Chapter 21 - Good Business, Wrong Business
Ella arrived with a folder.
Actual folder.
Printed resume.
Photocopies of IDs.
Pen.
I stared.
She noticed.
"May kulang po?"
"No."
"Okay."
"I'm just impressed."
She laughed.
Apparently standards remained very low.
Ella had warehouse experience.
Packing.
Basic inventory.
Online-shop fulfillment.
No design.
No printing.
Good.
I did not need another person opening Canva and discovering shadows.
Abigail had suffered enough.
I gave Ella the same kind of practical test Claire had done before.
Packing list.
Variations.
Quantities.
One mismatch.
One missing item.
She caught both.
Then I interrupted her midway.
She stopped.
Answered.
Went back.
Started counting again from one.
I looked at Abigail.
Abigail looked at me.
Tiny nod.
Promising.
After the interview, Abigail sat beside my desk.
"Okay siya."
"That's what you said about Claire."
"Tama naman ako."
I stared.
Confidence.
Dangerous development.
Bea looked over.
"Hire?"
"Why is everyone HR?"
Claire smiled from the packing table.
"Team vote."
"There is no team vote."
Ella got the job that afternoon.
Part-time.
Production and packing.
Trial period first.
No dramatic welcome speech.
No—
we're a family here.
Just clear work.
Clear hours.
Clear pay.
Clear expectations.
Very romantic.
With Ella added, the room changed again.
Not physically.
Still the same shelves.
Same printer.
Same wall fan Papa installed.
Same admin desk Chloe liked stealing whenever she visited.
But the work moved differently.
Abigail handled more order coordination and layout checks.
Bea focused on production.
Claire packed and helped inventory.
Ella learned finishing and fulfillment.
And I—
managed.
Actual managing.
Weird.
Then Isabella ruined my peace.
Not intentionally.
Probably.
She came by Thursday afternoon for our regular stock delivery.
After everything was checked, she stayed near my desk.
"May kilala akong nagsasara."
I looked up.
"What kind?"
"Printing din."
Interesting.
"Why?"
"Owner moving abroad."
"Where?"
She told me.
Not far.
Small shop.
Printing.
Tarpaulin.
Basic signage.
Souvenirs.
Some school supplies.
Existing customers.
Equipment included.
My brain turned on immediately.
Dangerous.
"How much?"
Isabella smiled.
There.
She knew exactly what she was doing.
"Interested?"
"I asked how much."
"Same thing."
"No."
She told me the amount.
I stopped.
Not cheap.
But—
very reasonable.
Suspiciously reasonable.
"What equipment?"
She listed them.
Large-format printer.
Cutting machine.
Heat press.
Laminator.
Desktop units.
Shelves.
Some inventory.
Existing lease transferable.
I leaned back.
Fuck.
Old Lia would've asked for the address immediately.
Current Lia also asked for the address.
Personal growth had limits.
I visited Saturday.
Just to look.
That was what I told myself.
The owner—
Mr. Santos—
walked me through the shop.
It was bigger than mine.
Not huge.
But enough.
Large-format printing in front.
Small production area behind.
Old shelves.
Too much stock.
Messy workflow.
No clear inventory labels.
Customer files stored in folders with names like—
NEW
NEW2
USETHIS
I almost felt spiritually called.
The business was not bad.
That was the problem.
It was fixable.
Very fixable.
I could see everything.
Reduce dead stock.
Fix pricing.
Separate production zones.
Update customer tracking.
Improve social media.
Standardize quotations.
Clean up file management.
Add online ordering.
Improve supplier terms.
Train staff.
Bundle signage with my existing printing customers.
Cross-sell.
Centralize purchasing.
Use my current team for design.
Keep large-format production here.
I could make it work.
Probably well.
Maybe very well.
My brain had already built the first six months before I finished walking around.
Fuck.
Mr. Santos said—
"Sayang kasi. May customers naman."
"I can see that."
"Hindi ko na rin ma-manage."
"How many employees?"
"Three."
"Staying?"
"Two willing. One not sure."
"Lease?"
