If you are looking for business opportunities in the Philippines, there are many aspects that you have to consider. Business opportunities should not be construed as just income opportunities. Business opportunities should also be understood as opportunities to provide solutions to consumers, provide jobs for the people, and make your life better, not only financially but also personally.
The Philippines is a country with rich natural and human resources. A tropical country, the Philippines is the largest producer of coconuts and pineapple. Surrounded by waters, the Philippines has rich marine resources and can also accommodate deep-sea ports. Our country is also abundant in people’s talents and skills. The Philippines is currently the leader in business process outsourcing, and its professionals are one of the most trusted in the world.
We have the resources, be resourceful
Filipinos can maximize these resources that the country offers to its people – we just need to be resourceful. Foreigners can also consider investing in the Philippines – the labor cost in the Philippines is cost efficient compare to other countries.
For Filipinos who want to start a business, they don’t need to start big if they can’t afford it. They can start a small business and strive to grow it as time passes. There are many small business opportunities in the Philippines that only require low capital. There are even businesses that you can start at home. You may check out this list of 51 home-based business ideas for Filipinos.
If you are a professional or you have talents and skills to provide services to clients, you can start a business without investing too much money for capital. Service firms don’t require inventory to sell to costumers. Their inventories are their expertise and skills. Thus, you can start a service firm without worrying about the money you will spend to buy raw materials because you are already the material needed to produce services for your clients.
Business opportunities on the Internet
With the help of the Internet, providing services and marketing your products are now more efficient. There are several business opportunities you can found online. You may check out these 12 online business opportunities in the Philippines. You can also check out these 40 Internet business ideas you can start at home.
Online businesses may be started small, but they have potentials to make it big at the right time. Remember that some of the biggest Internet companies in the world today were even started at their founders’ home or garage. Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook from his Harvard dormitory room. Google first workspace was set up at Susan Wojcicki’s garage. Although building a great company like Facebook and Google is a great feat, I believe that Filipinos have the talent and skills to do the same.
Business industries ruled by top entrepreneurs
If we will observe, the wealthiest and top business people in the Philippines are in the retail industry (Henry Sy of SM and Lucio Co of PureGold), port industry (Enrique Razon Jr), construction (David Consunji), banking industry (George Ty , fastfood (Tony Tan Caktiong of jollibee ), real-estate (Andrew Gotianun of Filinvest Land), and diversified industries (Lucio Tan, John Gokongwei, Jr and Jaime Zobel de Ayala).
Those industries are huge, but just like any other successful entrepreneurs, some of them have their own rags-to-riches stories – and Henry Sy, the richest man in the Philippines today, is one of these examples.
In the near future, I am expecting young Filipino entrepreneurs who will follow their footsteps. I also expect entrepreneurs in the IT industry to become one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the Philippines, and even made it to the list of Filipino billionaires. But for now, the old industries are ruling that list.
The right business opportunity for you
If you are looking for the right business opportunity for you, you should choose the one that is according to your expertise, passion, and potential. You can start small and strive to make it the biggest in the future. You can follow the industries ruled by the billionaires today, but make sure that you have the qualities to compete and even win the competition. Finally, you can also try to explore the unexplored market and start a unique business, in which you can succeed and be number one.
Victorino Q. Abrugar is a marketing strategist and business consultant from Tacloban City, Philippines. Vic has been in the online marketing industry for more than 7 years, practicing problogging, web development, content marketing, SEO, social media marketing, and consulting.
There are indeed a lot of business opportunities in the Philippines, may it be a small or big time. You just have to be resourceful and hard working enough to be successful.