IF YOU don't have the right amount of money to invest in a business you think will give you enough profit, worry no more.
There is now an effective way to venture into that business without so much worrying about the needed capital outlay -- turn to the Internet.
No more risk as you only need an Internet connection to go on with your business, plus the fact that online shopping is now a fad among buyers and sellers, especially for millions of Filipinos who have access to the Internet.
Young entrepreneurs have found online business as the most effective method to start a business as this does not require one to invest so much money to spend for their operation, such as space rental, human resources and other maintenance expenses.
This was what young and enterprising entrepreneurs Michael Angelo Najaro, 28, did when he and his Queen Anne decided to set up a business after Michael's take home pay was not enough for a growing family.
It was in 2012 when Michael resigned from his job and ventured into his own business utilizing the Internet. Buy and sell online was drumming up at that time, with the growing use of networking sites like Facebook and Instagram.
And Michael just did a right decision as online business has become "very effective until today."
"Na-discover ko mag (I discovered) buy and sell online through my friends. They ventured into buying and selling cars using the Internet. Nakita ko na malakas ang kita (I saw that the income was good). I said I can also do the same," Michael said.
The problem then was that he doesn't have enough capital to invest in the same business, prompting him to consider trading other products.
"Pumasok sa isipan ko yung mga gadgets (Gadgets came to my mind). I have observed kase at that time na dumarami na ang mga 'techies', that everytime na may lumalabas na bagong phones, magpapalit din sila. Sabi ko pwede ako dito (I discovered that ‘techies’ are growing that time. Everytime a new phone comes out, they’d change their units. I said I can venture into this)," Michael said.
With P30,000 on hand as capital, he then turned to Facebook which started to become so popular and browsed for sites engaged in selling smartphones and its accessories.
"Nag-start ako with P30k lng. Puhunan ko at yun lang muna pinapaikot ko. I started with two to three units (of smartphones) lang muna. Binibili ko from sellers online tapos ibebenta ko din online through my FB and Instagram accounts. Will just post the photos of the product available and its specifications" he said.
After which, Michael said he will receive orders and inquiries about the product. He meets up with sellers to personally check the product and meets up with the buyer.
Michael said the units are usually sold cheaper than its prevailing prices in the market and buys the units in cash and sells it also in cash.
As competition on online business had become stiffer in Davao City and they have enough capital to invest, the Najaro couple went to Cebu City to see if the market was good.
"I tried na mag-market dun (I tried to market there) but I stayed there for only two months. Na-observe ko parang di masyado malakas sa Cebu ang online business (I observed that online business in Cebu is not that stable) at that time," Michael said.
The couple returned to Davao City and continued with their business. Michael started to link up with other entrepreneurs buying and selling the latest gadgets online, including those outside Davao City, until he happen to meet an online supplier from Manila.
"The supplier will just post photos of the product then I will place the order. The product will then be delivered to me through a courier," Michael said.
It didn't take long for Michael to decide to go to Manila to see for himself the quality of the products he bought online.
"May mga complaints kase mga online buyers na nakakatanggap sila ng mga fake na brands kaya to make sure naa hindi mangyari sa akin (There are complaints of online buyers receiving fake brands so to make sure it won’t happen to me), I personally check on the product to ensure its quality," Michael said.
At present, Michael is based in Manila and linked up with more suppliers to meet the growing demand for modern gadgets and accessories while his wife is based in Davao City to ensure the products bought online are in good shape and condition upon delivery to the online buyers.
Michael said that until now, online business has a great potential since most people look for products online.