Top Business Ideas for OFWs, Part 2: Interview with Victorino Q. Abrugar

For the second part of the interview series featuring business bloggers, RachFeed picked Victorino Q. Abrugar, the founder of BusinessTips.ph and president of Optixor, Inc.

Digital marketing company Optixor, Inc. not only manages Victorino’s business blog but also offers various marketing services to businesses across the Philippines and outside the country, making this blogger an excellent resource person for providing top business ideas for OFWs.

Here are his answers to the standard question we sent to all the business bloggers in this series:

What do you think is the best business an OFW can open in the Philippines even if he/she is still abroad?

I believe that the best business an OFW can start will depend on his or her own unique entrepreneurial mindset and skills. It will also depend on their passion and commitment. But to give you some specific and personal answers, I go for the following businesses which are categorized into two:

1. Business that needs money

For OFWs who have already saved money or are already eligible for real property loans, a real property business, like apartments and commercial spaces for rent, is one of the best businesses they could start even when they are still abroad.This business is easy to manage and requires little manpower to operate. Unlike other businesses that incur a lot of fixed and variable expenses, this business may only incur expenses such as the salary of the caretaker, business licenses, real property taxes, and repairs and maintenance expense.

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2. Business that needs time

For OFWs who wants to invest more time rather than money, online publishing or blogging is one of the best businesses they can start even if they are still working overseas. This business only requires a little investment which includes the cost of domain name, web hosting and web design. The best advantages with this online business include earning dollars thru different online advertising schemes and having yourself as your own boss. It’s not as stressful as providing professional services (i.e., SEO and digital marketing services) since your clients are your sponsors, advertisers and your audience.

Do you think this business could be successful enough for the OFW to quit his/her job abroad and return home to simply manage the start-up company?

Yes. Real property business earns fixed income, and if managed properly, it can also be expanded. It also requires little time to manage, thus, giving OFWs more opportunities to venture into other profitable businesses if they already decide to return to the country.

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Online publishing, with the right marketing and business management, can also become profitable and even exceed the average income earned by an OFW. Remember that this kind of business also generates revenues in US dollars. Hence, even if they have already returned to the Philippines, they can still earn income in foreign currency.

The tips Victorino shared for OFWs, especially the one about blogging and online publishing are proven to work for many people. You don’t even have to look far for an example as the owner of RachFeed is an OFW who manages the blog (and many others) while he is working abroad!

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