Online entrepreneurship on a budget

As the Philippines surges forward in the digital era, now is the time for aspiring entrepreneurs to dive into the digital marketplace, leverage its vast opportunities, and mitigate risks with informed strategies, according to the Philippine E-Commerce Association (PECA).

“E-commerce is one of the best opportunities for anyone to start a business,” said Kyle Matthew C. Jarque, communications director at PECA, in a virtual interview with BusinessWorld on Monday.

“Not only can you start with low capital, but you also don’t need to think about renovations, permanent structures, or even manpower. Essentially, you can use the people you have at home,” he added.

In acquiring supply, business owners can even opt to prioritize getting orders before purchasing from their suppliers as this will require less capital when it is time to scale up the business.

“With e-commerce, you can actually sell the product first and buy it later. You can tell your supplier you’ll sell it first and then buy it once you get customers,” he said.

“Only in e-commerce can you sell products with only visuals.” He added that business owners can opt to do it for free on their own using free tools on the internet like Canva, but hiring someone more experienced in graphic design to create a mockup of the product will give the business an edge against competitors.

“I would say you’re already ahead of everyone else because you’re already asking an expert to do it for you,” he said.

Another part of promotion is generating traffic for the product on social media platforms. 

“Admittedly, with as little as P10,000, you can start your online business. All you need is your product and your social media page, and that’s it. And maybe some skills to talk to people. But in itself, if you can just constantly post on social media, you’ll definitely be able to get the sales and validate your offer,” Mr. Jarque said.

While P10,000 should be enough to start, P30,000 would give the business a bigger buffer for failures and options, he added.

“Let’s say, for example, you want to start your own brand, then probably a P30,000 budget would be better for you. With P10,000, you can opt for pre-made stuff; typical buy and sell, or you can be a distributor of existing brands and all you need to do is sell,” he said.

There are multiple industries for reselling or distributing where a P10,000 starting budget will be sufficient, such as skin care, food, or supplements, he noted.

“At the end of the day, it’s really about starting your business because from there, you’ll learn how to be in business.” — Aaron Michael C. Sy