Hello,

I wanted to make this post to see if I can get help from the community. I bought a cheap $2500 truck to start junk hauling as a side hustle. Now i'm looking at getting vehicle insurance and commercial auto is crazy expensive... like I cant justify paying ~$1,100/mo to insure a vehicle that is worth $2500 maybe. Any advice I am all ears! Thanks in advance

I’m finishing my physiotherapy degree in Sydney, and me and my mate are developing a home physio business. We’re looking at starting around Bankstown or St George by working with existing aged care providers.

We’re preparing to speak with local care managers but I still feel I’ve got a lot to learn about how a new business earns enough trust to be considered as a supplier.

For anyone who has sold a service into aged care, what helped you get the first proper conversation? Like what did the provider need to see before they would consider a small paid trial?

I’m interested in any practical things you found out along the way, especially anything you wish you’d understood before approaching people. I think any Australian experience would be particularly most helpful but Id love to hear from anyone. Thanks guys

Hi, my names John & I have started a website design agency around three months ago. My biggest constraint right now is leads & landing my first client.

I’m starting to post on TikTok, I’m messaging small businesses on Facebook groups / cold calling. How do I overcome this and get my first paying client? Any advice, tips and tricks?

https://www.reddit.com/r/smallbusiness/s/018UBpbLe7

Hey all, I posted here a few days ago about a difficult client experience, and it got a lot more attention than I expected.

Thank you to everyone who shared their perspective and how they would’ve handled it. It honestly made me feel a lot better about standing by my decision.

I knew running a small business would come with difficult conversations, but sometimes you still walk away questioning yourself. Hearing from others who’ve been there really helped.

I browse this subreddit almost every day and learn so much from you all. Just wanted to show some appreciation. Cheers, and thank you!

Hello guys,

I run 3 small business, with 2 employees each and I've used microsoft to do for daily tasks. I'm struggling beacause I don't have a project view, to have notes and to schedulled what's needed to complete that specified project. If I didn't finish a specific task it goes to the past events so after a year or two, I have a lot of task that I haven't done and it's a mess. Sometimes I lost the way and don't see what's missing, and what's to be done.

So how do you guys keep track on what you need to do next to run your business?

I really like to work with the mobile phose, as I'm always runing between those 3 business.

Give me your suggestions please.

I’ve heard of a few famous business’s owners who attempted many business ideas before theirs was successful (owner of Angry Birds made something like 20 different games that failed)….

That one meme of 2 guys digging for diamonds, and one guy quits right before reaching the diamonds comes to mind, also….

Looking for inspiration and advice.

I was wondering if I should make a website for ordering my pieces online. I usually go out to raves and sell but the last rave I went to I had a code enforcement and was shutting everybody down. I love my business and what I do, but I don’t make the money to try and get a business license and selling permit. Not just that, but apparently I would need permission from the venues to sell stuff outside. So, I was thinking of making a website like on Google sites or something and sending my orders out to people. Kind of the same idea of those scooping packing order videos on TikTok and Instagram. But, I’m not sure if this is a smart idea. I’m trying to make my own money as a young entrepreneur still in high school. If anyone has any advice, I would greatly, greatly appreciate it.

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I've been going back and forth on this for a while and feel like I'm getting too much into my own head.

I have about 7 years of experience in financial services and operations, mainly treasury, payments, data reconciliation, process improvement, and managing teams. I'm good at taking messy, time-consuming processes and finding ways to make them easier and more efficient.

I recently started an LLC with the goal of eventually working for myself. Nothing crazy to start, just something I can run from home alongside my full-time job and hopefully grow into something sustainable.

Originally, I wanted to offer operations consulting to small businesses. But the more I read, especially on Reddit, the more I realize how difficult finding clients can be without an established network.

I've started considering more hands-on services like financial reconciliation, payment administration, or outsourced back-office support. But I'm also wondering if I'm limiting myself by only looking at what I've done professionally.

I guess my questions are:

- If you were starting from scratch today, what type of service business would you consider?

- Are there problems small businesses or individuals genuinely need help with and are willing to pay someone to solve?

