2026 didn’t begin particularly well for us.
From January, we were constantly exposed not just to market forces, but to the slow, grinding pressure of compliance. The ritual repeats: renewing business permits, paying higher fees and complying with new requirements that seemed to appear overnight. This year, garbage collection fees in Manila alone increased substantially. Other LGUs followed suit, adding more red tape, surprise inspections and penalties. None of these individually would kill a business, but altogether they slowly bleed into our already thin margins.
From a manpower standpoint, absences without leave (AWOLs) tend to spike at the beginning of every year after employees collect their 13th-month pay. Staff departures don’t just disrupt operations, they also hurt emotionally. Some employees inevitably ask, “If the company was truly good, why would employees leave so abruptly?” We scrambled to hire replacements, retrain them and fix systems left in disarray. I discovered that much of the work I thought was being done wasn’t really finished properly, truthfully and accurately, forcing us to redo much of the work I thought was done and had already paid for.
Operational sloppiness was another invisible leak. We lost an embarrassing amount of money on core ingredients like milk because our staff didn’t clean containers thoroughly. At scale, carelessness compounds losses. A plastic spoon that costs only a peso sounds trivial until you sell thousands of items a day. A little extra here, a little “bigay na lang” there and generosity without boundaries become unnecessarily costly, if you don’t implement clear standards.
Spoilage can be just as expensive. We’ve thrown away usable inventory because pests gnawed through boxes of goods. Even then, disposal isn’t straightforward. You can’t just throw things out nonchalantly. Disposal itself is a costly process, requiring accredited third-party waste disposal providers to prove that nothing was hidden or sold under the table. This protects us from tax authorities misinterpreting waste as fraud. Throwing away inventory hurts, but the paperwork and extra disposal fees add to the headache.
Inflation was another evil. Price increases came fast and furious post pandemic. Over the last few years, we’ve seen suppliers increase prices on average, at least 10 percent per annum. These price increases didn’t just hit our core ingredients. They also extend to other collateral materials such as the paper we print our invoices on, or even the distilled water our employees drink.
At times like these, running your own business ceases to be fun.
Originally, entrepreneurship was seen as an escape from bad bosses, rigid schedules and corporate politics. But given today’s political and economic climate, 2026 feels poised to be tougher than most. Bank regulations now require extensive documentation for withdrawals above P500,000, slowing down investment and dampening spending. Rising prices have made consumers more cautious. I see fewer shopping bags, smaller portions and longer pauses before purchases.
These days, it seems easier to work for somebody else. At least, someone else can shoulder the responsibility for payroll, compliance and income stability. When you’re your own boss, there’s no guaranteed payday, no clearly-defined role and no other department to absorb your mistakes. Every cost overrun, delay and misstep become a lesson you personally pay for.
It’s hard to complain too much though. I’m already deep into this to walk away easily. Closing isn’t as simple as deciding that I’m tired. Unlike my employees, I cannot simply resign. When livelihoods depend on the business, walking away isn’t an option. That’s why I grit my teeth, carry the weight and hope for some reprieve. Those who can’t bear it, eventually close. Those who remain, like me, learn to endure, pivot and work harder to survive.
Today, entrepreneurship is more about endurance and having enough capital to stay afloat. That’s why it’s worth saying that not everyone needs to leave the corporate world. It’s called cushy for good reason. A stable job, with clear structure and predictable income, isn’t a sign of lesser ambition. For most Filipinos, working for someone else is a rational choice in an economy where the cost of doing business continues to rise substantially and relentlessly, with thicker regulations and shrinking margins of error.
For those who still choose this path, the work continues. You adjust, you comply, you rebuild. You learn that resilience is not heroic but habitual. Over time, you come to understand that merely surviving is already a victory, Doing your best, honestly, consistently and without cutting too many corners has already become the real measure of success.
Tina Khoe Ang is a retail entrepreneur, managing 30 branches in Metro Manila, and a master franchisor of an American frozen treat brand with 13 shops. She is a moderator at the Philippines HR Group on Facebook, and a co-host at The HR Cafe: Usapang Trabaho, Buhay, Atbp webshow every Sunday at 3 p.m. You can email her at tinakhoe@gmail.com.