is the 6th most number of dogs in the whole world? Almost every household have pet dogs or cats and grooming services is really important to keep them in top shape.
You experience and love for dogs are your main investment in this business. My pet dog groomer has even acquired advanced grooming skills from other country. Dogs need grooming every 2 or 3 months depending on the breed. Philippines is a tropical country, so dogs with long hairs should be groomed regularly to avoid cases like heat stroke. Yes, dogs can have it during summer and hot weather conditions. I am assuming you know this because you are fond of dogs like me.
You may have the tools necessary for pet grooming. First you need the other inclusions for your grooming services like ear cleaning, nail trimming, and the like. I suggest that you include the things you are expert on doing. You can start by making a space on your house where you can do grooming services. House services is also possible but it depends on their dogs since most of them are territorial dogs. You can also sell some dog treats, grooming tools like combs, nail cutter, and the like. Also, knowing a nearby veterinarian is important in cases if you discovered some irregularities with their dogs.
The challenge of this kind of business in the Philippines is in getting clients in the start. If you are trying to setup a part of your home as a dog breeding facility, you can cover houses within your community because owners will not have a hard time bringing your dogs to you. Cleanliness and sanitation is also very important and must be maintained always. Dogs are man’s best friends and if you treat their best friends like Kings and Queens, they will treat you as King or Queen as well.
11. Food Carts
Every train station, school, shopping mall, and other public places are surrounded by food carts. Filipino people love street food just like Romeo loves Juliet. Setting up food carts is the best business in the Philippines. You can cater from fish balls and isaws (chicken intestines), to hotdog sandwiches and siomais. Refreshments are also welcome like bottle waters, soft drinks in cans, or bottled iced teas. People love an afternoon snack after a tiring work.
If you enjoy cooking your own version of these street foods, you probably know where to get them. Identifying a good supplier is very important. Sauce containers and the food containers will not be a problem since you can use your existing stock. Your food cart can be custom-made or you can improvise it by using your old table. You can start having a dry run in front of your house. Practicing on how to make excellent sauces is also essential because people patronize the street food cart with the most delicious sauce. How do I know? This is how Mang Larry’s in UP become a legend of his ‘isaw manok and isaw baboy’.
Probably you have also thought of buying a franchise of food cart business in the Philippines. Yes, it is also possible since some Philippine franchise businesses have lower franchise fees. The advantage is that it has a brand name, the supplies, the cart itself and other necessary tools. The only concern about this one is that you can’t control what you want to sell. Just like the Jollibee’s and the Mc Donald’s, the menus of all their branches are identical. Having a brand name also makes it more expensive. If you can’t afford the franchise fees, you are very much welcome to build your own brand.
The challenge of this kind of business in the Philippines is establishing the location. Location is the make and break of starting food carts. The accessibility and also the density of the population in the area should be also taken into consideration. If you have established you brand and your customer based, you may think of expanding it to other places. The power of word of mouth is as powerful as a signal #4 storm. It can reach into any place, any point of the country especially with the presence of social media.
12. Events Design
Every day, there are more or less 5000 people who celebrate their birthdays in the Philippines. It means a lot of families will celebrate their 1st, 7th, 18th, 21st birthdays every year. Around 1400 couples get married yesterday, are married today, and will tie their knots tomorrow. Not to mention, baptismal, corporate events or national events like fiestas, we cannot hide the fact the Filipinos love to party and celebrate! Events need design because it sets the ambiance and mood among the attendees and of course the hosts and celebrants themselves.
If you have an active right side of the brain, which controls art and creativity, this business in the Philippines may be your perfect match! I have a dear friend of mine who loves drawing and art since she was young. In their wedding, she was the one who designed their souvenirs, flowers, their reception, and even their invitations. She also designed the baptismal of their son as well as his first birthday. Because of that some of her friends and relatives requested her services for their birthday celebrations and other events. Even if it is tiring, I know she loves doing them because that is her passion.
You can start by designing your own momentous events like birthday parties or parties in your office. Since most of the attendees will likely take picture of the event. Your design will more likely to be advertised on social media like Facebook and Instagram. That will be your portfolio. You may have also know some or most of the suppliers in Divisoria. Your capital here is your effort and creativity. The ability to communicate with your clients is also important because you are going to interpret what they want to have on their special event. Sooner or later, you can tie-up with event organizers if you want to bring your small business to the next level!
