It is well known that Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) regularly send money to their loved ones back in the Philippines to support their needs.
However, it must also be understood that OFWs can’t do that song and dance forever as they have to retire someday and settle down, most likely back home.
Hopefully for them, they would have saved up a good bit of money by that time, and it would be good to invest that money into businesses that can become a stable base for their families.
“Failing to plan is planning to fail”
However, going into it without a concrete plan can spell disaster for OFWs who’ve spent years working jobs overseas.
Investing in a business with hard-earned money has a good bit of risk, but also an opportunity to make things even better for the family by creating a stable source of income that no longer requires one to be far away from home to earn.
There are various business ideas for OFWs to dip their toes into, and all of them have potential to be successful. However, the most important factor here is being able to draw from previous experience in order to make sure you are not getting into it completely blind and naive.
If you happen to have a knowledge or skill set that can help you determine where to go with a good degree of certainty, then things should be a whole lot better for you.
However, that is not to say it will be a whole lot easier since business is still pretty much a challenge for the most part.
Buy-and-Sell Business
An online business is a go-to option these days, especially with all the online marketplaces available now that enable ordinary people to sell goods and/or services easily without additional cost.
If you have no idea what to sell, then look at your closet or the storage area in your home for old things that may be sold.
You may be surprised at how much you can get from selling what you may think of as junk, and it may even give you an idea of what you can sell as a business.
From there, you can have a buy-and-sell business that can earn and grow steadily.
Physical or Online Store?
Whether you start from an online store or a physical store, make sure that there is a demand for your goods and a dependable supplier you can trust who does not deliberately rip you off.
From there, you can slowly but surely grow, whether it is in size or in reach or both.
Real Estate Business
Perhaps you may want to get into real estate.
Land and property are tangible assets that anyone would want, but there is the sheer amount of money needed to own or even rent a home, a piece of land, or even an apartment or office space.
You can buy a bunch of condominium units or houses to rent out, and the monthly rent you receive can be a stable source of income.
Stock Market Investment
Investing in the stock market is also a good option, although there is a learning curve involved.
You can start investing in stocks online for as little as P5,000, but success requires a considerable amount of study and research.
Understanding where to buy and when are the good times to do so can be rather tricky, but investments can be potentially rewarding if you are able to make the most of your resources and make the right decisions.
UITF Investment
If you are apprehensive about the stock market, then perhaps you want safer investment options.
You can put your money in mutual funds and unit investment trust funds (UITFs), which doesn’t require as much effort on your part as stock investment does.
You can also invest in mutual funds and UITFs for as little as P5,000, and gains are much steadier, albeit lower than what you can potentially earn from stocks.
Traditional Businesses
Other “traditional” business ideas include opening a sari-sari store, a food cart business, a franchise in a well-known brand, an Internet cafe, a water refilling station, a diner, a cellphone loading station, or any combination of such.
You can also use your knowledge of being an OFW and the whole process of becoming one and start a manpower and recruitment agency to help prospective OFWs to follow their dreams as you have.