Broke OFW turns himself into a businessman through financial literacy

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who had a grand time splurging and woke up one day scraping the barrel has pulled himself together to become a successful businessman running an online, short film content production company and a bar.

For some time, Ace Mullet of Calamba, Laguna lived in a bind following his financial crash, trying to figure out where his money went, until he picked up the pieces and, as the saying goes, “ate the elephant one bite at a time.”

Unpaid loans and bank cases are among top issues besetting OFWs in the UAE, according to Labor Attaché John Rio Bautista, head of the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.

He said MWO’s Assistance to Nationals (ATN) section is currently handling many such cases. “There’s a good number,” he told GMA News Online. 

Limitless

Mullet said his financial resources seemed limitless back then, so much so that spending it wisely skipped his mind. 

“Dahil medyo maganda ang kita ko noon bilang isang design engineer, wala akong naging plano kung paano gagamitin ang kita ko. Gastos dito, gastos doon. Dahil feeling ko noon hindi pa ubos pera ko, may darating na suweldo na naman,” said Mullet, who came to Dubai in 2007.

(Because I was making good money as a design engineer, I didn’t plan on how to properly use it. I was spending here and there. It was like I still haven’t finished what I have, yet my salary would again be coming soon.)

Then the 2016 oil and gas crisis came, which triggered a domino effect that resulted in lay-offs and caused Mullet his job.

“Dahil financially illiterate pa ako noon, hindi ko nagamit ang mga pera ko sa tamang paraan,” said Mullet, who holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Letran College - Calamba. 

(Because I was still financially illiterate back then, I was not able to use my money in the right way.)

Jobless for 6 months

He said it had been a downward spiral from there. He was jobless for six months, and so broke he could not anymore afford to pay the rent and utilities, resulting in him being evicted.

“Doon na nagpatong-patong ang mga problema ko to the point na ang bank balance ko ay naging AED -71.65 dahil sa mga auto debits,” said Mullet, the eldest of three siblings.

(That’s when my problems became so convoluted to the point where my bank balance was AED -71.65 due to auto debits.)

Self-study

Shaken, Mullet recoiled, vowing to never again be in such a quandary. He did a lot of reading about money, investing and personal development. 

“Basically, I self-studied and learned a lot about financial literacy. I put the knowledge I have gained into use, and slowly redeemed myself,” he said in a mix of English and the vernacular.

And so, things finally started falling into place until TBON – The BillOut Night, an online content platform was born. Formed six years ago in 2018, the short film content production company now has 5.7 million followers.  

Mullet joined TBON – The BillOut Night with its founder, Mike Nerpiol in 2020. Nerpiol has settled back to the Philippines and continued the outfit’s operation there, while Mullet has continued to run the TBON Dubai organization.

TBON – The BillOut Night also has three Facebook pages — TBON Dubai, which has 1.7 million followers; Filmlikula Dubai, which has 161,000 followers; and Sine Matik, which has 2.6 million followers.

“We have more than 60 people including directors, writers, editors and artists from different industries, showing talents to millions of followers across different social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok,” Mullet said.

“TBON Dubai is committed to crafting stories that resonate with the hearts and minds of our viewers. One meaningful inspirational content at a time that they can enjoy wherever they are across the world,” added Mullet, who also does some acting, himself, for the contents.

TBON Dubai has 125,000 subscribers on YouTube, 112,000 followers on TikTok, and 19,800 on Instagram. Another content production unit, TBON Dubai Stories, has 89,000 subscribers also on YouTube.  

Among most watched Facebook contents was that of an undergrad ridiculed by his classmate. The short story had 46 million views.

Business is good

Business is doing good.  “We will add more talents, production staff, writers, among others. I’m also looking forward to having more business partners because right now, there are lots of opportunities, lots of business offers from different industries,” Mullet said.

He added: “TBON Dubai is actively looking for fresh talents who are from 18 to 50 years old. They can register through this link, https://forms.gle/E8xFWScmc5fLVi1u6 .”

Aside from TBON Dubai, the group also regularly runs the “New Heroes Podcast,” a talk show that features a guest OFW who shares experiences that others may learn from.

Bar

Meantime, Mullet has also opened a bar on April 4 this year at the ground floor of Vision Imperial Hotel along Al Rigga Road behind Al Safadi Restaurant in Deira, Dubai.

The place, which has live DJ entertainment and open from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. every day, is especially packed on weekends with close to 200 partygoers.

“What lies ahead is something I’m very excited about,” said Mullet. “I know I can be more, I can do more, I can have more. I will add another business venture next year. We will add more channels starting in the fourth quarter of this year,” he added. —KBK, GMA Integrated News