How To Be Successful In Business Philippines

The Philippines is full of opportunities but starting a business in the Philippines and making money is not always the easiest thing. So which leads us to ask how to be successful in business in the Philippines?

Today you will be learning about strategies and tricks on how to be successful in the Philippines. Some of the business tips today are the same hacks that corporations use to reach the next level, and some are advanced psychological methods. If you are running a business or in the process of setting up a business in the Philippines, this article is for you.

Table of Contents

How To Be Successful In The Philippines?

Consider Giving To Get

Our first method of how to be successful in the Philippines involves giving to get. Unless you have lots of capital to market your product or service to the masses, many people won’t know about your business, so the first thing you could do to increase visibility would be to give to get.

In other words, you are giving your product or service for free to potential customers.

Some people don’t like this idea and feel it’s ‘old school,’ but there is a reason why this is so valuable to some new and existing businesses. First, it will allow you to test different products and services and build your business reviews from customers, which are mandatory in building a successful business in the Philippines.

Some business studies suggest that free trials, products, and services can also lead to positive reviews.

How many times have you not visited a restaurant or brought a product because it has negative reviews or no reviews at all? It’s the first thing a new buyer will look at. Therefore giving your product or service away for free can lead to reviews that can be more valuable than the price or service itself.

The other advantage is that you can see what works and what does not typically work. This is done in your business plan (A.K.A market research), but this gives you the chance to expand this in more depth and test different ideas you have. Statistics show that 81% of people view reviews on products and services before they decide to buy.

How do I gain reviews for my business using the give-to-get method? The best way is to send a simple email. Here is a small example. Feel free to personalize this to your business.

“Hello (COMPANY NAME) I visited your store recently and noticed you don’t sell any ice cream flavored protein bars, and I wasn’t able to find any of these is other stores locally either! This was surprising as they are the most popular supplement in the city. We produce protein bars, and we have this flavor in stock and would love to give you a batch completely free to try or to give to your customer in your store. This completely free giveaway could help boost sales in your store. All we ask for in return is a short review of our bars whenever you have free time.”

**If sending an email, review your chosen words as some mailboxes will automatically put your email into the spam folder if it picks up several trigger words such as FREE, GIVEAWAY, YOU HAVE WON, etc

Run A Business Like You Would A War

If you wonder how to be successful in business in the Philippines, the answer may lie in an accident script dated back thousands of years ago. You may have read the book called “The art of war” it’s a very famous book written by Sun Tzu around the year 550 BC. The book focuses on Chinese military strategy and has been read by some powerful leaders in politics and business.

I’m sure you are wondering, ‘what does this have to do with business tips for the Philippines and being successful?’ In recent years, business owners have been using the strategies in this book in business with fantastic results. In other words, this book gives up some unique business tips.

If you are looking for business advice in the Philippines, you will often find this in the most unexpected places.

So how do I manage my business like a war? Should I go all in guns firing and try to squash my enemy (competitor)… No, treating the business like a war doesn’t mean you do anything crazy it simply means you use strategy to out-think your competitor and allow your business to grow without any restrictions.

Sun Tzu wrote in one chapter, “If you are attacking a wall, choose the weakest point” in other words, look at your business competitor now…. What are they weak at? Their business might be gigantic with thousands of employees, so you don’t attack this because it’s strong,’ but maybe they are so big that they lack the personal touch in business.

So how do we get ahead? You attack their ‘Weak’ spot and deliver personalized service to each customer. You need to be different and have a unique selling point.

Work With Companies In Your Network

Many businesses are afraid to team with other companies. I understand why but teaming could be very rewarding for both parties; why?

There have been countless examples of brands teaming up for projects such as saving the ocean from plastic, etc. These events are generally for a great cause, and teaming up allows your business to do a bigger job than it would do alone and, at the same time, get your business recognized; this is especially important if this is a new business or you are a business beginner.

Working with your competition has many different forms depending on the type of business but can sometimes start a merge (typically with larger scale business).

If you don’t like the sound of this idea, then you could take this a step down and team up with people who are in the same kind of industry but not direct competition.