The challenge is this business in the Philippines is the time management. People will not doubt your creative abilities in designing events. What the most important thing for them is if you can deliver on time. Having a planner or a calendar of activities is very essential in prioritizing your activities in order to finish it on time. Last minute changes are cannot be avoided so you must be very flexible and patient. Always remember that it is always a pleasure of being a part of their special event that they will remember and cherish for the rest of their lives.
13. Blogging
Were you the past writer or editor of your school paper during your high school and college years? Are you also adventurous individual that loves going to new places and trying different things? If your answer is ROGER THAT, you might want to consider doing business in the Philippines through online blogs!
We are curious in nature. Whenever we have a question in mind, we search Google. Upon the results shown, we normally click the first five results. I did not know that these pages have the capacity to earn money while number of visitors increases. If you like to help people on what you know, this is the perfect avenue for you to express them. Internet is becoming more and more accessible to every Juan in the country.
You can start with creating informative stories like the ‘How To Do This’. Some document their DIY (Do It Yourself) travels in order to give idea to people on how much will it cost them to visit a certain place in the Philippines. Writing is a skill but being creative is another skill. If you generate a lot of visitors, you can perhaps put ad banners on your page. This will give potential to your webpage of earning money. There are other ways to get revenues which are better explained here.
The challenge in this business in the Philippines is that this will require you a lot of time and effort at the beginning. Your goal is to create a lot of traffic or visitors on your webpage. It is not an easy task so it will require some strategies and your unique and awesome stories. If you hit the target, your webpage can generate income that will be worth the effort in the first place!
Making Your Business in the Philippines SuccessfulIf you search Google on how to make your small business successful, you will find 100 ways to do it. I will just highlight some of them based on the trainings I have attended and based on my experience as a businessman.
Your Passion
I learned from a successful businessman, author and motivational speaker Brian Tracy, that passion is something you will do if money is not a problem. My question for you is what thing that you like doing if money is not a problem or if it’s free? If you are on the business for money in the first place, I am telling you that you will get burned out if the going gets tough. Bill Gates love computers that is why he was able to build Microsoft. Looking at his success today, we never notice the countless of hours he spent creating and perfecting the operating system. His passion allowed him to withstand the hardships and obstacles of the business. If you share that passion like him, no obstacle will bring you down because you love doing your business in the Philippines.
Relationships over Profits
Building relationships with your partners and clients is very important to making your small business in the Philippines a success. According to John Maxwell, a best-selling author and successful motivational speaker, ‘People don’t care what you know until they know how much you care’. Your business is not your products nor your services, but your people and your clients. Business is about making an impact to people’s lives through a product or a service. When I was starting my business, I see dollar signs on the foreheads of my clients. I was focus on making money rather than building relationships. Good thing that I learned about this sooner, I was able to focus more on helping people improve their lives. I remember what the late Zig Ziglar had said, ‘You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want’.
After Sales Matters
Businessmen are paid based on the product or services they have offered or done. I remembered a story of a famous carwash and repair company that calls their clients a day after to ask if their cars are doing fine. They also ask for feedbacks in order to further improve their services. Because of that simple gesture, they got a lot of referrals from their customers. For you it may be a small thing but for customers it may be a big thing. It shows that you actually care for them. Think of an extra effort that you can give your clients like sending them birthday cards or greeting them on their birthdays.
Start Small, Dream Big
We all want to earn big so the formula will be to start big, right? Some don’t start at all because they think starting big is the key. That may be true but not always. Result or profit is equals to action regardless of the amount of capital. Some people are afraid to start small because they think it will become a waste of time. To tell you honestly, starting right away gives you the experience and develops the skills you need in your small business in the Philippines. There no wrong with starting small. It should be accompanied with dreaming BIG. Every big and successful story came from small and humble beginning.
Opportunities Knock Only OnceA funny definition of opportunities as mentioned by Francis Kong is that they are proud. Why? Opportunities want to grab right away or else it will be gone. We may have been presented on different opportunities in the past. We grabbed some but we let some pass. Next time if an opportunity arises in the name of a trending business idea or an in-demand business in the Philippines, make sure to grab it right away and think of a plan on how to make it successful later. It is better than having regrets that will haunt you for the rest of your life.