He gave me the terms.
Reasonable.
Equipment maintenance?
Manageable.
Debts?
Minimal.
Supplier payables?
Normal.
Customer receivables?
A little messy.
Nothing impossible.
Nothing scary.
Actually—
good.
This was a good deal.
That made it worse.
I went home with copies of numbers.
Not a commitment.
Just numbers.
Mama saw the folder.
"What 'yan?"
"Business."
She immediately looked suspicious.
Papa was at the table.
Sofia too.
I sat.
"Someone's selling a printing shop."
Papa:
"Bibilhin mo?"
"I don't know."
Sofia looked shocked.
"You don't know?"
I stared.
"What?"
"You usually know."
Fair.
I showed them the basics.
Not every detail.
Mama asked—
"Kumikita?"
"Yes."
Papa:
"Okay naman?"
"Yes."
Sofia:
"Then why don't you sound excited?"
I stopped.
Good question.
"I am."
"Pero?"
There.
I leaned back.
"I don't know if I need it."
Mama frowned.
"Need?"
"Another business."
Papa nodded slowly.
"Ah."
Sofia looked at me.
"Can you afford it?"
"Yes."
"Can you fix it?"
"Yes."
"Can it make money?"
"Probably."
She waited.
Then—
"So what's the problem?"
Exactly.
That night I opened a spreadsheet.
Of course.
Purchase price.
Equipment value.
Existing revenue.
Margins.
Lease.
Payroll.
Projected improvements.
Integration opportunities.
Worst case.
Base case.
Best case.
The numbers were—
good.
Annoyingly good.
I could buy it.
Operate it separately.
Or merge parts into my existing business.
Maybe move some production.
Maybe keep both locations.
Maybe—
Stop.
I closed the spreadsheet.
Then opened it again.
Ten minutes later.
Pathetic.
Jane messaged.
alive?
I stared.
yes
busy?
I looked at the spreadsheet.
Then typed—
thinking
dangerous
Fair.
someone offered me a business
Pause.
like to buy?
yes
are you buying it
I stared.
i don't know
Jane:
wow
I frowned.
what wow
you usually sound decided
Apparently everyone had noticed.
Unfortunate.
Then—
do you want it
I stopped.
Not:
Can it make money?
Not:
Is it a good deal?
Not:
Can you manage it?
Just—
Do you want it?
I typed—
it's a good business
Jane replied:
that's not what i asked
I stared at the screen.
Rude.
Accurate.
The next morning, I went to the workspace early.
No employees yet.
Quiet.
I looked around.
My small business.
One I had rebuilt carefully.
Proper space.
Proper systems.
Abigail.
Bea.
Claire.
Ella.
Evelyn's account.
Isabella.
Current customers.
Enough work.
Growing.
Healthy.
Then I imagined adding the other shop.
Three more employees.
Another location.
Another lease.
Large-format printing.
Signage.
More suppliers.
More client problems.
More payroll.
More things worth fixing.
More things that could make money.
And—
more things that would need me.
At least at first.
Maybe for months.
Maybe longer.
I could do it.
That had never been the question.
At eight, Abigail arrived.
She saw me staring at nothing.
"Morning, Ma'am."
"Morning."
She put her bag down.
Then—
"Problem?"
"No."
"Okay."
She walked away.
Then turned back.
"Business problem?"
I laughed.
"Potentially."
"Fixable?"
"Yes."
"Then good."
I looked at her.
"Not everything fixable needs fixing."
She paused.
Then nodded.
"Fair."
And continued to her desk.
I stared.
Apparently twenty-four-year-old me was being counseled by my own employees now.
Excellent.
I reviewed the acquisition again after lunch.
Not emotionally.
Properly.
Then I wrote two columns.
WHY BUY IT
Good price.
Existing customers.
Useful equipment.
Adjacent service.
Potential profit.
Easy integration.
Growth opportunity.
Then—
WHY NOT
Second location.
More management.
More payroll.
More operational complexity.
Current team still developing.
Existing business still has room to grow.
Would consume weekends at first.
Would probably push six-PM boundaries.