For instance, if you have a food cart business in the city (selling milk tea) and see another business owner 50 yards away from you selling chicken and rice, you would make a perfect team as your customers can become theirs. Vice-versa, this is great for business growth, also known as a WIN/WIN!

This is one of the biggest tips for success in the Philippines, as very few people achieve great success in business without other people.

Learn And Use Leverage

Leverage is often referred to in places such as Forex, where companies give an investor extra buying power (more capital) with the idea that you will make more profit. One way how to be successful in business in the Philippines could lie with this method.

Leverage comes in many forms so we will keep this business tip for the Philippines straightforward. Starting a new business is expensive. There are registration costs, equipment and supplier costs, marketing costs, and more! But if you use leverage correctly, it can be used to grow your business quickly.

In your business, what options do you currently have? For example, are you able to make more money to start your business or expand it using leverage? Can you use any assets as collateral?

This advice is not to be taken lightly because if leverage is not calculated correctly, you could lose a ton of money and even your business. Still, if used correctly, you could use leverage to take you and your business places quicker.

Use Human Psychology To Your Advantage

To be successful in the Philippines, it may be wise to use to power of human psychology to your advantage.

A classic example of this is to appeal to people’s emotions. This is because many purchases have emotions behind them. For example, buying a sports car is not necessary, but there is an emotion behind it. Buying a first-class ticket on a flight is not necessary, but there is an emotion behind it. Buying beer or wine every weekend is not necessary, but there is an emotion behind it and so on.

When we looked at how to be successful in the Philippines initially, we spoke about giving your products or service away for free. So why did I advise you of this?

That’s right because it’s a psychological trick (reciprocity). When you give something away, no matter how small, people are inclined to pay you back. Sadly, this does work on everyone, but most will pass off this energy through favors, word of mouth, or sales. This is a simple form of business psychology.

Even a simple hello and smile could make your business customer return. I truly travel 8 miles (12.87 kilometers) to go to a hairdresser just because they always give me a small coffee and a cookie! The price and haircut are standard, but the service and how they make me feel keep me returning.

As the old saying goes, the secret to success is found in everyday life! So what things are working well for us, and what things are not? For example, if you cannot find customers, what system do you have for finding a customer? Is this a weak system, or is it broken?

Everything changes. One thing that worked ten years ago might not work now. Remember, change is not just good; it is essential.

Understand The 80/20 Law

For those of you who haven’t heard of the 80/20 law, it’s a universal law such as the law of karma or the law of cause and effect. The law states that 80% of your effort delivers 20% of your results; there are unlimited types of mottoes with the 80/20 Law. Here are a few examples of 80/20 in practice

20% of your thoughts lead to 80% of ideas. – 80% of a company’s output is produced by 20% of its workers. – 20% of your customers will give you 80% of your profit.

So when we look at these points, it gives us an excellent opportunity to think about our business and what we should or could be doing. This will allow you to think about your own business tips for the Philippines and how you can be successful in business in the Philippines.

An excellent way to use the 80/20 principles is to look through your current business behaviors and operations. What things are you currently doing that bring you the most results, and what things are you doing that are wasting your time?

Finding these time killers is a great way how to be successful in the Philippines as it allows you to remove them from your routine and focus on the most critical tasks.

For example, when I first started Filipino wealth, I spent at least one week designing a logo, changing the colors, text, and font, and after a week, I changed the logo again to what it is now. That week I spent has been wasted. I can never get those 7 days back.

There are sometimes essential parts of a business you need to concentrate on, and these may not necessarily bring you growth or an income, but they are crucial. But once they are completed focusing on the areas that will bring in development will allow you to naturally grow your business, which is one of the most vital business tips for the Philippines.

Build Profit Then Protect Profit

Another critical business tip for the Philippines is to strengthen what you have earned and protected your wealth to continue to grow securely.

Strengthen profits:

You have a business, and you see that a product or a type of service you are offering is bringing in most of your overall profits; that’s fantastic!

At this stage, beginner business owners sometimes focus on the areas that are not selling instead of focusing on the big money-making product and services. Perhaps this is because we want to see a balance across our business, or maybe because we don’t want to touch something that is doing so well. I’m not 100% sure, but I know that business owners should strengthen what is working from this.