Consistency is the Key
Have you tried cooking rice using the stove? If yes, have you tried cooking it by occasionally putting out the fire from then resuming it after some minutes? Probably not, why? Simple answer, it won’t cook! Starting a small business in the Philippines needs consistency before it is established for the long run. What I mean by consistency is your everyday effort, activities, and time. The first months are the most crucial parts of your business. It creates the momentum of your business. Once momentum is established, that is where you can rest for a while because once it starts rolling, it will be difficult to stop. Remember that starting small business in the Philippines is the easy part, maintaining it is the hard part.
Glory to God
I am not a religious person but I believe that there is a Supreme Being that governs all of us that is all-knowing and all-powerful which is God. I remembered in the book Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, he said that we have different talents that are given to us. God wants us to use them to glorify him because he created us. This business in the Philippines is a great avenue where we can make use of our God-given talents and abilities. If you have a son or a daughter, what is your reaction every time he or she does something awesome? You smile, right? Same for God, since we are all his children if we use our gifts to become successful and make an impact on people around us, He smiles too.
This article is to give you some business opportunities s in the Philippines. If you’re looking for a way to make a significant change in your life this 2017, I hope this article will give you a head start. As Albert Einstein famously said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
I thought and researched some small business ideas that is feasible and will not require a lot of capital. I also provided some examples of existing businesses using the same concept to give you a background and something to pattern with. You can also read some concerns and challenges that may arise from the start from each business. If you can manage to overcome those challenges, welcome to the big league! So much for the introduction, let’s get the ball rolling!
1. RTW Clothes Online
This kind of small and good business in the Philippines with low capital has been here for a long time and it still clicks. Why? It is simply because we (especially the ladies) love to shop clothes every now and then and refill our closets with new styles. Using social media sites like Facebook or Instagram makes marketing much easier and cheaper! You don’t need a million pesos to start with this business. All you need to have is your fashion sense running through your veins and some 1000 peso bills.
If you have the eye for picking fancy dresses from Ukay-Ukay shops, your God-given talent can turn into a profitable small scale business! Also, a lot of patience is also required in finding those dress that will be trendy and popular nowadays. For locations of these famous Ukay spots near your place, Google knows a lot! This is one of excellent small business ideas for women.
Other sources would be if you know some suppliers or even manufacturers of RTW’s that are being sold at department stores. You can buy chunks of good dresses at whole sale prices. There are also some suppliers of ‘overruns’ of well-known brands which are sold a lot cheaper compared to boutiques. Here is one famous online wholesaler of theses overruns (Overruns Factory). They offer deals to resellers so you can inquire through their website, or Facebook Page with regard to the terms.
The challenge that I can think of in this business in the Philippines is the availability of sizes for your particular clients. They may love the design but if their preferred size is not available, it can delay or worse, cancel a potential purchase. It is also essential to post a size chart if you are catering a certain kind of shirt or dress. A constant update from your supplier about the available sizes is very important so your clients will be immediately informed of the availability.
2. Healthy / Low Calorie Meal Plan with Delivery
This trending business idea is so helpful for people who want to have a healthy meal despite their busy schedules, and also people who want to shed some pounds or the other way around. If you’re a health advocate who usually counts your daily calorie food intake, you can capitalize on that practice and share it to the world! Most of these ready to eat meals are cooked and delivered fresh daily. A meal would normally cost around 150 – 200 since all the ingredients are organic and the contents balanced. Clients can request depending on their health needs or if they are allergic to some ingredients.
In setting-up the recipes, you will need to consult every meal to a Nutritionist so that the meals get the daily nutritional need, or the target calorie intake per meal. If you enjoy cooking, you will enjoy this small business idea because it will enhance the best in you in meal preparation.
A handful of people most especially the busy ones would prefer this kind of setup due to their overwhelming things they need to attend. Choosing an organic and low calorie meal over a fast food meal between is easier to decide nowadays since a lot of Filipinos are becoming aware of their health. This can be a best business to start in the Philippines because not only you are making your clients daily lives easier, but also providing them a better health coming from food.
For delivery services, you will need to invest on a transport vehicle or if not, a taxi ride is always possible in Metro Manila and other cities. What the client wants is the food to be freshly delivered and prompt just like ordering a take-out from a restaurant. You can start having delivery services within your community first so the travel time will be the shortest possible.
To give you a background on this kind of business, you can visit Lunch Box Diet’s Facebook page.
You can see there how they present their meal plan including the prices. People can also put reviews on their experience which boosts the image of the business if it generates a lot of positive reviews.
