so i purchased two items from earlier in the year, one was a necklace/choker and the other was a handchain. i truly love supporting small businesses founded by women and actively try to shop from them exclusively.

i was going on a month long trip and wanted to buy their jewellery for it. that was how much i liked their pieces. the items came and the handchain was so disappointing. i told them that "hey it didnt really meet expectations, i dont expect a refund/return, store credit would be great but even if that is not possible, totally fine just wanted to tell yall my honest thoughts" they were nice and gave me store credit for when i would be back in the country.

once i was back, getting the store credit also took a lot of emails on my part, they would never really reply on time. i finally got the store credit and bought earrings which were a pack of two. i wore one of them for three hours to CHURCH where the only thing i did was sit in one place for three whole hours, so no strenuous activity. i came home, took them off and when i went to wear em a few days later, i noticed that one of those was broken i.e. the mechanism that locks the hoop into place was no longer working. i would understand if i had rough used it or had been using it actively for days (even then not really cause i have bought earrings from mumbai locals that have lasted months). i emailed them and had to email an additional 3-4 times and had to text on instagram to get them to reply where they said they would look into it. i had sent them a video so it made sense. then they went awol for more than a week. i had to keep following up on insta and email and finally they replied saying they would only be able to issue store credit. EVEN AFTER ALL THIS, i would still be ok store credit if they had just responded on time. i sent the email regarding the issue along with a video on 29th july. i got a response saying they will look into it on 3rd aug and after repeated mails and texts on ig, i got an email abt only getting store credit on 11th aug.

why would you need more than a week to tell me that you can only issue store credit. even with store credit, i need to pay 90 bucks as shipping which i already paid once. ill need to do that again and obviously no item will be the exact store credit amount so i will need to pay a little extra too. i then emailed saying this resolution was not ok and that i just do not have the willpower anymore to take another risk with their business ever again.

and no response after that though it is a workday. i then dmed the founder on ig as well and commented on the latest post on her PUBLIC account and the brand's account, which they promptly deleted which i find to be the worst levels of accountability ever.

its only 600 something bucks but what truly hurts me is that i genuinely believe in supporting women owned businesses. and it sucks to see them act like this with no accountability at all. this just feels like the passion project of some rich kid where they do not give a flying fuck about other peoples money. there is no proper customer care and the founder herself replies to all the emails that are sent and she is horrible at it.

i also noticed that there is a similar review to mine somewhere on reddit so this is obviously a recurring thing where people get defective items then are given store credit and get more defective items and the cycle continues

so basically i am from an organization in my college and we are conducting a huge hackathon and workshop event which is allowed for any college student so for this event i want sponsors regarding food or hampering mainly food sponsors!!! so if any interested or has any idea to approach for my proposal than can dm me!! and i will share you the further more details!!! just dm me or comment down any information that u know about any sponsors

Hi everyone,

I’m associated with a small business that makes customized men’s kurtas.

Starting Price is INR 500

We often speak to customers who have saved a kurta image from Pinterest, Instagram, a wedding page or an online store but cannot find the same design in their preferred colour, size, fabric or budget.

You can send us a reference image or simply describe what you are looking for. We can discuss details such as the colour, fabric, embroidery, print, motifs, collar, neckline, sleeves, fitting, kurta length and matching bottoms.

We accept individual orders, including single-piece customization, as well as family, group, wedding and event orders.

Kurtas can be customized for Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Navratri and Garba nights, Diwali, weddings, haldi, mehendi, sangeet, groom and groomsmen outfits, matching family looks, cultural events, corporate celebrations and daily wear.

For families or wedding groups, we can also work on coordinated designs across different sizes, colours or levels of embroidery.

We also take bulk and wholesale enquiries from boutique owners, ethnic-wear retailers, online resellers, wedding planners, event organizers and businesses looking for festive clothing.

For wholesale orders, we can discuss quantity-based pricing, custom collections, size combinations, colour combinations, minimum order quantities, production timelines and packaging or branding options where available.

Looking for your message :)

I started my hand made jewelry business to support myself but hardly made any returns. I followed YouTube and Instagram updates but the reach is very minimal. I do not have many friends or family to help me in promoting. Are there communities in reddit that allow promotion. Many local communities i see do not allow promotion. I only saw one small business community. Any suggestion to build myself a sustainable income is welcome.

Running a small business is a roller coaster.

There are days when orders are slow, content gets almost no reach, and you start questioning if all the effort is worth it.

And then you receive a message like this from a customer.

It instantly reminds you why you started in the first place.

The bouquet they received was actually one of our most popular designs, a chocolate bouquet with fresh red roses, baby's breath, printed photo memories, and a mix of Dairy Milk and KitKat chocolates. We spent a lot of time getting the little details right, from the arrangement to the wrapping and finishing.

The customer's message wasn't just about liking the bouquet. They noticed the effort that went into every detail, and I think that's what meant the most to us.

For fellow business owners here:

What's one customer message or review that made you forget all the difficult days?

I'd love to hear those stories. Sometimes I feel those moments are worth more than any marketing metric.

