According to the Philippines Statistics Authority, study by the Department of Trade and Industry, 90.5% of the business entities operating in the Philippines are micro, small and medium enterprises, as of 2021. Also known as MSMEs, these businesses contribute 35.7% of the total trade value. Given its high market share, MSMEs are by and large one of the most important contributors to the country's economy.
In the Philippines, there is strong government support for such microbusinesses, giving micropreneurs a boost in the form of training, mentorship and other side business development services. As a result, starting a side hustle has become an attractive way to make additional money. So, what exactly is a micropreneur and why should you become one?
What is a micropreneur?
A micropreneur is defined as someone who runs a micro-entrepreneur business. While an entrepreneur operates a full-fledged business, micropreneurs usually operate on a smaller scale. The most common features include having little to no employees and no delegation or outsourcing of tasks.
In most cases, micropreneurs are both the owners and sole employees of their business. Therefore, they handle all aspects from budgeting to sales and marketing on their own. Some popular side hustle jobs are vlogging, content writing, or even running a small e-commerce store.
Benefits of having a side business
Apart from its smaller scale and low barrier of entry, a small scale side business comes with several advantages.
1. Complete control
One of the best advantages of running these side hustles is that you can have complete control over the business. This form of micromanaging allows you to focus on expanding your own idea and allows you to scale up or down at your own pace.
2. Faster results
The lack of board meetings or multi layers of processes and protocols gives micro business owners almost instantaneous results. This unique business model means you get to measure the success of your activities without having to wait for lengthy reports to come back.
3. Freedom to experiment
Whether it is a new product, service, or another small business opportunity, owning a microbusiness gives you the freedom to experiment. Moreover, micropreneurs can fully customize how they implement their side hustles to make money.
4. Less stress and costs
Typically, the bigger a business grows, the greater the pressure to perform as there are employees and customers to take care of. Additionally, the bigger the company, the higher the operations costs, too. Fortunately, micropreneurs usually do not suffer from such issues, as they often have little to no utility costs. Moreover, they can decide how much work to take and when to do it.