The challenge in this business in the Philippines is the storage system. Your goal is to provide them with a healthy food coming from fresh ingredients every day. You should have a storage that can assure the freshness and quality of your ingredients like meat and veggies. Rice particularly brown rice should always be freshly cooked. If you can address these concerns, you can have a lot of loyal customers for sure.
3. Discounted Authentic Perfumes
People likes to smell good in front of their associates, clients, friends, crushes, and the like. It adds to your confidence if you are wearing your signature scent. To achieve this, you need to shed around P4000-7000 for an authentic perfume at the malls. If you have a credit card, you can stretch it to 3 to 6 months. But if you’re a person who won’t spend that much just to smell good, there are other alternatives.
There is a handful of online sellers catering authentic perfumes at a lot cheaper price than those sold in malls. I happen to interview a friend of mine who sells authentic perfumes on Facebook and according to her, she gets them from a supplier who has connections to malls abroad. If you’re a perfume enthusiast, you know that a shelf life of a perfume lasts for around 3 to 5 years. If those perfumes are not sold in a span of 3 years, they are removed from malls. Testers are also included. If you are familiar to Cash and Carry Mall at Makati, a lot of stores sell these kinds of perfumes and testers for a lot lower price.
Quality has not depreciated that much because it is stored at a closed place (malls). Fragrance lasts from 6-8hrs compared to 10-12hrs from malls. People don’t care about the small difference as long as they save P2000 to P4000 for an authentic one.
If you happen to have a connection with one supplier, that would be a great start! Depending on your supplier, you can accumulate orders first then buy in bulk for a lot more discounted price. You will not risk having extra stocks because you have acquired orders in the first place.
The only concern on this small business in the Philippines is repeat orders. My 100ml perfume lasted for me about a year so it depends on how often your clients use their perfumes. You will need new clients on your first 6 months perhaps. But if you establish a large customer base, this business in the Philippines will have the lasting scent of success!
4. Patisserie
If you love baking cookies, cakes, or any pastries, you might as well share your awesome skill to the world! Parties such as birthday parties, office parties, reunions, fiestas, Christmas, New Year, and others are everywhere and people are looking for sweet and awesome desserts. Since you share the passion of making these awesome creations, you might want to take your baking hobby to the next level.
Baking tools will never be a problem since you have them since day one. You probably know where to get the best and cheap ingredients for your chocolate chiffon cake. If you have perfected your creation, isn’t it time to let the world savor your heavenly creation? The good thing about this is you won’t feel tired doing this because you love it in the first place! You can also practice making other cake flavors as well.
You can start posting your finished products on your social media page. You can drop some calls to your friends to inform them that you would like to be there dessert supplier in case they host their own parties. Or if you have your own party, you can exhibit your tasty desserts there so they can have a free taste. Of course, they will love your brownies and they would want to have those when they also have their own parties. They key to gaining more clients is how you expose your products and events can really do that for you for free! You may want to watch the movie “The Boss”, on how a mother’s hobby of baking desserts for her children expanded and became a big-time business. It’s an inspiring and very funny movie as well.
One challenge of this small business in the Philippines is the consistency of the quality of your product. I would rather supply five to ten friends and clients with my signature cake rather than having a lot of clients which can result to diminished quality. If you think you want to bring your small business to a higher level, you can also join some booth expos for events like wedding, and the like.
5. Handicrafts
If you have a special skill of creating awesome things from scratch, it is time to turn everything you touch into gold! Many skilled people are sharing what there are passionate about to do like making crochets. I have a friend who doesn’t make ordinary crochet crafts but has made exceptionally interesting and amazing designs as well. Please feel free to check her story here. If you also have the creativity to turn nothing into something, why not make something out of junk! When I say junk, is things that you do not need and perhaps you can recycle them into more useful things. Some made custom bracelets, origamis, or anything that is catchy and useful as well.
The good thing about this kind of small business idea is that you know where you can get the materials you need, and you can start right away! You can have a lot of potential first clients in your family and circle of friends. You just need to do the thing you love to do and everything will be fine.
Those successful people started on just posting it on their social media accounts for fun. The capital in this kind of business is not the money to buy the raw materials since you can start from what you have in the house. Your time and effort is the true capital here. If you think your craft can do wonders and make people lives easier, you can bring it to the next level buy joining trade fairs, house parties, boutiques, and other events that will give opportunity for you to get exposure. To inspire you, here a story of a teenage girl who made millions buy making jewelries (click here).
