Barangay Micro-Business Enterprises (BMBEs) can now register their businesses, free of charge, at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through the agency’s Negosyo Centers.

Registered BMBEs can avail of government incentives that include exemption from the payment of income tax for income arising from the operation of the enterprise, exemption from the coverage of the minimum wage law, special credit window of government financing institutions that will service the needs of BMBEs, as well as technology and marketing assistance.

Under Republic Act No. 9178 or the BMBEs Act of 2002, a BMBE is referred to as any business entity or enterprises engaged in the production, processing or manufacturing of products or commodities, including agro-processing, trading, and services whose total assets, excluding land, shall not be more than P3 million. Such assets shall include those arising from loans but not the land on which the plant and equipment are located.

The DTI issued Department Administrative Order (DAO) No. 16-01 last April 22, 2016 which provides guidelines on registering BMBEs at Negosyo Centers. Under DAO 16-01, DTI is the sole agency which shall issue a Certificate of Authority (CA) to registered BMBEs at Negosyo Centers or at DTI offices where Negosyo Centers have not been set up.

BMBEs register at the Office of the Treasurer of the city or municipality where the business is located.

Republic Act 9178 or the BMBE Act of 2002 recognizes the role of BMBEs as an essential driving force for the country’s economic development. According to the law, BMBEs are “seedbeds of Filipino entrepreneurial talents and strengthening them would increase job generation, provide livelihood and augment Filipinos’ quality of life.”

Download the BMBE Application Form.

Below are downloadable files that are useful in starting a business:

Business Ideas

Mag-Negosyo Tayo!
Paano Maging Franchisee
Mga Gabay sa Pagsisimula, Pamamalakad ng Negosyong Pagkain
Starting a Business – Banana Chips Processing 
Starting a Business – Backyard Tilapia Production
Starting a Business – Beadworks Accessories
Starting a Business – Beauty Salon
Starting a Business – Candle Holder Centerpiece
Starting a Business – Christmas Wreath
Starting a Business – Commercial Hamburger
Starting a Business – Commercial Siomai
Starting a Business – Decorative Balloons
Starting a Business – Dipped and Molded Candles
Starting a Business – Flower Arrangement
Starting a Business – Franchising
Starting a Business – Gift Box 
Starting a Business – Herbal Bath Soap (Akapulko and Guava)
Starting a Business – Herbal Bath Soap (Papaya, Radish, Calamansi, Cucumber, Kamias)
Starting a Business – Home Bakeshop: Pandesal
Starting a Business – Honey Bee and Honey Production
Starting a Business – Internet and Computer Services
Starting a Business – Kaong Processing
Starting a Business – Mushroom Culture
Starting a Business – Native Longganisa
Starting a Business – Powdered Detergent Fabric Softener Dishwashing Liquid
Starting a Business – Saba Banana Production
Starting a Business – Salted Dried Fish (Tuyo)
Starting a Business – Salted Dried Split Fish (Daing)
Starting a Business – Skin Care (Herbal Bath Soap)
Starting a Business – Smoked Boneless Bangus
Starting a Business – Smoked Fish (Tinapa)
Starting a Business – Smoked Sausage
Starting a Business – Tocino 
Starting a Business – Water Refilling Station
Starting a Business – Vermicomposting
Starting a Business – Vinegar From Banana Peeling

