It’s not hard to imagine that from the OFW perspective, financial dreams are not made of candy clouds and somnambulant wanderings between bright business ideas. They are built by wide-eyed hard work and sacrifice. Unfortunately, financial security at home – the dream of almost every OFW I know – gets trumped by many things, not least of all the inability to start a small business.
Nielsen Media Research simply described this inability as a tendency to depend on monthly remittances for daily expenses. Jay Mendoza, NMR says most families of OFWs prefer to have no other sources of income.
I’m not an expert on the OFW community, but I think there’s more to the story than that, just as there is more to a business than capital. There must be more to the figures than just languid dependence and zero creativity.
To thrive, OFW families cannot just rush into any “business opportunity.” Too much money from overseas workers have disappeared inside Internet café businesses, parlors, miracle virgin coconut oil and network marketing schemes.
So, the question often asked is: what is a good business to get into? Now, here’s the irony of the moment: it is the OFW that gains the global perspective and skill to build and nurture an enduring business, but he or she has to depend on the family member, who may or may not have what it takes to make good and quick business decisions.
Assuming the tough part is over. The niche has been created, the product designed finished and the business has survived its first month. The OFW-financed business still has to contend with supply chain problems, pilferage, fraud, marketing – issues that even a sari-sari store should adequately address if it is to grow beyond a sari-sari store. Now, What Cat has an interesting series all on how OFW businesses fail.
If it’s hard to begin, it’s even harder to know when to end a fledgling business. When things don’t go exactly as planned, how do you know when to cut losses or when to persevere? Capital is no longer the issue here. The things that make a real entrepreneur – pure gut feel – come into play. Most OFW families just say ‘I don’t want to get burned any more. This is a lotta work.”
So, what happens? Back to just waiting for remittances. Wala pang lugi.
This is one of the stories behind the figures, another way of looking at the survey results that may give us reason to poke at possibilities for change. OFW families, heck Filipinos in general, need help to set up their businesses successfully. Who will give assistance?
Should it be the government? Should it be private companies wishing to do good in their communities? I have found many government entities and corporate foundations with “entrepreneurship” as their gilded missions. If you belong to these groups, don’t just do good in your little corner. Broadcast your message and reach out to more OFWs, to more communities, to more Filipinos who have the dreams and the tenacity to hold on to them. This country needs more than just slogans and missions. Our entrepreneurs are waiting to blossom and they need your help.
October 16th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Me too , I suggest to invest in stock. As a former OFW a tried having different business. Usually if you’re a novice, you’re excited with the money that’s coming in but in reality expenses outweights the income.
Rent, electricity, supplies etc… will drain your earned money for just few months. I tried investing in stocks. Here no space to rent, no employees, no competition all you need is fraction of your time , internet connection (or go to internet cafe) and online account for the stock. thats it.I started with 5T and it earned 200 in just 2 weeks. Then I gradually add my investment until it reaches 50T. Within 1 year I earned a net (less taxes, commission, etc.) of 12T.
October 16th, 2007 at 9:54 am
Problema sa atin mahilig tayong manggaya, kung ano yung uso dun tayo. Isa pa iniisip natin malaki yung kikitain. Kulang tayo ng tiyaga. Tingnan nyo yung mga Chinese sa atin. San ba sila nagsimula? Dapat yung gobyerno natin tulungan kaming mga OFW na mga alternatibong pagkakakitaan kung halimbawang magretire na ang isang OFW. Puro nalang silang pakabig.
October 16th, 2007 at 9:35 am
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October 16th, 2007 at 5:22 am
I’m a full-time entrepreneur myself having just quit my full-time job in a corporate world (though still working part-time in the same company upon their request) recently.
I could say that for any business to thrive, the owner should be hands-on. Otherwise, everything will turn into dust. Simply because of “kawalan ng malasakit”. Why should people even (own relatives) sacrifice on something he/she did not spent a single sweat? Hindi naman nila pinaghirapan iyong perang ipinuhunan, so why do they care kung malugi? It’s only the owner of the capital who will really care and get hurt when business suffer.
I employ my own relatives in my own small business just for the good intention of helping them earn a living and stay away from idle lives - sort of give a man a fish and you just feed for a day, but teach a man how to fish, you feed him for his entire life, but nothing happened. I ended up the bad guy and the whole clan talks about me when I dismissed my cousin from my employ due to wrongdoings and abuse. They have even become the thorn in my flesh.
So, I realized, good intentions is not enough. You ned to protect your hard-earned money invested in the business.
So, my suggestions to OFWs who wants to have a business as additional source of income (which should be) in preparation of their retirement from working abroad, do a business which you can do by yourself wherever you are. When you are finally ready to jump and take the risk to the unpredictable journey of being an entrepreneur, that’s the time you plunge into a full-time business. At least, when you failed, you can still say head on, that you tried. Then, try another one. That’s business. As I told my friends, “if you are not ready to die”, don’t go into business, coz there’s a lot of nightmares - from the staff, to the clients, suppliers, the government red tapes, especially, etc.
By the way, not all are called for business. So, pray to God where you are really called for. Everything, though, in life is a matter of calling.
October 16th, 2007 at 2:22 am
I also suggest investing it on stocks or in bonds for the cautious ones. The best thing is that it does not wait to earn unlike in businesses (ROI) and it compounds.