The enterprising and entrepreneurial spirit has always been high among Filipinos. Just think about the number of people who have side businesses or other gigs to augment income they get from their day jobs. Turns out, juggling employment with a side hustle is now a norm in the country.
According to the recent Gig Economy Survey conducted by GoDaddy, the world’s largest cloud platform dedicated to small, independent ventures, 77% of Filipinos have or had a side business. The study also revealed the biggest enabler to having gigs on the side: technology.
If the trend of selling products and services online is any indication, more Filipinos are trying their hand at entrepreneurial pursuits because of how easier it is to do now. In fact, the GoDaddy survey also revealed that 55% of Filipinos with side businesses are highly reliant on technology, with social media, websites, and e-commerce platforms as the top three online tools of choice.
E-commerce is also something a business of any size, looking to sell their products online should consider. According to a study done by Ken Research, the e-commerce market in the Philippines is expected to keep growing this year due to improving internet connection and higher acceptance from the market—opening a huge opportunity for online selling.
Although running a business venture can have its share of challenges, newly available online tools have addressed some common challenges that entrepreneurs have faced in the past. Here GoDaddy shares solutions to three common issues that often prevent people from pursuing their side businesses.
The Issue: Lack of Shopfront
Online Tech Solution: E-commerce Tools
In the old days, for people to buy most product and services they had to seek out the source and buy it from a seller or business directly, most often from a shopfront. Today, e-commerce tools have greatly addressed this problem. Now, one can easily see a product and purchase it directly online. In most cases, purchased items are delivered right to a buyer’s doorstep. This has greatly enabled those with day jobs to have side businesses without having to operate a physical shopfront. The GoDaddy Online Store for example, offers templates for selling up to 1500 products, with inventory management and options for payment processing and shipping methods.
The Issue: Displaying Product or Service Portfolios
Online Tech Solution: Mobile-Friendly Website Builder
According to We Are Social’s Digital in 2018 report, 61.9 Filipinos access the Internet through their mobile phone. If they’re looking for a product or service, they’ll do it through a search engine from their smartphones. Having a mobile-friendly website makes it easier for potential customers to access business information. In addition, a website serves as a repository of information for people to find describing a business’ products or services. They can also read about it in more depth than they can from social media pages. For example, someone doing photography and graphics, as a side hustle, can have their portfolio displayed on a professional looking website. Using tools like GoDaddy’s Website Builder allows people to create online portals that are optimized for mobile viewing from the start.
The Issue: Targeted Product Marketing
Online Tech Solution: Email Marketing Tools and Social Media Integration for Websites
Creating awareness about a business and its latest product offerings is now faster and more effective online. Repeat customers can be engaged through email marketing, which lets them know of any new deals or products they might want. Tools like social media integration on websites also allow people to access company social media pages for real time business updates. And, today with the modern Filipino customer spending much of their time being online, it’s the best kind of targeting a venture can do.
From domains to creating websites to professional email solutions designed to help create a strong web presence, GoDaddy offers those with side businesses the online tools they need to help thrive more in today’s fast-paced online marketplace. GoDaddy also has a locally-based customer care support available 24/7 to help along the way. To find out more about these tools, log on to http://ph.GoDaddy.com.