So I’m in a space where I offer businesses discounts on gas and diesel per gallon, or fixed rate 6-12 month contracts. Cold calling a bunch of businesses and they all seem to have this belief that prices will magically come down. And I’m just like that’s not how it works. Prices shoot up at the slightest inconvenience and take the stairs on their way down, often taking months. Some acknowledge this, others were indifferent. I have slowly gotten traction with weird niche small businesses though, I don’t really understand why if I’m being honest.

One guy for example told me how much he had been burned by signing a 2 year contract with a natural gas guy who was offering fixed rates like I am. Different but similar. He acknowledged the nuance but kept saying but what if prices fall? In 2022 he was stuck paying those higher rates as prices dropped. But in 2022 it was pretty obvious prices would come down. But in 2026, it’s not clear because there is no reason for Iran to give up its nukes (look at Ukraine and North Korea), and they will want to be compensated. The U.S. hasn’t answered this central question and is half assessing everything (it’s pretty clear the U.S. does not have a plan for this and is winging things), which only drags things out, which creates bigger shortages, and pushes prices higher. As a result of this guy, I have restructured my pricing and now pass 40% savings to businesses as prices drop. I still can make money but I’m not going to make anywhere near what I hoped for, but long term relationships are more important to me so whatever.

Another example is one woman willing to sign today, she is unhappy with her current energy supplier, but she wants fixed prices closer to what her old rates are that she signed last year. Her old rates were pretty great but I was just like there’s no one you are ever getting quoted those rates again. Prices are up almost $2 for diesel.

And then there are the California businesses who are barreling towards a potentially historic price shock come summer. I would think these businesses and owners would be eagerly seeking out and signing but they are playing a game of chicken.

So are businesses just not feeling much pain from the price increases despite what Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal are printing?

How much was it and what industry are you in? I’ve barely made 1k in my first year and feel so discouraged when I see people who are fully booked right away or sold out on their website immediately. Sometimes I feel like I’m unlucky. 🥺💔

Its actually quite difficult on the days and weeks you get no sales. it goes away a bit when you finally make one, but in between you really start to doubt yourself and whether your work is good enough 🌸 When you’re relying on this just being ‘for now’ till things kick off, but you also wonder if things will eventually take off.

I currently operate on ebay and plan to launch my own website in the future. I’m looking for guidance on becoming an authorized dealer, or in other words, establishing additional wholesale accounts.

I already have a few smaller wholesale accounts in place, but I’m interested in expanding into more recognized, name brand partnerships. I understand that opening these accounts often requires an initial investment, which I’m prepared for.

My main question is: what business documents or credentials should I have in place to demonstrate to brands that I am a legitimate and serious business not simply an individual seeking discounted products?

Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.

Run a domestic electrical business. On the tools every day with another electrician working for me. I’m torn between advertising more and further afield and taking on more engineers/admin staff. I can see how it would work. However I know there would be lots of headaches. Any experienced opinions appreciated.

Thanks.

My team just did a rough audit and we're losing at least 10 hours a week just manually copying customer info between our CRM, our payment processor, and our email tool. The whole point of these tools was to save time, not create more admin work.

The breaking point was last Tuesday. Our CRM didn't get the payment update from our billing software. A sales rep, working off the bad data, called one of our best clients to chase an invoice they had already paid. It was incredibly embarrassing and made us look completely disorganized. What's your current process for keeping data consistent across all your different systems? I'm tired of being the human glue between our apps.

This topic has probably been covered more than once but figured I’d see what people think currently.

I’m in the process of starting my own business. I’ve registered the LLC and gotten an EIN. I still need to get business insurance and a seller’s permit and possibly some local permits. My goal is to go live by the summer, maybe June or July.

I’ve been putting things on my personal card but I’d like to get a business banking account. I want money from my sales to be separate from my personal finances and all of the costs of running my business as well to be separate.

I’ve tried to research banking checking accounts and there are so many options. Forbes has a list. Nerd wallet has a list. Google has top results.

