I attended the E-Commerce Entrepreneurs Summit for the first time last January 7 at the A. Venue Hotel in Makati. It was my first time to hear about it and I was so glad that I made the time to attend this learning event. At first, I didn’t think I could attend it because my eldest son was supposed to go to the doctor that day for follow up check up. But his appointment was moved, thus, I was able to make it.

I first learned about the upcoming event from my fellow blogger, Robert Lee of Amazing Life Daily. He connected me with Edrian who is part of BlogADia. Then, Edrian secured me a seat at the summit.

Why was I interested in attending the summit?

I was interested because I am an e-commerce entrepreneur. I had been one for a few years now. I initially started selling my services as a Consultant and Career Coach and Counselor on my other website, Full Life Cube. I had been selling my books also online in the past years.  I sold through my breastfeeding book’s Facebook Page BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking before my husband helped me set up this website with an online shop. These days, we sell more than just books (paperback and digital/e-books) in my online shop. We now sell courses (like the iHOPE Online Coaching Program), talks (in video format), planning pages, merchandise based on my children’s book, a health drink and tickets to the events that we organize.

I love being an e-commerce entrepreneur! There are many advantages. Let me share some of them with you. You might be inspired to become one also.

4 Advantages of Being an E-Commerce Entrepreneur

1. You have no need for a physical store. Thus, lower costs. – You can have your products stored in your own home if you sell physical products.
2. You can work anywhere… as long as you have an internet connection. Freedom! – You don’t need to reside in metro Manila or any of the key cities just to work and earn. You can do this anywhere as long as you have a reliable internet connection.
3. You can earn passive income. Awesome, right? – This is what I love the most about being an e-commerce entrepreneur. This is most true for my digital products which are purchased through Paypal. Our system enables me to sell these products and deliver them automatically after the payment is received online. This enables me to earn while I’m on vacation, while I sleep, while I take care of my small kids, while I breastfeed my child, while I homeschool my children, while on field trips or outings with my family, while I manage the house or cook our food.
4. You can have both local and foreign customers. Wider reach and helps level the playing field. – With a website, your product or service can be easily marketed around the globe. You can reach more people online compared to selling through a physical store. Plus, the cost of investment to reach more people online is lower than if you choose to invest in a physical store with a good location. For example, you need to pay a lot to have a store with a lot of traffic in a mall. But with a fraction of that cost, you can bring more traffic to your online store to get more exposure for your products/services.

I was happy to hear the developments in the e-commerce industry in the Philippines and meet some of the key players in it during the summit. Below are some photos to help you have an idea of the e-commerce landscape in the Philippines.

Truly, more and more Filipinos are becoming increasingly confident in transacting online. One major reason for this is that it is convenient. People need not suffer because of the traffic situation in the country to buy the goods that they need or want. They can enjoy the services that they want also by accessing e-commerce platforms with just a few clicks.

There are still a lot to be improved on, of course, like municipalities need to have a standardized procedure in securing business permits and in processing BMBE requirements and for the BIR offices and staff to become more aware of the e-commerce industry and the needs of e-commerce entrepreneurs.

How about you? Have you made any purchase online also? What products or services did you avail of online? Are you also interested in becoming an e-commerce or online entrepreneur?

Do you want to know more about starting a business and find out what is the right business for you? You may learn more about having an online or e-commerce business through our video talk iHOPE through a Virtual Career or Business. You can also learn entrepreneurship through our video talk iHOPE through Entrepreneurship. You can download or watch these videos for only P500 each and learn from the comforts of your home. Click here and here.

If you want to be coached on top of watching these learning videos, check out the details and my coaching rates here in my other website. I would love to help you establish an online career or business just like me.