By Armando “Butz” Bartolome, The Franguru | GMB Franchise Developers

One year in. Busy ka. Pagod ka. May customers. May staff. Pero kapag tinanong mo ang sarili mo, “Kumikita ba talaga ako?” — ang sagot ay hindi klaro. Or worse: the answer is no.

I have seen this many times in my 35 years in business, after helping 350 companies. Hindi laging kulang ang sipag. Mas madalas: may butas sa sistema. Sales look okay, pero the money does not stay. Or the business only works when you are there.

Kung nasa ganyang sitwasyon ka, huwag muna mag-expand. Ayusin muna ang base. Here are five common reasons a small business still is not profitable after a year — and what you can do about each one.

1. You are busy, but you do not know your real numbers

Maraming owner ang may sales notebook, GCash history, at bills sa drawer — pero walang clear picture: after rent, salaries, supplies, utilities and your own pay, how much is left?

Busy is not the same as profitable. Kung hindi mo alam ang monthly net, you will keep guessing. Guessing is expensive.

Fix it:

• Separate business money from personal money. One wallet for the store, one for home.
• Track weekly: sales, cost of goods, fixed costs (rent, salaries), and what you took home.
• After 4 weeks, ask: did the business pay itself and pay me?

If the answer is no, the next three fixes matter even more.

Kung bago ka pa lang, basahin mo rin ang 6 moves that separate survivors in the first year.

2. Your prices (or costs) quietly eat the profit

Suppliers raised prices. Delivery got more expensive. You added freebies “para competitive.” Pero hindi mo inangat ang selling price. After twelve months, the margin is gone.

Minsan naman: you price like a big chain, but you buy like a small store. Walang volume discount, so every sale feels like hard work for little left.

Fix it:

• List your top 10 sellers. For each: selling price, true cost (including packaging and waste), and margin.
• If a bestseller has a thin margin, raise the price a little, shrink the portion carefully, or push a higher-margin add-on.
• Review supplier quotes every quarter. Loyalty is good; blind loyalty is costly.

For more places where money quietly leaks, see the cost killers hiding inside your business.

3. The business only works when you are there

Kung wala ka, bumabagal ang sales. O kaya: may confusion sa staff, may spoilage, may “nakalimutan” na follow-up. That means you do not have a system yet — you have a job with inventory.

A business that depends only on the owner rarely scales, and it rarely rests. After one year, you are tired, and the numbers still do not look like freedom.

Fix it:

• Write a simple opening and closing checklist. One page is enough.
• Define who does what on a slow day and on a busy day.
• Train one person to run a full shift without calling you every 20 minutes.
• Step away for one day and see what breaks. That list is your next system project.

Ganito rin ang itinuturo ko bilang Franguru ng GMB Franchise Developers: walang lalaking negosyo kung walang sistema. I wrote more about this in why every business needs a system before a signboard.

4. You keep spending “for the business” without a plan

New equipment. New packaging. Another promo. Another Facebook boost. Bawat isa may reason — pero kung walang budget, the cash disappears before profit appears.

After a year, many owners say, “Malakas ang sales, pero wala akong cash.” Often the cash went to purchases that felt urgent, not to a plan.

Fix it:

• Set a monthly “growth spend” limit. If a purchase is outside that, wait.
• Before buying: Will this raise sales this month, cut waste, or just make me feel productive?
• Keep a small cash buffer for slow weeks. Survival money is also profit protection.

5. You never chose your customer — so you serve everyone poorly

You try to please every walk-in, every chat inquiry, every “pwede ba discount?” The menu or offer gets too long. Staff gets confused. Inventory piles up on slow movers.

After one year, you have activity, not focus. Focus is what turns activity into profit.

Fix it:

• Name your best customer in one sentence (who they are, what they buy most, when they buy).
• Put your top sellers where they are easy to see and easy to order.
• Quietly drop or de-emphasize the items that only create work.

Your 1-year profit checklist

Use this this week:

1. Do I know last month’s true net after all costs and my pay?
2. Are my top sellers still profitable after cost increases?
3. Can the store run one full day without me?
4. Do I have a spending limit, or do I buy whenever something “feels needed”?
5. Do I know who my best customer is — and am I set up for them?

Kung madami ang “no,” that is not failure. That is a clear to-do list. Profit after year one is less about luck and more about closing the leaks.

Next step

If you want a second pair of eyes on where the money is going — and what to fix first — book a free Business Health Check with me. We look at your situation in plain language and leave with practical next steps.

Book here: butzbartolome.com/book-now

I am Armando “Butz” Bartolome, The Franguru. 35 years in business. 350 companies helped. Your business can work harder for you — start by making the first year count.

© 2026 Armando “Butz” Bartolome and GMB Franchise Developers. All rights reserved. This article first appeared on https://butzbartolome.com/bakit-hindi-pa-kumikita-ang-negosyo-mo-after-1-year-5-common-reasons-and-how-to-fix-them/. You may share the link, but copying or republishing without written permission and credit is not allowed.