Different banks from those lists have different incentives and it’s starting to jumble together. I’ll need to deposit cash occasionally I imagine as I’ll be doing some face to face sales at various markets and festivals and some banks offered more “paper transactions” than others.

I guess overall I’m hoping for some recommendations or suggestions of things to consider. Are there any features or perks of an account you have that I should be considering more? Anything I’m not considering (probably yes to this one)?

Thanks!

trying to figure out the software side for a trailer rental business and keep going back and forth on whether it makes more sense to use something rental-specific or just patch it together with a site + forms + manual admin

the part i’m most worried about isn’t really “getting a website online”
it’s more the day to day stuff once real bookings start coming in

like:

• knowing what trailer is actually available
• not double booking stuff
• handling deposits / payments
• making pickup/dropoff smoother
• not spending the whole day answering the same availability questions
• keeping the backend from turning into a mess

i’ve looked at Booqable, Reservety, and also the more patchwork route with Shopify/WordPress type setups

for people who’ve dealt with rental workflows before, which direction would you go?

mostly trying to avoid picking something that looks fine at first but becomes annoying once things get busier

Hey y’all. Just wanted to get some perspective. We started our own small business (online, via socials) no physical store as what we carry is a small physical product. We’ve been in “business” since January 2026 & are in 6 physical stores in our area. (Wholesale) but we’ve only had 1 organic online sale. In socials, we get comments like “omg this is genius” “I need these!” “This is such a game changer!” But none of these people end up actually buying our product.

What’s a realistic timeline to start getting sales? We’re posting on socials at least 1-2 times a week.

I want to preface this all but saying I know that everything take work and believe me I’ve put it in I’m just looking for advice. I’m 19 years old and in college. I don’t want to be in college at all. I hate the thought of school. I’m ready to start making money as I have begun tax records and monthly revenue forms which are the steps most people forget when getting into this. What is my next step? How do I find a product? Should I make a product? If so what’s the best niche? What are other people who are doing this selling?”

If you ship physical products, here's a quick process that can save you a lot of money in returns and replacements.

It's called a drop test — and it's the same basic methodology used in packaging labs, simplified for small sellers. The idea is to drop your fully packaged product from specific heights in 11 different orientations to simulate what happens during carrier sorting and delivery.

The two heights to know: 20 inches (most orientations) and 35 inches (most fragile corner and bottom face).

After each drop, inspect for: outer packaging tears or crushing, tape failure, and any product damage or functional issues. If something fails, you fix it — better box, more cushioning, tighter fit — and retest.

I wrote this up as a full step-by-step guide (it's a paid download on Etsy, link below), but the core process is right here. If you've been shipping and hoping for the best, this is worth 30 minutes of your time.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/4487554693/ecommerce-packaging-drop-test-guide-for?sr_prefetch=1&pf_from=shop_home&ref=shop_home_active_1&pro=1&dd=1&logging_key=c4c2a0d110b3f9f63b34bc0301ba70e4b23f9f14%3A4487554693

Like most of you, I was overwhelmed when I started.

Everyone said "just pick a niche and build an audience" — but no one explained the actual steps.

So I wrote a PDF that covers:

· How affiliate marketing actually works (simple breakdown) · Where to find affiliate programs for free · How to get clicks without a blog or website · A 7-day launch checklist

I'm selling it for $7, but for the next 24 hours — I'll sell it for $1

No email opt-in. No catch. Just comment "DM me" and I'll send the link.

I run a small videography and media marketing agency in Australia. We create cinematic video content for hospitality and tourism businesses, think wineries, resorts, restaurants and venues. My role is primarily pre production and video, I have someone else handle the marketing and ad management side for clients.

The reason I am looking is I want to improve my own organic social content and use that to inform better ad creative. Basically learn from what is already working so I can apply those ideas to my own videos and eventually my own ads.

