Business Prospects for OFWs Who Do Not Want to Go Back Abroad

Filipinos have been leaving the country in search of greener pastures abroad, and for a good number of reasons. Perhaps the main reason is for their family to be financially stable, given the hard times and bad economy the Philippines have. Added to this, the lack of job opportunities drives many Filipinos to work abroad.

Overseas Filipino Workers have a better salary working abroad. But the problem is once they come back home, the reality of financial stability is oftentimes not met. Their salaries alone will not be enough to fulfill this goal.

Fortunately, there are business opportunities that they can allot part of their earning into. These business opportunities may come with a relatively small price tag, to a hefty sum depending on.

OFWs need to understand the importance of these business prospects. This will augment their salaries, and may ultimately help pump prime the Philippines economy. This is one goal OFWs should start pondering on.

Among the many business prospects for Overseas Filipino Workers, we list here some business ideas that might interest returning OFWs who have a modest capital, and probably wishing to strike rich so they won’t have to go back abroad to work again.

Related: Businesses for OFW While They Work Abroad

Franchising in Food Carts

These business opportunities proved to be the cheapest way to start your very own business. Most food cart franchise will have you shelling out P25,000 for starters, and  growing exponentially as products and cart size expand.

Success will start by placing your cart at the right place where your ware would sell like hotcakes – or perhaps dimsum or stir-fried noodles or what else have you franchised for.

You can check out one of our sponsors, Fab Suffrage for their offers, or check our franchising section for franchise opportunities.

Water Refilling Stations

Just when everything in the metro seems polluted, water refilling stations offer both commodity and service by providing clean drinking water to customers.

Store placement is the key to successful water refilling station business. Depending on where you place your station and the number of people around your vicinity, water refilling stations will provide you with a substantial flow of income.

If starting a water station business sounds great to you, you can take a look at these water refilling station franchises or you can also check this article on how to start one from scratch.

Motor Parts and Supplies

Many Filipinos have been lured into getting their own vehicles. This is one reason why having a shop for motor parts and supplies is a lucrative idea.

You can own a space and fill it with motor parts and other supplies like accessories. Have your shop placed where there is modest traffic flow. If you can, hire a mechanic.

It will be your choice if you will specialize in either automobiles or motorcycles, but definitely the rewards are right there in the growing number of vehicles plying the streets.

Buy and Sell (Just About Anything!)

If you can find cheap things abroad and have a shipping service as a contact, much like how you fill Balikbayan boxes and send them to the Philippines. You can sell anything from brand new items, to second hand items you think will be sellable back home.

You can focus on items generally used, most especially food stuff, clothes and apparel, but you might stumble upon niche audiences who are looking for collector items like toys and trinkets.

Japan is one example of a country where an OFW can find cheap stuff, collect them, and hopefully sell back in the Philippines. Look at the how Japan surplus shops are starting to mushroom in some streets.

The only downside with this business is you should know how the Bureau of Customs assesses the good coming into the country.

Online Store

Alternatively, you can sell these things online. Social media now allows people to post items for selling, a relatively cheap way to vend your wares (it’s not free, you’re still paying for electricity and internet connection).

But remember to be creative.Selling stuff online does not end with what you can collect abroad, bring back to the Philippines, and post through social media. You can expand by selling things you can find back home like arts and crafts or other indigenous products.

Other Business Ideas

Of course there are other business ventures that OFWs can explore. If they are the tech-savvy type, they can go set up their own blog and earn through advertising, sponsorships and affiliate marketing. Or they can render services by doing web design and development, geared towards a clientele looking for online presence and looking for someone who will help them with online marketing and branding.

Business ideas such as money exchange, financial lending, even setting up business processing outsourcing offices are other business ventures worthy of consideration, but these entails more technical know-how as well as a larger sum of capital outlay to start.

These are some ideas that OFWs can look into where they can spend their hard-earned money on and hopefully make it grow exponentially. By then, they will have a greater financial flexibility, whether they continue to work overseas or decide to settle back in the country.