Entrepreneurial Experiences on Food Business Recovery amidst the Pandemic: A Transcendental Phenomenology

The impact of the pandemic befell the enterprise and the entrepreneurs affected every facet of the business including sales, profitability, operations, and human resources. The purpose of this study was to find meaning in the lived experiences, coping mechanisms for recovery, and insights of entrepreneurs of food businesses in Davao City as they brave the effects of the pandemic. Using transcendental phenomenology, the study was viewed from the perspectives of the entrepreneurs without the bias and input of the researcher. The qualitative approach created an interview guide, validated by qualitative experts used in the conduct of in-depth interviews of seven entrepreneurs selected through snowball purposeful sampling method. The study found that the extensive experiences of the participants brought about by the ability of the entrepreneurs to adapt hastened the fast business recovery. During the pandemic, the entrepreneurs implemented a variety of coping strategies that directly responded to the issue of declining sales and increasing costs including financial, sales, marketing, human resource, and operations-related strategies. The various motivations of entrepreneurs both internal and external pushed them to recover soon. These motivations include ensuring unhindered work for employees to support their families, personal resilience, social impact, the opportunity to innovate, and the opportunity to pursue passion, even in challenging times.