Let’s say, for example, you have a YouTube Channel, and you are looking at how to become successful in the Philippines online. You have started a podcast, but it is not doing very well. However, your YouTube channel is blowing up, and your income is increasing month after month…

… There is no harm in continuously uploading podcasts; however, it would be wise to concentrate your energy on increasing your YouTube channel. You could perhaps even start to upload courses where you have the opportunity to earn more or send your YouTube traffic to your website.

Here are a few additional ways how to strengthen your business in the Philippines.

Offer Hot Products/Service To New Customers

Continuously Look To Improve/Fix Bugs With Your Product Or Service
Package This Up With Other Products/Services In Your Business
Offer These Products Or Service With More Features And Higher Costs

Protection:

How do you protect your empire? Remember earlier, we spoke about the art of war and mentioned how we could take business advice from a 1500-year-old book!?

Well, what would the art of war say about protection, or perhaps let’s ask this question another way… What would a king or queen say if you asked them how they protect their kingdom?

There are many ways, but I would suggest focusing on areas that strengthen your brand even more. For example, look at building better connections, find cheaper but more effective ways to operate (new suppliers, quick delivery, etc.), and even include added protections by having a backup strategy for different systems in your empire.

If You Are A Foreigner, Network With The Locals

If you opened or are in the process of opening a business in the Philippines, then I strongly recommend you trust and allow your employees to do the best for the business.

I was born in the U.K., and in 2018, I went through setting up a B.P.O. in Davao city, and one of the hardest things to do is trust because all the rules are different from back home, so naturally, you will be confusing times.

The best business advice I could give you in the Philippines would be to do everything lawfully, hire a trustworthy attorney, and have 4-5 solid Filipino business partners. This can help at every stage of the business.

If you are from the U.S., I would recommend some research with the local embassy, which has great information about your new business, which you can view below https://ph.usembassy.gov/business/business-faqs/.

We have previously spoken about how to be successful in business in the Philippines in relation to foreign investment. This is because Filipino wealth has a vast amount of articles for foreign business and investment.

Go Social

Another business tip for success in the Philippines is involving going fully social. I once met a guy who made over ₱200,000 in profit over six months using social media and never once paid for advertisement!

His business was simple. He made personalized shoes. Typically these were sports shoes and had no brand, but he was great with designing and often added names, titles, and quotes! So how did he do all this?

He advised me the first step was to build an audience, which was the hardest, so he joined groups and began to comment, offer support, and only promote his services 5% of the time.

He became a pro contributor on many pages and groups on Facebook and started doing videos that people shares and this happens again and again. After two months, he saw his live video stream go from 5 – 10 views to over 3000 +! He showed his viewers how he made the shoes. It was a very satisfying video to watch many customers make orders, and he did exceptionally well!

In summary, the way businesses get ahead is not always by sheer power or money. Some get ahead by brains and by careful planning. If you are in a place where you have little money and can not get your voice heard above the noise, then I suggest using a skillful approach. This will, in turn, allow your business to grow.

How To Be A Successful Businessman In The Philippines?

To be a successful businessman in the Philippines, you will need to think differently. You do not necessarily need to know all the answers, possess a lot of money, or have power. Instead, you will need an internal drive that produces habits and routines that allow you to become successful in business in the Philippines.

These routines are what the most successful businessmen and businesswomen across the world possess. These include networking, negotiating, thinking differently, and so on.

It is often believed that being successful in the Philippines requires money but time and again, entrepreneurs have become successful from a place of poverty. Moreover, these people often had a very sharp mind and could build their knowledge and improve their skills.

There are many different layers to being a successful businessman in the Philippines. For instance, being a successful businessman in the Philippines may mean earning 50,000 pesos a month and taking care of their family. However, being a successful businessperson in the Philippines requires 1,000,000 pesos a month, several cars, and a private jet.

In other words, becoming successful in the Philippines depends upon your goal. Therefore it’s essential to have a goal in mind as this will help you know when you are successful in the Philippines.

(Filipino Wealth apologizes for using the term businessMAN as opposed to a businessperson. A businessman is a more searchable term through google; thus, we reach more visibility using this term. However, the statement above refers to all entrepreneurs – successful in business in the Philippines)