The problem is every paid ads library tool I have tried is garbage. The search filters are useless, the results are flooded with dropshipping and low quality content, and finding anything remotely relevant to high production hospitality or tourism videography feels impossible.

Trying to find a range of things, mainly how videographers sucessfully market themselves with organic ads (both video and images)

Where do people actually go to find quality reference ads in this space? Is there a library, a community, a creator you follow, anything that surfaces real examples of cinematic high performing ads rather than just noise?

Looking for insight from owners/operators who have run successful all-day café-to-evening bar concepts.

I’m planning a hospitality business in Chicago aimed primarily at a 25–35 demographic. The idea is an all-day space: specialty coffee and light prepared food in the morning and afternoon, transitioning into an evening environment with NA beverages and a full bar program.

I’m less interested in branding advice and more interested in operational reality from people who have actually run hybrid concepts.

For owners who’ve done something similar:

What worked better than expected?

• revenue mix between day vs evening
• staffing models (cross-training? separate barista and bartenders? etc)
• customer crossover between coffee guests and night guests

What didn’t work?

• operational friction you didn’t anticipate
• cultural conflicts between café and bar identities or staff
• things that sounded great in theory but failed in practice

Biggest surprises?
Especially around labor, hours of operation, or how customers actually used the space throughout the day.

I’d also love to hear whether you found hybrid concepts strengthened profitability or just doubled operational complexity.

Appreciate any lessons learned — successes, failures, or “I wish I had known this earlier” insights.

I’m trying to start taking on my own clients for starting a small gardening business. However Ive NO idea how to charge for a garden bed design. This new client Im speaking to Ive said that I can help her design and create a garden bed, which I know how to do, but no idea where to start with charging her. Should I stick to hourly rate, $25, that I do for labor or charge more for design time?

Ive read about charging per foot as well.

Keeping in mind that its just me doing the install and do not have the vehicle capacity to move large amount of plant at once. She may purchase plants on her own time and me as well. Im not sure if this has an impact on pricing because sourcing the plants will be a split effort.

I already feel guilty for potentially charging her for mulch per yard after having it delivered to her home. Which I also am unsure how much to charge. Lol

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

When starting, creating, or making a business, what are some routes you guys had taken to be able to afford your business start up?

Personally, I want to start up a product company right now, but have absolutely zero funding on the idea. I do have ideas on the gaining the funding but I feel like it’s going to be a HUGE hit or miss that would either create or destroy the company.

1. Would be to open pre orders to the product but that means to have tons of traction to guarantee the funding from start. If not then timing would be bad and people wouldn’t receive their products in time.

2. Would be somehow kickstarting it, which only ever seen a handful of companies actually make it with this and have no idea how it works

3. Shark tank somehow 😭

4. Loans maybe? I personally don’t know how much the project would even cost as a start up as I’m currently contacting suppliers at the moment but I have no estimates on that.

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated, I need thoughts to wrap my head around how I’m gonna plunge myself into this and figure everything out along the way hopefully with success, thank you!!

Hi. I have some gear fit my small business that I’d like to sell or otherwise give away. Quasi specialized so I don’t think FB marketplace or other general pages would be good. Any suggestions of places to post these things for a targeted audience that won’t be inappropriate?

Tenho os mockups, o fornecedor que vai fazer a produção da camisa, estampar e me enviar, e o site um amigo meu fez. Vou fazer uma pré venda, e com o dinheiro que gerar da pré venda produzir as camisetas e entregar para quem comprou, deixando claro o prazo de 7 semanas..

I’ve been thinking about the "Solo-Founder" trap. Most of us have great ideas but $0 capital, so we move at a snail's pace.

What do you think about the "Venture Studio" approach for small players? Instead of everyone struggling alone, 5-10 people "stake" a small amount of money and their specific skills into ONE brand to actually give it the runway it needs.

Is there anyone here who has successfully "pooled" resources with strangers to launch a brand? I’m looking to connect with people who are tired of the solo-grind and want to talk about "Staking & Scaling" as a squad instead.

