Challenges Encountered by the Selected Small Carinderia Owners of Poblacion, San Isidro Nueva Ecija

Abstract

Small business owners are responsible for managing all aspects of their business, including creating business plans, managing staff, setting business strategies, etc. So being a carinderia owner means managing all aspects of their business, including preparing and serving food, managing staff, providing customer service, and more. This study aimed to determine the challenges the selected small carinderia owners encountered in Poblacion, San Isidro. This qualitative study employed a phenomenological research approach. Ten (10) small carinderia business owners who agreed to complete the interview for the researchers or provide data to be analyzed for the research study took part as respondents. The respondents can be anyone of any age if they are related to the study. The respondents should have at least five months of experience in their business to give the exact information this research needs. Every carinderia owner faces conflicts and challenges in managing their business. The majority of them encountered problems, namely: (1) price increases of ingredients due to inflation, (2) low sales, (3) leftover food/ unsold food, (4) competitors, (5) non-paying customers; and lastly, (6) discouragement because of the problems they experienced. They handled their business by having solutions such as (1) a change in pricing to solve the problem of price increases of ingredients due to inflation; (2) making a new dish out of unsold food; (3) having loyal customers is also their strength when sales are low; and (4) thinking positively is their solution to discouragement because of problems they experienced. The study found that although carinderia owners faced difficulties that caused them many troubles, they successfully overcame them by coming up with solutions and tactics.