The challenge I can see in this small capital business in the Philippines is the effort and time you will need to devote at the start. Since you don’t have workers for you, you will be the one making by yourself. That will not be a problem if you are passionate with what you are doing. Just like any other business, your commitment and your desire to succeed are the keys in making your small business work.
6. Gardening
Do you love designing your own garden with your green thumb? If yes, then let’s convert your green thumb into greener pastures! Landscaping doesn’t have to be learned from a class or seminar. You can definitely start with your current ideas and experience. And every home needs to have a beautiful garden around and most of them will need your services.
You can start with your current gardening tools and perhaps you can make a portfolio of your past designs. Capital here is mostly your time, effort, and your gardening skills. You may also know some of excellent suppliers for your landscape. You must also know the latest trends in landscaping because as fast as the world revolves, you don’t want to be left behind.
You can use your social media as an advertising tool for your small business. You can start with talking with your neighbors and informing them that you now provide garden design services. You can also post an advertisement in front of your house about your landscaping business.
The challenge in this business in the Philippines is also the time and effort at the start. This will not be a cake walk and it will bring the best in you. The good thing about this is you enjoy what you are doing and you also have the expertise and the experience to back you up. Here is a story of a man who loves gardening which gain him 7 figures in dollars’ worth of revenue in the past years (click here).
7. Computer Services
Are you born with a mouse in your right hand? Do you enjoy solving computer problems? Maybe you have experience in the past of people asking for your expertise to troubleshoot their computers. This is the time you make yourself valuable to the world! In this times where almost every household have gadgets or computers, your knowledge and expertise on these things have also become in-demand.
Your knowledge and experience is your main investment in this business in the Philippines. You can add some household tools such as screw drivers if you are dealing with hardware problems or computer assembly. You can do house services or make your home a one-stop shop for computer services and repairs. You can download a lot of installers from the internet so you will not need to buy CD or DVD installers. Subscribing into a good internet connection is also essential to run this small business in the Philippines.
You can advertise your services to your friends and to people who have asked of your services in the past. The social media can also be a great tool to inform people about your services. Some also post on websites like OLX and TipidPC to advertise their computer services. You must be always up-to-date to the latest trends, which I know you do because you just love computers!
The challenge in this business in the Philippines is meeting deadlines especially when you have increasing number of clients. Just always put in mind that deadlines should be always met because your clients may be using them for important stuffs like business, or meeting a school paper deadline. Time is very valuable to them and it should be to you because if you value their time, they will value your relationship. Remember that you are not the only one doing this business and they can easily switch to you competitors without batting an eye.
8. Network Marketing
If you are still thinking of what product to start with in your business in the Philippines, why not start with an established product with an awesome Research and Development team backing it up. The advantage of this business in the Philippines is that you do not have to worry about the product licensing, the bookkeeping (taxes), the logistics (deliveries), and even paying the rent of the office or the warehouse. These things are already taken care of the company itself! For purchasing a minimum amount worth of inventory, you can start already doing this business. Tools and trainings are provided by the company and it doesn’t look to your educational background nor your working experience. All you have to do is to start talking about this great product to all the people you know.
Talking about your product to everyone is easier said than done, right? Let me get this straight, you have assumption that people will say no or will think that you’re doing one of the pyramiding schemes. The truth is that Network Marketing is just a way of distributing products from the manufacturer to consumer without passing the traditional way. The traditional way of distribution involves a lot of middle men and maybe you’re familiar with advertising which makes the product more expensive. What will assure you that you are not working with pyramiding schemes? Let the Department of Trade and Industry speak with you about this (watch it here). To sum it up, a legit network marketing company or MLM (multi-level marketing) company gives earnings to their associates based on product they move or sell. Meanwhile, a pyramiding company gives incentives to their associates based on the people they bring in the business.
Since this is already cleared out, what product would you like to endorse? What company should you choose? Let is start with the product first. One question is, do you like the product? Will you be willing to tell your friends about this amazing product that you are using? Will this product help people make their lives easier? Is this product continuously improving through their R&D (Research and Development)? If your answer is YES to all of the questions, you have found the right product!
