From freight forwarding and airline cabin crew work to surviving the uncertainty of COVID-19, James Leyva’s journey as an overseas Filipino worker has taught him that building something meaningful requires more than ambition. It requires the courage to keep going.
At 43, James Leyva has learned that the road to success rarely follows a straight line.
Originally from Quezon City, Metro Manila, James moved to the United Arab Emirates in search of better opportunities. Armed with a Bachelor of Science in Finance degree, he wanted to place himself in an environment where he could grow, take risks, and eventually build a business of his own.
“I knew that if I wanted to achieve something bigger, I had to be willing to step outside my comfort zone, take risks, and expose myself to new opportunities,” he said.
His first job in the UAE was in the freight forwarding and shipping industry. It was an introduction to a new working environment, but it also gave him something more valuable: an understanding of how goods move across borders and how import and export operations work in the UAE.
Later, he joined a prominent airline in Dubai as a cabin crew member. The experience exposed him to different cultures, personalities, and ways of working.
Looking back, James sees those chapters not as detours but as lessons that would eventually help him navigate the world of business.
“Not everything went according to plan, and I think that's part of the journey,” he said.
Along the way, he started several businesses. Not all of them succeeded.
But each failure taught him something he could not have learned from success alone.
“I learned that failure is also part of building something of your own. Every setback taught me lessons that I couldn't have learned otherwise.”
Then came COVID-19.
For James, the pandemic was the toughest chapter of his journey. Business came to a standstill, and uncertainty became part of everyday life. But what made the situation particularly difficult was the knowledge that his decisions affected more than just himself.
“There were people relying on me. It wasn't just about my own situation anymore; other people were depending on me, and I had to find a way to make things work.”
There was no single moment when everything suddenly felt okay. Instead, James gradually realized that he could not allow uncertainty to make his decisions for him.
He had responsibilities. People were counting on him.
And sometimes, he learned, moving forward does not require having every answer.
“You just need to keep moving, make the best decisions you can, and trust that the lessons you're learning will help you navigate whatever comes next.”
Today, James is the owner of Project Scents Perfume LLC in Dubai, a Filipino-owned perfume brand that has reached the international market.
For him, building Project Scents means more than selling fragrances.
It's about showing that Filipinos can establish themselves in industries beyond the ones traditionally associated with overseas Filipino workers. It's about creating products that people from different nationalities can appreciate—and proving that a Filipino-owned business can compete on an international stage.
“I'm most proud of building a Filipino-owned perfume brand which we named Project Scents, that has made its way into the international scene,” he said.
“If our success can help open doors for others in our community, then that makes the journey even more meaningful.”
Behind that ambition is his family, especially his wife, whose support has helped him through uncertain times. Knowing that other people depend on him has also changed the way he thinks about success.
It is no longer simply about how far he can go on his own. It is about what he can build that will last—and who else might benefit from it.
When asked about the philosophy that guides him, James returns to a simple idea:
“We all have the same 24 hours a day. The difference is how we choose to use that 24 hours.”
For fellow OFWs and Filipinos hoping to work abroad, his advice is to look beyond the immediate job or opportunity. The experience of working in another country can offer exposure to industries, cultures, and business practices that might eventually open new doors.
But those doors do not always appear on their own.
“Don't wait for an opportunity; create one,” he said.
He also encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to take calculated risks and learn from their mistakes. Failure, he believes, becomes expensive when its lessons are ignored.
After years of navigating unexpected turns, failed ventures, and a global crisis, James has come to understand that the future will never be entirely predictable.
“You can't predict the future, but you have to learn how to build something capable of surviving it.”
For James Leyva, that is what the journey has ultimately been about: not waiting for certainty, but building something meaningful despite its absence.