Pinoy Business Coach

Recently, I had a facebook chat with one of of my good friends whom I served an LDS Mission more than a decade ago.  We are good buddies and both served in the island of Mindoro Occidental, particularly the town of San Jose. After exchanging pleasantries and catching up on our personal and family situations, the conversation shifted to our livelihood.

I asked him, "Where are you working right now?"

He replied, "I am an OFW (Overseas Foreign Worker) assigned here Western Australia, working in a company that manufactures thermal blankets for heavy equipment."

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32594277@N04/3688704665

A little bit puzzled with his job, I responded

"You must earn a lot of money, I would suggest saving and learning to invest your money either in a business or profitable vehicle."

To which he blurted "Kung may matira pa (if there are left-overs)."


It is a fact that a basic worker in Australia would earn up to 2 Million Pesos/year (converted).  That is an average of 160T Pesos per month.  That is how good the pay is there so I was really wondering why an OFW in Australia who's family is located in Luzon is not able to put aside a little money each month for investing purposes or a seed fund for a business.  With a little budgeting, a family of modest means can make a few pesos go a long, long way so that money-making assets can be realized for the future.

Managing your personal finances is one of the prerequisites if you want to start your own micro or small business.  Talking to your wife or spouse and setting a goal to set aside a percentage of income and place it in a separate bank account so that when the right business idea or opportunity is spotted, one would not be in a desperate situation because of the unavailability of funds.

Here is a real life story on managing funds from a real OFW, this article comes from Randell Tiongson's website and can be filled with wonderful insights that all of us can relate to:

Read the article Here.

The sum of the matter is OFWs have the potential to be great business people and investors if they are willing to be financially educated and literate.  By acquiring the right mindset, changing perspectives and managing funds smartly, they might not be only the rightful saviors of the Philippines but can be an investor force for the country as well.