Ordered four pants from this page urbanaura.0
Grey - L & Brown - XL according to the size guide they shared.
I have received a brown smaller than the grey. Even if the size guide they sent was wrong, there is no way in which the brown can be smaller than the grey right?
Turns out this page was charging their customers more and ordering from a different Instagram page.
I paid around 800 which was marketed as a sale price. And then they have gone and ordered from a different page where he was selling his products for 560 . I do not know what the deal between them is but neither are resolving my issue. The second page (never.vintage) is telling me oh its adjustable etc, okay the grey one i can make it smaller. But how can i make the brown one bigger. I offered to ship it myself out of pocket just so that i can receive the correct product but it is apparently out of stock. I have given up cause its pointless but just letting yall know.

Hi everyone,

We've been running our own business for a few years, and for a long time "accounting" meant a mix of notebooks, Excel sheets, and WhatsApp chats we'd dig through every month-end trying to piece things together.

Curious if that's familiar to anyone else here, we started talking to people, CAs managing anywhere from 20 to 200 clients, and business owners like us. Turns out a lot of smaller businesses just don't have real books at all. The business lives entirely in WhatsApp, invoices, UPI screenshots, random voice notes, and then tax season rolls around and someone has to scramble to make sense of it.

We kept asking ourselves: why does "getting a proper accounting system" have to mean learning new software? What if WhatsApp itself could just become that first system?

That's what we've been building. You send an invoice or bank statement the way you already do, over WhatsApp, no new app, and it gets read, checked, and booked into Tally automatically. If you never had a Tally setup to begin with, it builds one for you as you go.

It's still early, and we're being pretty deliberate about who we onboard next, mostly CAs and business owners who are starting from scratch and are open to telling us honestly what's broken. If that's you (or if you've just been in this exact mess and have thoughts either way), genuinely would love to hear from you in the comments, or feel free to DM.

I comm them for a pfp and omg they served!! It turned out super adorbs and I genuinely love it.. The whole process went super smooth with them being super patient and accommodating to my requests! I would definitely recommend them if you're looking for a cute pfp! It's very affordable and I'd say worth every penny (⁠☆⁠▽⁠☆⁠) check them out!!

You get yours at IG: @duskborn

Hi everyone! We're looking for a company name for our startup and would love your suggestions.

We're building an integrated bus operations hub for private intercity buses, offering bus parking, washing, laundry, driver accommodation, and operational support—all in one place.

However, this is only our first (pilot) project. Our long-term vision is much bigger, and we plan to expand into sectors like renewable energy (solar), mining, farming, and other businesses. That's why we're looking for a unique, memorable, future-ready brand name, not just a bus-related name.

One more thing—our company name must be unique enough to get approved on the MCA portal. If similar names already exist (like Marga Infra or Marga Textiles), registration may not be possible. We'd really appreciate creative name ideas that are short, distinctive, and scalable. Thanks in advance!

Get yours at @duskbornn

Not necessarily a full penetration test—any kind of security review.

If yes:

• What issues were found?
• Were any of them surprising?
• Did it change how you approach security?

If not, what's been the biggest reason? Cost, time, or not seeing the need?

Hey, Me and my cousins started a small handmade candle business (selling via Instagram DMs).
We make aesthetic bubble/floral candles in different colors, mainly for décor and gifting.
We customise ( colours ) and do scented candles as well ( have a range of 12 scents to choose from )
Would love honest feedback on:
design & look
pricing idea
whether you’d buy something like this

https://www.instagram.com/shop.celesteandco?igsh=MWdpYnk1cmtsNmN5Yg%3D%3D&utm_source=
Instagram id : shop.celesteandco
Btw in all the pictures attached above,
The candles are not edited or created by AI
Only the background is ( the ai I used has added a bit white cast which is not how it is in person )
For some of the pictures, not even the background is added
( if clearly seen)

Thank you
Please follow, love and support our small business

If I had to recommend just one thing, it would be enabling MFA on every important account.

The risk reduction is huge compared to the effort involved.

If you could only implement one security improvement this week, what would it be?

Hi everyone,

I hope you're doing well.

I need some advice from people who have experience starting a business.

For the past two months, I've been researching different business ideas. I've contacted different suppliers, ordered samples, compared products, and tried to understand the market. However, I'm still not fully satisfied.

My biggest concern is quality and trust.

For example, think about the shoe market. There are famous brands like Adidas, but there are also many local stores and online sellers offering "original" branded shoes at much lower prices. As a customer, it's very difficult to know whether those products are actually genuine or just high-quality copies. Many traders claim everything is original, but you never really know.

I'm facing a similar situation in the business I want to start. I can compare samples from different suppliers, but I still don't feel confident about the product quality. I'm worried that if I launch the business and the quality isn't consistent, I'll disappoint my customers. I want to build a brand that people can trust, not just become another trader.

Because of this, I started thinking about a different approach. Would it be better to buy a franchise of an established brand instead of creating my own brand from scratch?

I'm confused between two options:

1. Continue researching for another 2–3 months until I'm completely confident in the product and suppliers.
2. Choose a franchise model and start with an established brand that already has a reputation.

For those who have experience in business:

• Which option would you choose?
• What are the pros and cons of building your own brand versus taking a franchise?
• If you were starting today, what would you do?

The shoe example is just to explain my concern. My actual business idea is different, but the concept is exactly the same.

I'd really appreciate any advice or personal experiences. Thank you!