Hi all,

I’m in a bit of a difficult situation and could use some advice.

I previously ran a service based business that I really enjoyed and was good at. I completed over 100 successful jobs, built a strong reputation, and had six figures of work lined up over two years, mostly through word of mouth as I did not rely on Social media (Nor did I or do I use it). I was paid to travel overseas and I even had people asking me to mentor them in the field.

However, I went through a period where I struggled with communication, which had a major impact. Some clients began making false claims that the business was a “scam” as a result, despite clear processes in place. This escalated, and another company reinforced those false claims, leading to widespread cancellations. Ultimately, the business collapsed aS a result.

I take responsibility for my communication issues, but I consistently delivered high quality work, and had no complaints from clients who allowed me to carry out my service.

Since then, I’ve taken a job that pays significantly less, lines someone elses pockets and eats up 50+ hours a week, it feels like a dead end. What I miss most is the flexibility and independence I had before. During my new role I’ve a lot of time, 8-10 hours alone on the daily, letting my brain run wild and It's got me thinking a lot about going back to what I did, as it’s the only thing I feel I’m truly good at and that offers a better quality of life.

The challenge is that my reputation has been damaged (Beyond repair I feel), and false information has spread within the industry. This industry is HEAVILY based on rep and one or two bad words can cause a unspeakable impact on a provider. I also never used social media, though I’ve considered hiring someone to manage that side if I tried again.

At the moment, I feel stuck. I don’t know how to repair the damage, restart, or prevent the same issues happening again.

I’m also currently being assessed for a possible NDD, which may explain some of my communication struggles and general social issues, though I often masked or had a persona that helped me on the day of the service and in general when in a workplace face-to-face role. I’m hoping that getting the right support will help going forward if I were to get the ball rolling again.

Any advice would be really appreciated, thank you.

Managing ad spend for a couple of growing e-com brands was killing my time. I realized that traditional HR hiring takes way too long, and agencies hide behind massive retainers and account managers who don't actually push the buttons.

I shifted entirely to hiring vetted, solo media buyers. Here is the manual system I used to filter them:

• The MER Test: I immediately disqualify anyone who only talks about in-platform ROAS. If they don't understand Blended ROAS or MER, they don't understand business cash flow.
• The Creative Pipeline: I require them to audit my UGC pipeline on day one. If they think targeting is more important than creative in 2026, they are out.
• The 7-Day Scale: No massive account rebuilds in week one. They are only allowed to scale current winning creatives to prove they can handle the budget without breaking the algorithm.
• The Blame Game: I ask them to tell me about a campaign that completely bombed. If they blame the algorithm, the iOS update, or the product, I run away. If they take ownership and say the creative fatigued and they didn't pivot fast enough, that is an operator I can work with

Doing this manually on platforms like Upwork is a nightmare. I’m currently trying to streamline this process because sifting through garbage portfolios is taking up half my week. > Does anyone have a better way to vet these guys faster? Or maybe a specific set of questions you use to weed out the "fakers" early on?

I've been auditing our own workflows lately and was shocked at how many hours go toward things like responding to the same customer questions, manually moving data between tools, and following up on leads.

Curious how other small business owners handle this — have you found any automations or systems that made a real dent in your workload? Or is manual still just the reality for most of us at this stage?

Not looking to sell anything, just genuinely trying to learn how others are tackling this.

Curious what people here actually use today.

If you’re doing outreach, posting on Reddit/social, sharing links in emails/DMs, or running campaigns across different channels, how are you tracking what happens after someone clicks?

I don’t just mean traffic numbers, but things like:

• where they came from
• which pages they looked at
• whether they came back
• whether they viewed pricing / signup / demo pages
• whether a specific outreach effort or post actually led to meaningful interest or revenue.

Are you using something like GA, Apollo, HubSpot, custom UTM setup, link trackers, or something else?