People are often surprised by just how much work it takes to run a small business. Still, many sari-sari store owners and online community sellers are always on the lookout for ways to earn more.
If you are searching for how to make extra income while working full-time in the Philippines, you should probably start by looking at the skills and resources you already have. For all you know, your smartphone, existing customers, and intimate knowledge of your community can help you discover new sources of extra income during slower weeknights and weekends.
Whether you’re a long-time negosyante or are completely new to running a business, here are some practical ideas you can try to grow your negosyo.
1. Sell Your Existing Products through Online Marketplaces
You might not even have to reach out to new suppliers or order new products. On weeknights and weekends, you can create listings for products you already sell online.
These days, the sky’s pretty much the limit. You can post snacks, household items, beauty products, or other everyday needs on social media pages, online communities, or marketplaces. Just make it easy for customers to order by providing clear photos and simple descriptions of your offerings. As you become better at creating online listings, you can also offer polished listing creation as a service for other sellers in your community. You’ll probably want to start things slow by just offering products that you know people in your area need. This is especially relevant if you live in a condo or village where residents actively use community group chats. Good offerings include meal plans, school and office supplies, and other consumables where immediate access and convenience matter. If you can offer deliveries or pickups, even better. Unless you have a niche that requires casting a wider net, starting with your local community can be a safer bet.
Before you start selling online, consider opening a Maya Business Deposit account from Maya Bank to separate your business funds from personal money and to better manage your online cash flow. With Maya Business Deposit, you can receive payments, make instant disbursements, and earn 4% p.a. in interest, with no minimum balance required.
2. Become an Online Reseller
You do not always need to create your own products or have a physical store to start selling. Many small sellers work as agents for suppliers and earn by reselling products through online marketplaces. This is, perhaps, one of the simplest extra income ideas for people who want to start small before going all-in on online selling. Depending on your arrangement with the supplier, you may also be able to take preorders or sell from a catalog, which can help you avoid keeping too much inventory on hand. The key thing to remember is that your income comes from the margin on each product you sell. Maximizing your margins can get complicated, so you’ll want to start by testing a small selection of products and then gradually expand as you become more comfortable managing orders and inventory.
3. Offer Digital Services to Your Local Community
Offering digital services like mobile load, bill payments, as well as e-wallet cash-ins and cash-outs can all help you earn extra income using phone resources that do not require a high level of tech knowledge or even the time investment of product selling. While these are customarily provided at local sari-sari stores as a way to boost sales, you can also provide these services in the comfort of your home, making it a viable income stream even if you have a physical store that is currently closed. The beauty of this option is that it also still lets you generate extra income at home even if you can’t leave home on weeknights and weekends. If your community has an active group chat, you can try promoting your services over it so that your neighbors know you’re open for business.
To start, sign up with Maya Business to access mobile load services and other useful tools in one place. Continued use of these Maya Business retailer services will even help you become eligible for Maya Micro Flexi Loan, which can provide up to PHP 350,000 in funds once approved. If you have more challenging financial needs, Maya SME Flexi Loancan provide access to up to PHP 2 million, payable over up to 12 months.
4. Do Contractual Work for Other Businesses
Other small businesses often need help managing online tasks like posting products on their websites or social media accounts, answering customer messages, or sharing updates on group chats. If you are comfortable with various business processes, like social media promotions, bookkeeping, customer service, inventory management, and the like, you can use your skills to support other small businesses through part-time work, X-deals, or similar arrangements, especially during weekends and weeknights when you have some downtime. You can start by contacting other businesses in your community to avoid having to build your network from scratch and to avoid long commutes to meet clients.
5. Share Your Business Knowledge to an Online Audience
X-deals and engaging in part-time work are not the only ways you can help others. You can share practical tips about running a small business or managing customers and suppliers through online communities. Sharing what you know can help you build potentially fruitful connections and uncover new opportunities later on. If your content resonates, you can even gain ad revenue through the resulting traffic.
Producing good content does take effort, so you will want to dedicate some of your free time to this. With some dedication, your desire to share your hard-earned knowledge can become a stepping stone to stronger customer relationships and potentially new paths to business growth.
Turn Your Free Time into More Earning Opportunities
With the help of Maya Business solutions, you can modernize your business and offer a range of useful digital services to your customers. Onboarding is simple and, with just 1 valid ID, you can begin offering new services and accept cashless payments through the Maya Negosyo app.
Whether you are exploring extra income online jobs, looking for extra income online legit opportunities, or searching for extra income online Philippines-based business owners can do, the key to success is to start small and stay consistent. With enough commitment, your side hustle today can lead to better things tomorrow.
Download the Maya Business app today—now available on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
