It’s easy to grow when the economy is booming.
Customers are spending. Sales are rising. Everybody feels confident.
The real test of an entrepreneur comes when the economy slows down.
And that is where we find ourselves today. The Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) grew only 2.3 percent in the second quarter of 2026, while household consumption grew 2.8 percent. Inflation remained high at 6.1 percent in August.
When consumers become cautious, businesses feel it immediately.
But here’s the important thing: A slow economy doesn’t mean your business has to stop growing.
1. Confront the brutal facts.
I have always believed that numbers don’t lie.
When sales slow down, don’t explain them away. Look at customer count, average spending, margins, expenses and, most importantly, cash flow.
Find out exactly where the problem is.
In good times, inefficiencies can hide behind growing sales. In difficult times, they become painfully visible.
That’s why a slowdown can actually make us better. It forces us to become better operators.
2. Focus on what you can control.
We cannot control GDP, inflation, interest rates or consumer confidence.
But we can control our products, service, costs, productivity and how we treat our customers.
Whenever business becomes difficult, I ask a simple question:
What can we do better?
The answer doesn’t always require a grand new strategy. It could mean improving service, reducing waste, introducing a better product or simply giving customers more value for their money.
Small improvements, compounded over time, can produce big results.
That’s Kaizen.
3. Don’t stop looking for opportunities.
When the economy slows, some businesses retreat completely. They stop investing, experimenting and expanding.
That creates opportunities for those who remain alert.
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when many businesses were holding back, we opened Lantaw in SRP and ChixBoy in Busay. It wasn’t an easy time to expand, but we saw opportunities and decided to move. Those two restaurants helped us weather one of the most difficult periods we had ever experienced.
There is a lesson there.
Don’t confuse prudence with paralysis.
Good locations may become available. Competitors may pull back. Talented people may become easier to recruit. Customers may start looking for better alternatives.
Keep your eyes open. Sometimes opportunity
appears precisely when others have stopped looking.
4. Stay close to your customers.
When money becomes tight, customers become more demanding about value.
Listen to them.
What are they buying? What have they stopped buying? What are they complaining about? What would make them come back more often?
Never assume you know what the customer wants.
The closer you are to your customers, the faster you can adjust.
Final thoughts
I’ve been working and doing business long enough to experience good times, bad times and everything in between.
One lesson has stayed with me:
Don’t wait for the economy to improve before improving your business.
Control what you can control. Protect your cash. Watch your numbers. Take care of your customers. Keep improving. And keep looking for opportunities.
Economic cycles come and go.
When better times return, businesses that simply waited for the storm to pass may find themselves exactly where they started.
But those that used the slowdown to become leaner, better and stronger will be ready to take advantage of the recovery.
Sometimes the best time to build a stronger business is precisely when business is slow.
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Friend, if you haven’t yet bought a copy of Bunny’s Pages: 50 Lessons from my entrepreneurial journey, please message Bunny at 09173216224.