Next is the company. Is it a stable company? Being listed in a stock market is a very good thing because when a company is publicly traded, it means it is audited by 3rd party institutions. To make it simple, the company is not a fraud! Next question is, is the company expanding to other markets? It shows that the company is growing to reach more people. It is not enough that the company has an office or a website because many fly-by-night companies have an office and a website. Just think this way, if you’re doing this business for the long-term, then you should be marrying a company who will last. Lastly, is their compensation plan also changing for the better? If yes, it means the company is adapting to the changes happening around the world. You know, companies acquired by bigger firms, banks merge. So, if that company is your eyeing is stagnant, expect it to get eaten alive soon.
The challenge in doing Network Marketing as business in the Philippines is people think it is easy money but it is not. Just like other businesses in the Philippines, your time and effort is your real investment here and not the small capital you used in buying your initial inventory. Your goal here is to educate people that there is a business which they can start part-time but can reward them bigtime 5 to 10 years from now. Training is really required in learning this business. Think of it as studying another course in college only it is shorter and much more rewarding in long-term.
I am proud to say that I am working with an MLM company for 6 years and counting. That is why I am very confident in putting Network Marketing in this list. Aside from the advantages I mentioned above. You don’t need to do this business for life. If you have established enough client base that patronizes your product, which means they regularly buys the product for their daily lives. Then you will be compensated for the rest of your life. This is not a one-time-big-time business. It is a relationship and leadership business. Just like other business, it will also make you a better person. It is very rewarding to see your clients improving their lives and your teammates also making a difference in their lives by working with you.
9. Food Catering
Do you cook awesome recipes that your friends always consult you about cooking a certain dish? Or maybe have they suggested they hire you as their personal chef or told you to start an eatery business? Have you acquired cooking expertise from the past years, and you don’t know what to do with it? Well, I think now is the time to making people love food even more with this small business idea at home!
When you hear the word ‘catering’, the one thing that automatically comes to your mind are weddings and other social gatherings. You are imagining those hundreds of plates, utensils, glasses, and of course different dishes that can feed 250 people or even more. It can be possible if you have the money to invest into that but as I previously said, we can make your imagination your ultimate goal.
Are you familiar with Tamayo’s Catering? It is one of the most successful catering services in the Philippines. Did you know that he started in just making packed lunches for companies? In his first catering service, he used the catering tools of his friend. But look at his business now. It started from his love of cooking, and determination to succeed. That is his success story. Let us now make yours!
Think of your signature dishes and start perfecting them. I know this is a piece of cake because you have been cooking all your life. Now is time to make your cooking prowess be known to the world. You can start by talking with your friends that you will start making pack lunches for them as a trial. By this you can start right away. You will need some disposable utensils and food containers. It is cheaper than buying trays or glass plates. Then you can expand by getting referrals from your friends, mostly their officemates. Next time, you will be supplying the whole company with packed lunches.
The challenge of this kind of business in the Philippines is as your client increases, it is possible the quality of your dish decreases. That is where quality control takes place. You must have a goal of a number of clients per day. Then if you think you can increase them without sacrificing the quality of food and service, increase them little by little. Little that you know, you are now able to play in the major league, the catering business! Starting small is a lot better than not starting at all.
10. Pet Grooming Services
Do you love pets like dogs and cats? Have you acquired the skill or the expertise of grooming these loyal creatures? Do you also get well with dogs other than you dogs? If you are affirmative to these questions, you are capable of starting a small business in the Philippines about pet grooming services! To give you the confidence, did you know that the Philippines is the 6th most number of dogs in the whole world? Almost every household have pet dogs or cats and grooming services is really important to keep them in top shape.
You experience and love for dogs are your main investment in this business. My pet dog groomer has even acquired advanced grooming skills from other country. Dogs need grooming every 2 or 3 months depending on the breed. Philippines is a tropical country, so dogs with long hairs should be groomed regularly to avoid cases like heat stroke. Yes, dogs can have it during summer and hot weather conditions. I am assuming you know this because you are fond of dogs like me.
You may have the tools necessary for pet grooming. First you need the other inclusions for your grooming services like ear cleaning, nail trimming, and the like. I suggest that you include the things you are expert on doing. You can start by making a space on your house where you can do grooming services. House services is also possible but it depends on their dogs since most of them are territorial dogs. You can also sell some dog treats, grooming tools like combs, nail cutter, and the like. Also, knowing a nearby veterinarian is important in cases if you discovered some irregularities with their dogs.