DTI – PCAARRD Business Guides

Asha and Namnama Peanut Confectionery Varieties
Backyard Production of Vermicompost and Vermimeal
Cage Culture of Sea Urchins
Cassava Production Guide
Cucumber Production Guide
Culture of Freshwater Catfish in Concrete Cylinders and Tanks
Gabay sa Produksiyon ng Sinta Papaya
High Yielding Corn OPVs and Hybrids
Invest in Dairy Cattle Farming
Invest in Slaughter Native Chicken Production
Lettuce Production Guide
Modified Triangular Method of Seaweed Farming
Mudcrab Culture 
Mudfish Breeding and Culture
Okra Production Guide
Pag-aalaga ng Hipong Puti (Litopenaeus vannamei)
Plant Propagation Techniques – Budding
Plant Propagation Techniques – Grafting
Plant Propagation Techniques – Inarching
Plant Propagation Techniques – Sweet Potato
Pond Culture of the Giant Freshwater Prawn (Ulang)
Pond Construction and Maintenance for Tilapia Breeding and Growout
Seed Production of Ampalaya
Seed Production of Cucumber
Seed Production of Eggplant
Seed Production of Okra
Seed Production of Patola
Seed Production of Pole Sitao
Seed Production of Squash
Seed Production of Tomato
Smoke-Dried Sea Cucumber (Tinapang Balatan)
Sweet Pepper Production
Sweet Potato Production
Tilapia Culture
Tilapia Farming for Tilanggit Production
The Culture of Carps
Urban Gardening Using EPP Technology

Alugbati Production Guide
Broccoli and Cauliflower Production Guide
Carrot Production Guide
Coco Sap Products
Disease Free Abaca Plantlets in Caraga Region
Eggplant Production Guide
Fibers from Central Visayas
Ginger Production Guide
Handicrafts and Novelty Items from Coconut
How to Grow Mums
How to Make Fertilizer from Waste
Invest in Goat Farming
Invest in Lakatan Production
Invest in Orchid Production
Invest in Organic Pole Sitao, Squash and Tomato Production
Invest in ‘Sinta’ Papaya Production
Invest in Three- or Four-way Cross Slaughter Pig Production
Investment Opportunities in Agricultural Inputs
Okra Production Guide
Pili: Bicol’s Tree of Hope
Potato Production Guide
Processed Food Products from Jackfruit
Propagation of Giant Bamboo by Branch Cutting
Saluyot Production Guide
Snap Bean Production Guide
Seed Production of Upo
Sweet Pea Production Guide
The ‘Darag’ Native Chicken
The E-Kawayan Technology

Archived Business Ideas

Business Registration Requirements — Learning Center
Business Registration Requirements — Manpower Agency
Business Registration Requirements — Pawnshop
Business Registration Requirements — Pharmacy
Business Registration Requirements — Repair Shop
Business Registration Requirements — Rice Dealer
Business Registration Requirements — Skin Care
Business Registration Requirements — Travel Agency
Starting a Business – Car Wash
Starting a Business – Catering
Starting a Business – Fruit Shake
Starting a Business – Cellphone Repair Shop
Starting a Business – Botika ng Bayan
Starting a Business – Cassava Production
Starting a Business – Corned Beef
Starting a Business – Hog Raising
Starting a Business – Junkshop Business
Starting a Business – Pedicab Operation
Starting a Business – Poultry Raising
Starting a Business – Seaweed Production

A Guide to Registering Your Business

This guide informs entrepreneurs on the step-by-step procedures on how to register their business with various government agencies.  It includes a list of documents usually required by government agencies.

Download the material. 

Do You Want to Go Into Business

This handbook, published by the DTI through the Bureau of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development (BMSMED), guides would-be entrepreneurs on the process flow of starting a small business, the risks and rewards of going into business, and tips on writing a business plan. It also provides the likely requirements in registering with the various government institutions.

Download the English version.
Download the Tagalog version (Nais Mo Bang Magnegosyo?)

Your Guide to Starting a Small Enterprise

This publication looks at how a small enterprise evolves from a mere business idea until the enterprise is born. It is a step-by-step guidebook that walks the reader through a systematic way of putting up a small business. It is a light and easy read and the language is simple.

This guidebook has a different ending. Unlike the usual guidebook that will either leave the reader hanging, asking for more or be put back to the shelf after being read, “Your Guide to Starting a Small Enterprise” induces the reader into action. It is not all concepts; it is interactive. Asking the reader to complete a business blueprint as each chapter is read is probably the next best thing that this guidebook can offer.

Download the handbook.

• First and foremost, it will define and focus your objective using appropriate information and analysis.
• You can use it as a selling tool in dealing with important relationships (lenders, investors, and banks).
• You can use the plan to solicit opinions and advice from people, including those in your intended field of business, who will freely give you invaluable advice. Too often, entrepreneurs forge ahead without the benefit of input from experts who could save them a great deal of wear and tear.
• Your business plan can uncover omissions and/or weaknesses in your planning process.