Not necessary.
That last one sat there.
Not necessary.
I looked at it for a long time.
Original Lia loved businesses partly because she loved solving them.
Broken operations were puzzles.
Bad pricing.
Bad workflows.
Bad management.
I could see the answer.
And once I saw the answer—
I wanted to do it.
Because why leave money on the table?
Why leave potential unused?
Why not grow?
Why not build?
Why not acquire?
Why not more?
It had worked.
That was the dangerous part.
I'd died rich.
So clearly—
it worked.
At four, I called Mr. Santos.
"Hi, sir."
"Lia. Nakapag-decide ka?"
"Yes."
Pause.
"I won't take it."
Silence.
Then—
"Oh."
I smiled slightly.
He sounded genuinely surprised.
"May problema?"
"No."
"Price?"
"No."
"Business?"
"No."
Another pause.
"Then why?"
I looked around my workspace.
Abigail checking a layout.
Bea loading paper.
Claire and Ella packing beside each other.
Because I didn't need another room to prove I could fill it.
"Wrong timing for me."
He was quiet.
Then—
"Okay."
"I think it's a good business."
"Sayang."
"Yes."
And I meant it.
It was a good business.
Just not mine.
After the call, I sat there.
Waiting for regret.
It came.
Immediately.
Of course.
My brain started calculating again.
What if—
No.
I opened the spreadsheet.
Selected the acquisition file.
Closed it.
Not deleted.
I wasn't insane.
But closed.
Done.
At 5:36, Isabella messaged.
di mo kukunin?
no
akala ko sure ka
so did i
Pause.
Then—
may mali ba
none
then why
I smiled.
i have enough to work on
She replied after a while.
rare answer
Probably.
Six PM.
I left.
No second shop.
No new lease.
No acquisition.
No expansion announcement.
Revenue tomorrow would be exactly the same whether I bought it or not.
Maybe lower than it could have been.
And—
I was okay.
Mostly.
At home, Ate Bianca was there.
Of course she found out.
Isabella probably told someone who told someone.
Or Mama.
More likely Mama.
"You didn't buy it?"
"No."
Kuya Nathan and Ate Vivian were on video call from Ate Bianca's phone because apparently this required a family board meeting.
Kuya Nathan looked offended.
"Why?"
"I don't need it."
Ate Bianca stared.
"That's never stopped us."
I laughed.
Exactly.
Ate Vivian asked—
"Good deal?"
"Yes."
"Profitable?"
"Probably."
"Then why?"
I repeated—
"I don't need it."
Silence.
Then Mama from the kitchen—
"Eh di okay."
Everyone looked toward her.
She appeared carrying plates.
"What?"
Ate Bianca:
"Ma, sayang."
Mama shrugged.
"Kung ayaw niya, eh di ayaw niya."
There.
MBA cancelled again.
Papa arrived later.
I did mano.
He sat.
Mama told him about the business.
He looked at me.
"Okay ka naman sa ginagawa mo ngayon?"
"Yes, Pa."
"Eh di okay."
Apparently my parents had mastered strategy through vibes.
Unfair.
Later that night, Jane messaged.
so?
didn't buy it
Three dots.
wow
stop saying wow
why didn't you
I typed—
good business
Then—
wrong business
Pause.
Jane replied:
look at you
I stared.
what
growth
I immediately locked my phone.
Absolutely not.
It buzzed again.
also celeste posted
I closed my eyes.
No.
I opened it anyway.
Photo.
Celeste.
Very pretty.
Very polished.
Sunglasses.
I stared.
Then Jane:
excellent nose
I replied—
I JUST MADE A MAJOR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT DECISION
very nice legs?
JANE
She sent laughing emojis.
Normal restored.
Before sleeping, I thought about the shop again.
I could have bought it.
I could have fixed it.
I could have made money.
All true.
But maybe a successful life wasn't the one where I took every opportunity I was capable of handling.
Maybe it was the one where I finally learned the difference between—
I can.
and
I want to.
For once—
that difference had saved me money.
More importantly—
it had saved me time.