The challenge of this kind of business in the Philippines is in getting clients in the start. If you are trying to setup a part of your home as a dog breeding facility, you can cover houses within your community because owners will not have a hard time bringing your dogs to you. Cleanliness and sanitation is also very important and must be maintained always. Dogs are man’s best friends and if you treat their best friends like Kings and Queens, they will treat you as King or Queen as well.
11. Food Carts
Every train station, school, shopping mall, and other public places are surrounded by food carts. Filipino people love street food just like Romeo loves Juliet. Setting up food carts is the best business in the Philippines. You can cater from fish balls and isaws (chicken intestines), to hotdog sandwiches and siomais. Refreshments are also welcome like bottle waters, soft drinks in cans, or bottled iced teas. People love an afternoon snack after a tiring work.
If you enjoy cooking your own version of these street foods, you probably know where to get them. Identifying a good supplier is very important. Sauce containers and the food containers will not be a problem since you can use your existing stock. Your food cart can be custom-made or you can improvise it by using your old table. You can start having a dry run in front of your house. Practicing on how to make excellent sauces is also essential because people patronize the street food cart with the most delicious sauce. How do I know? This is how Mang Larry’s in UP become a legend of his ‘isaw manok and isaw baboy’.
Probably you have also thought of buying a franchise of food cart business in the Philippines. Yes, it is also possible since some Philippine franchise businesses have lower franchise fees. The advantage is that it has a brand name, the supplies, the cart itself and other necessary tools. The only concern about this one is that you can’t control what you want to sell. Just like the Jollibee’s and the Mc Donald’s, the menus of all their branches are identical. Having a brand name also makes it more expensive. If you can’t afford the franchise fees, you are very much welcome to build your own brand.
The challenge of this kind of business in the Philippines is establishing the location. Location is the make and break of starting food carts. The accessibility and also the density of the population in the area should be also taken into consideration. If you have established you brand and your customer based, you may think of expanding it to other places. The power of word of mouth is as powerful as a signal #4 storm. It can reach into any place, any point of the country especially with the presence of social media.
12. Events Design
Every day, there are more or less 5000 people who celebrate their birthdays in the Philippines. It means a lot of families will celebrate their 1st, 7th, 18th, 21st birthdays every year. Around 1400 couples get married yesterday, are married today, and will tie their knots tomorrow. Not to mention, baptismal, corporate events or national events like fiestas, we cannot hide the fact the Filipinos love to party and celebrate! Events need design because it sets the ambiance and mood among the attendees and of course the hosts and celebrants themselves.
If you have an active right side of the brain, which controls art and creativity, this business in the Philippines may be your perfect match! I have a dear friend of mine who loves drawing and art since she was young. In their wedding, she was the one who designed their souvenirs, flowers, their reception, and even their invitations. She also designed the baptismal of their son as well as his first birthday. Because of that some of her friends and relatives requested her services for their birthday celebrations and other events. Even if it is tiring, I know she loves doing them because that is her passion.
You can start by designing your own momentous events like birthday parties or parties in your office. Since most of the attendees will likely take picture of the event. Your design will more likely to be advertised on social media like Facebook and Instagram. That will be your portfolio. You may have also know some or most of the suppliers in Divisoria. Your capital here is your effort and creativity. The ability to communicate with your clients is also important because you are going to interpret what they want to have on their special event. Sooner or later, you can tie-up with event organizers if you want to bring your small business to the next level!
The challenge is this business in the Philippines is the time management. People will not doubt your creative abilities in designing events. What the most important thing for them is if you can deliver on time. Having a planner or a calendar of activities is very essential in prioritizing your activities in order to finish it on time. Last minute changes are cannot be avoided so you must be very flexible and patient. Always remember that it is always a pleasure of being a part of their special event that they will remember and cherish for the rest of their lives.
13. Blogging
Were you the past writer or editor of your school paper during your high school and college years? Are you also adventurous individual that loves going to new places and trying different things? If your answer is ROGER THAT, you might want to consider doing business in the Philippines through online blogs!
We are curious in nature. Whenever we have a question in mind, we search Google. Upon the results shown, we normally click the first five results. I did not know that these pages have the capacity to earn money while number of visitors increases. If you like to help people on what you know, this is the perfect avenue for you to express them. Internet is becoming more and more accessible to every Juan in the country.
