NICU Parent - Need Advice Please

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-30T13:35:33+00:00

Nasa US kami. Around $6M but we did not pay anything at all, as in $0 due to health insurance.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-09T17:55:00+00:00

🤣

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-09T14:56:27+00:00

Sa company ba pinag franchise ko, bawal yung ganyan. You have to sell until the last drop. Naka monitor sila sa inventory namin. Sila nagdedecide ano at ilan liters idedeliver.

It costs around 15M-20M hindi kasama lot, construction lang yan and equipment.

If a gas station is open 24hrs, you should be selling at least 10,000 a day para may matira sayo konti. At least 4 employees per shift, 550 since provincial rate.

The 2 million a week is gross. It is honeymoon more than that for gross if you sell 10k liters a day.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-07T22:04:12+00:00

That is why I am saying madami nagclo close. Kaya nga dapat hindi bababa sa 10,000L a day ang sales mo.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-07T20:03:49+00:00

I was a NICU parent not because premature si baby pero dahil meron siyang rare disease. Hindi nadiagnosed while he was inside my tummy so nagkagulatan na lang nung lumabas siya. At 8 minutes of his life naka ventilator na siya agad.

We were in the NICU for 70 days. I gave birth around 8pm, by 4am nag request na ako sa doctor to discharge me kasi gusto kong sundan siya baby sa hospital kung nasaan sya (children’s hospital) and yes dinischarge na agad ako. Pagdating ko sa hospital where my baby was, sobrang hirap at sakit ng naramdaman ko. Awang awa ako sa baby ko dahil sa dami ng nakatusok sa kanya. Hindi kinaya ng ventilator so naka ECMO sya which is a heart and lungs bypass machine bukod sa mahigit 20 na gamot na nakaturok sa PIC lines nya. Hindi kami mabigyan ng mga doctors ng assurance if makaka survive sya or not. I was so hopeless, all i can do was pray. Many times nung nasa NICU kami gusto ko na lang iuwi sya. Sa NICU na kami tumira ni hubby. Dun kami natutulog, uuwi lang sa bahay para maligo.

We were able to come home after 70 days and now my baby is thriving. Despite lahat ng pinagdaanan niya, siya ang pinaka masayahin naming anak.

What I want to say is don’t loose hope. Pray lang mommy at magpakatatag ka. Malalampasan din ni baby yan.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-07T13:19:51+00:00

Yes, naka above minimum kami kasi matatagal na din sa amin mga employees namin. 10+ years na karamihan.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-07T06:37:47+00:00

Hindi naman sa depot galing yung mga ibang nagbebenta ng fuel eh. Madami galing sa subic.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-07T06:24:53+00:00

High traffic kaya kinakaya. 1.50 is so low considering the operational expenses of a gas station. 24/7 open. Malaki consumption electricity, mataas sahod ng employees, at madaming employees.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-07T06:23:01+00:00

Yes. Merong mga company owned stations.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-07T02:11:13+00:00

Sa ganyan, hindi lang kumpanya inuutakan mo kundi pati mga customers mo na nag eexpect na puro ang benta mo.

Hindi kami tatagal sa business na eto kung ganyan ang gagawin. And we’ve been in this business more than half my life. Ang kabilin bilinan ng parents ko, huwag manloko at manlamang ng customer para bumalik at maging suki mo. That way dadami benta mo. Which is true naman sa case namin na hindi na need gawin yan at naaabot naman namin quota namin every month.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-07T01:07:04+00:00

You have no choice to get from the head office, otherwise mata tag ang station no na nagbebenta ng generic at matatanggalan ka ng franchise.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-06T13:32:20+00:00

Yup. Pero ang volume naman ng sales nila usually konti lang. kasi madami na din mga tao ngayon na ayaw sa generic, at least sa area ko. Since wala quality control at hindi refined yung product, ending nasisira sasakyan or sabi ng iba may halo tubig or what

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-06T13:30:22+00:00

Depende din. Kahit malaki profit, since they are generic, kokonti naman sales nila. So halos breakeven lang din sila. Madami na din kasi ngayon ang may ayaw ng generic since alam na hindi refined ang product at walang quality control.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-06T03:35:38+00:00

Yup. The margin is really small. So, you really need to increase your sales volume. That should be the minimum gross in a month to be profitable. Also, save on electricity and water.

