by Starting a traditional brick and mortar store in the Philippines can be quite costly especially for beginners with limited capital. And now that coronavirus pandemic has created an economic environment characterised with pervasive uncertainty, the risks of starting a business are amplified.
There is still, however, a huge opportunity to make money. As the need to follow social distancing protocols arose, we’ve seen a massive shift to alternative shopping experiences in the forms of digital and online e-commerce.
But even before the pandemic, we’ve already been seeing a continuously increasing trend in online spending as people preferred convenience, availability, and faster transactions compared to the hassle of going to a physical store.
So what does this mean for aspiring entrepreneurs in the Philippines?
The Philippines’ online e-commerce industry is showing tremendous growth in terms of sales, customer acquisition and customer retention. It is projected to double in growth in the next five years due to the Philippines’ young and social-media active population.
With an increasing demand, it is safe to say that starting an online business is a great opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs in the Philippines to tap on.
See: The Ultimate Guide to Starting an Online Business in the Philippines in 2020
Advantages of shifting online
- Reduced startup costs and overhead
Starting a business online is less capital intensive compared to establishing traditional brick and mortar stores where you’d have to pay for rent, staff, renovation, utilities, etc. With online businesses, you can start even if you have no money!
Check out our post on How to Start a Business with No Money: A Simple Guide.
- It runs 24/7, 7 days a week
The online world doesn’t sleep. Compared to physical stores, there are no opening and closing times that would limit the number of customers per day.
- Unlimited income potential
Sky is the limit with online businesses. Depending on your niche, it is proven to be highly scaleable and there are thousands, if not millions of online tools and softwares out there that would help you grow your business for a reduced cost.
- Automation is possible
With the advent of artificial intelligence, bots, tools, cloud-based technologies and softwares you could automate a lot of your integral business functions from supply chain management, to procurement, to automated fulfillment and marketing, etc. Automation and scaleability go hand-in-hand and with these, it’s even possible to grow your business earnings exponentially!
- Wide reach of customers
With a traditional brick and mortar store, if let’s say your store is located in Manila, all your customers will be limited to those who live in the metro. With an online store though, you can reach Visayas, Mindanao and even people abroad! There are absolutely no limits as to its reach.
Online Business Ideas to Start in the Philippines
Even if it’s your first foray in the online world, starting out with limited capital is completely possible.
Here’s a list of profitable online businesses with minimal start-up costs that you can start at the comfort of your home:
Niche e-commerce store / retailer
Buying and selling is one of the most profitable business ventures online. Case in point, during the global pandemic, e-commerce ventures recorded a whopping 50% growth in the industry.
It’s not rocket science to deduce that e-commerce stores’ selling point is customer convenience. Anyone from any part of the world can buy anything they want at any time.
For aspiring Filipino entrepreneurs, you can easily set-up your own store via popular marketplaces like Lazada or Shoppee. Or you can create your own e-commerce website via Shopify or Woocommerce. Another option is by selling on Facebook marketplace or create Facebook fan pages!
The trick about starting an e-commerce store, given that this space is highly competitive, is finding a niche and reaching out to your target market.
SEO consultant
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Consultants create comprehensive digital strategies to help businesses get high rankings in SERPS or Search Engine Results Pages like Google, Bing, etc.
A high ranking website gets more visibility and traffic, and the higher the traffic the higher the sales.
As more and more businesses adapt to the fast increasing need to have an online presence, competition becomes more cut-throat in every industry, hence the need for a professional with the skills and experience in SEO or Search Engine Optimization.
For Filipinos interested in offering SEO consultation services to clients, you can join freelancing websites like Fiverr and Upwork.
Web developer/ web designer
This is perfect for those who have technical skills in coding.
Small and even large scale businesses are always looking for professionals who can create their websites and take it to the next level. If you know HTML, CSS, Python, Ruby or Javascript, this might be the perfect option for you.
If have a portfolio, you can post them on FIverr and Upwork to gain clients. You can offer different packages depending on your clients’ needs, or start off with small projects for small scale businesses.
Blogging
Blogging is a very lucrative form of passive income.
Though some might argue that it’s very hard to earn money from blogging because it is already saturated and highly competitive, I think it still depends on your niche and your content.
With blogging, content is KING.
You have absolute free rein over your time and strategy, but the bottomline is that you should be able to produce high quality content consistently. It takes time before you can see tangible results in terms of traffic and profit, but over time, if you are consistently putting out quality content of high educational, informational or entertainment value to your visitors, it’ll pay off in the end.
Your goal as a blogger is to gain a loyal following and gain high traffic. Aside from your blog or website, you should post consistently on social media sites to get more exposure.
You can earn via affiliate sales, from google adsense, from selling adspace, by selling e-books or by offering sponsored posts even when you’re sleeping.
Online Tutorials
You don’t need a capital to be able to earn money from tutoring online. All you need is a headset with microphone, a fast internet connection and a good command of the English language.
Since most filipinos are fluent in English, most are qualified to teach ESL (English as a Second Language) to Korean or Japanese students.
One reputable website where you can teach online is Rarejob.com.ph. You don’t have to have prior work experience but it’s a plus. You can choose to teach anytime and it’s great for earning extra money.
Become a youtuber
Anyone above 18 can become a youtuber. You can pretty much upload any topic just as long as it doesn’t violate youtube’s rules and regulations.
Videos of high entertainment, informational and educational values tend to do well in youtube. Of course, it’s not enough that you’re creating content, just like with any niche, your content should be of high quality to capture your audiences attention and to keep them from coming back.
You can earn money from Google Adsense by becoming a youtube partner, or you can earn from sponsorships once you’ve gained a significant number of subscribers. Influencers can also earn from shoutouts, product reviews and from selling merchandise.