• Place some reasonable limits on long-term, future projections. Long-term means over one year. Better to stick with short-term objectives and modify the plan as your business progresses. Too often, long-range planning becomes meaningless because the reality of your business can be different from your initial concept.
• Avoid optimism. In fact, to offset optimism, be extremely conservative in predicting capital requirements, timelines, sales, and profits. Few business plans correctly anticipate how much money and time will be required.
• Do not ignore spelling out what your strategies will be in the event of business adversities.
• Use simple language in explaining the issues. Make it easy to read and understand.
• Do not depend entirely on the uniqueness of your business or even a patented invention. Success comes to those who start businesses with great economics and not necessarily great inventions.

• A vision statement. This will be a concise outline of what your business purpose and goals will be.
• The people. By far the most important ingredient for your success will be yourself. Focus on how your prior experiences will be applicable to your new business. Prepare a resume of yourself and one for each person who will be involved with you in starting the business. Be factual and avoid hype. This part of your business plan will be read very carefully by those with whom you will be having relationships, including lenders, investors and vendors. Templates for preparing resumes are available in your library, bookstores and the Internet under “resumes.”
• However, you cannot be someone that you are not. If you lack the ability to perform a key function, include this in your business plan. For example, if you lack the ability to train staff, include an explanation how you will compensate for this deficiency. You could add a partner to your plan or plan to hire key people who will provide skills you do not have. Include biographies of all your intended management.
• Your business profile. Define and describe your intended business and exactly how you plan to go about it. Try to stay focused on the specialized market you intend to serve.
• Economic assessment. Provide a complete assessment of the economic environment in which your business will become a part. Explain how your business will be appropriate for the regulatory agencies and demographics with which you will be dealing. If appropriate, provide demographic studies and traffic flow data normally available from local planning departments.
• Cash flow assessment. Include a one-year cash flow that will incorporate your capital requirements. Include your assessment of what could go wrong and how you would plan to handle problems. Include your marketing plan and expansion plans and refer to helpful government websites such as the Small Business Administration.

1. Write out your basic business concept.
2. Gather all the data you can on the feasibility and the specifics of your business concept.
3. Focus and refine your concept based on the data you have compiled.
4. Outline the specifics of your business. Using a “What, where, why, how” approach might be useful.
5. Put your plan into a compelling form so that it will not only give you insights and focus but, at the same time, will become a valuable tool in dealing with business relationships that will be very important to you.
6. Review the sample plans we furnish and download the blank format to a MS Word document. Fill this in as you progress though the course.

• A sound business concept. The single most common mistake made by entrepreneurs is not picking the right business to begin with. The best way to learn about your prospective business is to work for someone else in that business before beginning your own. There can be a huge gap between your concept of a fine business and reality.
• Understanding your market. A good way to test your understanding is to test market your product or service before your start. You think you have a great kite that will capture the imagination of kite fliers throughout the world? Then hand-make some of them and try selling them first.
• A healthy, growing and stable industry. Remember that some of the great inventions of all time, like airplanes and cars, did not result in economic benefit for many of those who tried to exploit these great advances. For example, the cumulative earnings of all airlines since Wilber Wright flew that first plane are less than zero. (Airline losses have been greater than their profits.) Success comes to those who find businesses with great economics and not necessarily great inventions or advances to mankind.
• Capable management. Look for people who you like and admire, have good ethical values, have complementary skills and are smarter than you. Plan to hire people who have the skills that you lack. Define your unique ability and seek out others who turn your weaknesses into strengths.
• Solid financial control. You will learn later the importance of becoming qualified in accounting, computer software and cash flow management. Most entrepreneurs do not come from accounting backgrounds and must go back to school to learn these skills. Would you bet your savings in a game where you do not know how to keep score? People mistakenly do it in business all the time.
• A consistent business focus. If you think of specific products or services you will find that specialists will outperform non-specialists. Zero in on something you can do so well that you will not be subject to competing with someone with a lower price.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)