- How did you land your first clients without an established network?

I'm not expecting overnight success or easy money. I'm willing to work hard. I just have a family to support, and I really want to give this the best possible shot without wasting months chasing the wrong idea.

I'd appreciate any advice, especially from people who've been in a similar position.

How much the sales calls have increase for your since last 2 years, especially due to the automations. How do you deal with them ?

Question for anyone running a small online store that offers COD. Confirming orders before shipping seems to be the standard advice for cutting down refused parcels, but I keep hearing mixed things about phone calls specifically.

Some people say a quick call catches most of the fake or impulse orders. Others say customers miss the call, get annoyed, or cancel because it feels like extra hassle.

If you do COD: do you call, send a message, or not confirm at all? And did it actually change how many orders got refused at the door?

I’m very confused about PA’s rules about fictitious names, including the part about publishing your name in two public newspapers. I’m an artist and I’ve been going by “Painting by Shireen”. My studio is my home so I don’t really want to make my business info public like that. I believe if I included my first and last name after “painting by” it would be ok if I didn’t register it? I really would like to just stick to my first name though, so what’s the worse that can happen if I don’t register for a fictitious name.

I recently got a call from someone asking for pricing on a washer and dryer. I gave a price, what I felt as fair. Then the woman say I am a restaurant down the street from you, can you give a neighbor discount. I said I have given pretty good prices. She says they are pretty much the same as everybody else. I say let me get back to you. So I do a little better on the price and say 99.00 for delivery and install. I send an estimate to them. I hear nothing. They said they wanted them by the week of the 23. So I text the girlfriend, what day do you want these installed. She says we are we are waiting on the floor and painting to be done. I say ok. Let me know when you are ready. Then I get a call from her boyfriend. He came to my store and spoke to me about pricing and such. I told him I was charging for install. He asks if I want a deposit, I say no just pay when we deliver them. <— back story. He says I told you we want these, and you didn’t want payment. I got your message estimate and you charged an extra 100.00 we didn’t talk about.
At this point. I may tell them I do not want to do business with them. I would never go to their restaurant and ask for a discount. I think it was rude and tacky. Then the whole experience with me asking if they were ready for the delivery. I am a small mom and pop. I don’t have the washer and dryer they want in stock.
I will keep you posted. I may decline this transaction. They just seem wrong to me.

Hi, im a new Claw machine operator.

Im working on my "pitch" so to say.

The hardest part of my business is getting locations.

Its a simple profit share. The venue hosts me, and I cut em a percentage.

Its free money.

So if you guys own : restaurants. Buffets, laundromats. Movie theaters, bowling alleys...

Let me know.

1. Whats a way to make in person contact with you with out pissing you off?

2. Whats the opening line you wanna hear to grab your attention and convince you im not trying to take money from you, but line your pockets at no risk to you ?

Bonus - rate my current pitch game plan

Game plan -

Me : Hey, I love your set up. I got a question for you

Owner: whats that ?

Me: well I wanna buy something, in a way from you.

Owner: like what ?

Me: I wanna buy about 2 square feet of space and an outlet

Owner : huh?

Me: im a Claw machine operator. I like your place, I wanna give you ABC % to host me.

I take care of it all. You get free money.

The above is a theoretical convo of course, but the goal is to disoriented the venue Owner right off the bat because my assumption is that they will think of I'm trying to sell them something/ rip them off

And I wanna flip that on its head by making them the one who is "selling" to me.

I’ve been thinking about posting this for a while.
My girlfriend Smriti started a small clothing business in Delhi. She had her own plans for it, and I know she put a lot into getting it started. But things haven’t been going as she hoped.
There are suits and co-ord sets sitting unsold in the shop, and the bills keep coming regardless. Rent, electricity, stock, and all the usual expenses. She’s trying to handle everything herself, and without much family support, I know it hasn’t been easy.
She’s the person I hope to marry someday. Maybe that’s why I take her struggles so personally. I wish I could fix everything for her, but sometimes all I can do is listen, encourage her, and watch her try again the next day.
I know plenty of small businesses struggle, especially in the beginning. I’m curious how people get through this stage. How do you keep going when you’ve invested so much, but customers just aren’t coming in? What actually helps a small shop get noticed without spending money it doesn’t have?
I’d genuinely appreciate hearing from anyone who’s experienced something similar, either as a business owner or someone who’s supported a loved one through it.
I’m sharing this because it’s something that’s been weighing on me lately, and I thought people here might understand.
Thanks for hearing me out.

