In a time when many entrepreneurs wait for booming sales before expanding, Karlo Cruz and Elisa Siducon, founders of Don Benito’s Cassava and Pichi Pichi, did the opposite. Even when their shop sold as few as six cassava cakes a day, they were already opening more branches.
“Ang kita namin noon, minsan six pieces lang sa isang araw,” Elisa shared. “Pero break-even na agad kami kasi 3,000 lang ang renta, tapos dun na rin kami nakatira. Libre na bahay namin.” Their breakeven-first strategy allowed them to grow without needing loans or outside capital. The key? Keeping overhead extremely low.
Their first branch was beneath their home along Mindanao Avenue. The couple, newly married at the time, lived on the second floor with their staff sleeping downstairs. “Wala pa nga kaming dining table noon—coffee table lang at TV, doon na kami kumakain,” Karlo recalled.
Every peso they earned was rolled back into the business. “Lahat ng kita, ikot lang—hindi kami kumukuha ng sweldo mula sa Don Benito,” Elisa explained. To keep operations lean, they even shared meals with their staff. “Kung ano ulam nila, yun din ulam namin.”
Their suppliers played a crucial role in their ability to expand early. “We were so blessed with suppliers who gave us terms—pati signage, utang muna,” Karlo said. This allowed them to open in locations like Novaliches, Fairview, San Jose del Monte, and Pulilan without big upfront costs.
For Karlo and Elisa, the goal wasn’t immediate profit—it was survival and sustainability. They knew that once their operating model was stable, scale would come. And it did—especially after they introduced pichi-pichi, which brought in actual profits beyond their cassava cake’s breakeven returns.
“Ang tingin kasi ng iba, dapat malakas agad ang benta. Pero sa amin, basta mababa ang gastos at may terms, kaya naming mag-expand,” Elisa said.
Their story proves that you don’t need big sales to grow a business—just discipline, strategy, and a whole lot of grit.