You can start with creating informative stories like the ‘How To Do This’. Some document their DIY (Do It Yourself) travels in order to give idea to people on how much will it cost them to visit a certain place in the Philippines. Writing is a skill but being creative is another skill. If you generate a lot of visitors, you can perhaps put ad banners on your page. This will give potential to your webpage of earning money. There are other ways to get revenues which are better explained here.
The challenge in this business in the Philippines is that this will require you a lot of time and effort at the beginning. Your goal is to create a lot of traffic or visitors on your webpage. It is not an easy task so it will require some strategies and your unique and awesome stories. If you hit the target, your webpage can generate income that will be worth the effort in the first place!
Making Your Business in the Philippines SuccessfulIf you search Google on how to make your small business successful, you will find 100 ways to do it. I will just highlight some of them based on the trainings I have attended and based on my experience as a businessman.
Your Passion
I learned from a successful businessman, author and motivational speaker Brian Tracy, that passion is something you will do if money is not a problem. My question for you is what thing that you like doing if money is not a problem or if it’s free? If you are on the business for money in the first place, I am telling you that you will get burned out if the going gets tough. Bill Gates love computers that is why he was able to build Microsoft. Looking at his success today, we never notice the countless of hours he spent creating and perfecting the operating system. His passion allowed him to withstand the hardships and obstacles of the business. If you share that passion like him, no obstacle will bring you down because you love doing your business in the Philippines.
Relationships over Profits
Building relationships with your partners and clients is very important to making your small business in the Philippines a success. According to John Maxwell, a best-selling author and successful motivational speaker, ‘People don’t care what you know until they know how much you care’. Your business is not your products nor your services, but your people and your clients. Business is about making an impact to people’s lives through a product or a service. When I was starting my business, I see dollar signs on the foreheads of my clients. I was focus on making money rather than building relationships. Good thing that I learned about this sooner, I was able to focus more on helping people improve their lives. I remember what the late Zig Ziglar had said, ‘You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want’.
After Sales Matters
Businessmen are paid based on the product or services they have offered or done. I remembered a story of a famous carwash and repair company that calls their clients a day after to ask if their cars are doing fine. They also ask for feedbacks in order to further improve their services. Because of that simple gesture, they got a lot of referrals from their customers. For you it may be a small thing but for customers it may be a big thing. It shows that you actually care for them. Think of an extra effort that you can give your clients like sending them birthday cards or greeting them on their birthdays.
Start Small, Dream Big
We all want to earn big so the formula will be to start big, right? Some don’t start at all because they think starting big is the key. That may be true but not always. Result or profit is equals to action regardless of the amount of capital. Some people are afraid to start small because they think it will become a waste of time. To tell you honestly, starting right away gives you the experience and develops the skills you need in your small business in the Philippines. There no wrong with starting small. It should be accompanied with dreaming BIG. Every big and successful story came from small and humble beginning.
Opportunities Knock Only OnceA funny definition of opportunities as mentioned by Francis Kong is that they are proud. Why? Opportunities want to grab right away or else it will be gone. We may have been presented on different opportunities in the past. We grabbed some but we let some pass. Next time if an opportunity arises in the name of a trending business idea or an in-demand business in the Philippines, make sure to grab it right away and think of a plan on how to make it successful later. It is better than having regrets that will haunt you for the rest of your life.
Consistency is the Key
Have you tried cooking rice using the stove? If yes, have you tried cooking it by occasionally putting out the fire from then resuming it after some minutes? Probably not, why? Simple answer, it won’t cook! Starting a small business in the Philippines needs consistency before it is established for the long run. What I mean by consistency is your everyday effort, activities, and time. The first months are the most crucial parts of your business. It creates the momentum of your business. Once momentum is established, that is where you can rest for a while because once it starts rolling, it will be difficult to stop. Remember that starting small business in the Philippines is the easy part, maintaining it is the hard part.
Glory to God
I am not a religious person but I believe that there is a Supreme Being that governs all of us that is all-knowing and all-powerful which is God. I remembered in the book Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, he said that we have different talents that are given to us. God wants us to use them to glorify him because he created us. This business in the Philippines is a great avenue where we can make use of our God-given talents and abilities. If you have a son or a daughter, what is your reaction every time he or she does something awesome? You smile, right? Same for God, since we are all his children if we use our gifts to become successful and make an impact on people around us, He smiles too.