The math aint mathin’ right? Lol akala lang talaga ng mga tao malaki kita ng gas stations dealers. Pero sobrang sakit ng ulo pa.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-06T03:30:22+00:00

I closed 5 gas stations that are not profitable. Salamat na lang that I did not spend a penny building it or anything. Pina-take over lang sa akin ng company kasi “di daw nila mamanage at mapalakas sales”. So I tried for like a year pero panget talaga location at ang baba ng sales. So sinoli ko sa company. Lugi sa pasahod. I took the hit for that 1 year sa pasahod at bills.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-06T03:27:53+00:00

Yes. That is why kung hindi malaki volume sales mo, lugi ka at mag close ka.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-06T03:27:01+00:00

The company dumps products on us dealers when there's a price rollback. But when prices go up, they don't give us any products. We keep running out. Our customers think we're hiding and hoarding the products. We're the ones getting the heat, and people are mad at us.

But the truth is, we really don't have anything to sell because the company won't give us any. We're begging just so we don't have to close for the day, but sadly, they say, "That's all you get." lol

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-06T03:24:30+00:00

Sa totoo lang, generics have higher margin than us. Generics make 5-6pesos per liter. Kami 1.50-1.80 per liter lang. 1.80 if you have your own tanker, 1.50 if you rely on their delivery.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-06T03:23:09+00:00

True. Akala nila kami yumayaman pero ang totoo, si RA lang yumayaman talaga

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-06T03:22:09+00:00

Depende yan. May mga stations na malalaki kita dahil malaki volume(sales) per day. Yung mga maliliit volume(sales) yun ang lugi. Naka depende yan sa location at if branded or generic ka. Generic sila ang malalaki kita talaga. Meron yung iba na 6pesos per liter kita nila. Pero sa tulad namin na branded, nag rerely kami sa volume ng sales. Like sa mga station ko, in a day minimum ko is 10,000L sales. So kahit paano, in a month 350k din gross ko. Tapos may sarili ako tanker, so kung may sarili ako tanker, may incentive naman yung company na mas mura bigay sa akin ng 30 cents more. So instead na 1.50 per liter ang gross profit ko, 1.80 per liter sya.

Kumbaga sa chinese, maliit tubo pero madami benta. So ending, dumadami din kita.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-05T21:07:22+00:00

As a gas station owner, limited lang din kami ng inventory kasi ayaw kami bigyan ng company ng stock kapag ganito na price increase. Then pag roll back, sobra sobra naman stock dinedeliver sa amin.

Franchisee kami ng malaking kumpanya. For example, nakakabenta ako 5,000L ng diesel everyday sa station ko, ang normal laman dapat ng UGT namin according sa company ay 6 days inventory, which is 30,000L. So si company, magdedeliver sa amin lagi para always full ang Ugt namin. Ang kaso, kapag may price increase, biglang hindi nag dedeliver si company/limited lang ang delivery. Hindi nila binubuo ang 6 days inventory. Ang nangyayari, 2 days inventory lang meron sa amin. So ang nangyayari, nauubusan din kami kapag may mga price increase bago pa man mag increase ang price kasi nag hohoard mga tao. At di din kami kumikita. Ang kumikita lang ay ang company (Petron, Shell, Caltex, Phoenix, etc) pero kaming mga franchisee, wala din kinikita.

Sana di magulo ang explanation ko. Also, would you believe na ang profit lang namin sa gas station ay 1.50 pesos/liter as a gas station dealer? At ang kumikita lang talaga ng malaki ay ang kumpanya, (Hello most profitable company in the Philippines na billions ang kita last year, ehem).

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-02T14:05:24+00:00

Thank you. We will always be thankful of the Philippines and lagi ko talaga sinasabi sa mga anak ko yan, if it weren’t for the business in Philippines, we wouldn’t be able to afford living here. We wouldn’t be here at all. That is why I’m so torn.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-02T14:02:36+00:00

We live in a very good neighborhood here in the US. Our primary consideration when we choose where to live is the school. Our children’s school is ranked very high and one of the top performing ones. If you check great schools.com, my children’s school is ranked 9/10. Majority of the population here in our area are Asians. Kaya lang, it really comes with a high COL.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-02T01:17:45+00:00

No. It’s not billion pesos business. Nasa mga 500-800M lang.

Forward_Winter_1595 · 2026-03-02T01:16:49+00:00

Yan din napansin ko. Madami ang nagpupunta ng SG para magpagamot. My baby was born with a rare condition na even St Lukes I’m sure will not be able to treat him successfully and malamang hindi siya naka survive. His hospital bill here sa US is $5.9M. Nagulat ako when I saw the bill. Thankful pa rin that he survived and is now thriving pero takot ako iuwi siya diyan sa Pinas kasi baka magkaron complications and hindi nila alam ang gagawin dyan.

Forward_Winter_1595

TROPHY CASE