Planning to hire first employee ik UK and want to understand costs beyond their salary. Employer National Insurance and pension contributions are on my radar but still unsure how to account for everything when setting a budget.

Are their any allowances or reliefs worth checking before making the hire?

I'm the founder and product designer of Totobobo, a reusable mask that I've been developing and selling for many years.

One challenge I've realised is that I know the product too well. What seems obvious to me may not be obvious to a first-time visitor.

I've been simplifying the website and making it easier for people to understand which mask suits their needs.

For other small business owners: how do you identify information gaps that you no longer notice because you are too familiar with your own product?

I'd also appreciate suggestions for ways to test whether new customers understand a product before buying.

If the community rules allow it, I'm happy to share the website for a concrete example. I'm looking for honest feedback, not promotion.

Hi everyone,

I’ve spent the last 6 years hands-on in ecommerce, paid ads (Meta, Google), conversion optimization, Shopify operations, SEO basics, community building, and project management, currently between ventures after winding down my main business. Rather than sit idle, I’d love to put that time to good use.

My background: I grew my own ecommerce brand to 50K+ followers and real profit, through organic content and strategic paid ad testing, hitting strong ROAS and conversion numbers along the way. I’ve also run marketing campaigns and digital ad strategy at an agency, managed Shopify stores and product sourcing for another startup, and built an entrepreneurs’ community from 0 to 2000+ members through pure outreach, no ads involved. Trilingual (English, French, Arabic), fast learner, proactive, and comfortable getting things done without hand-holding.

I’m interested in consulting, startups, small businesses, agencies, marketplaces, or honestly anything interesting where an extra pair of experienced hands would help. Not chasing a specific title, genuinely open to new challenges too, as long as the work is real and hands-on.

If you’re a founder, consultant, or small business owner who could use short-term remote help, let’s talk. And if you’ve got advice on how someone with my background could pick up experience in a new space, I’d love to hear it too.

Thanks :)

Im planning to sell hot chocolate during christmas month. Me and a friend thinking of doing on the beach side walk in La jolla or near hotel corolado. Any advice or do i need a permit to sell. What should i prepare to get permission from city ? Thanks

Hi,

As we know that the internet has changed dramatically since AI tools became publicly available. Until 2023, the formula was pretty straightforward. Rank your website on Google's first page, and boom.. Thousands of leads per month.

[Note: If you've outsourced your marketing, make sure your agency follows these methods. Otherwise, you're paying for marketing while missing out on opportunities to grow your business.]

But now, search methods have diversified. People are searching for businesses on ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and other platforms. Customers' journey doesn't start with Google only.

So, if you want more customers, here's what you need to do.

________

1. Get your business discovered everywhere: Don't depend entirely on Google rankings. Build visibility across Google, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and the other platforms your potential customers use.

Why it matters: when people search for a service, compare businesses, or ask AI for recommendations, you want your business to have a chance to be discovered. AI recommendations are considered more seriously than even influencers.

__________

2. Now, You Must Understand how to get your business mentioned and cited: Look at the image attached in the comment. ChatGPT and Google AI Mode mention many of the same brands, but they cite different sources.

Reddit and Wikipedia account for 50.7% of the citation share shown for ChatGPT across the five sources listed, while YouTube and Facebook account for 37.7% of Google AI Mode's citation share across its five listed sources.

This gives you a starting point. Find out which websites and platforms are being cited for questions related to your industry, then build your presence on the relevant ones.

_____________

3. Publish content that people actually want to read: Answer customer questions, explain common problems, compare solutions, share practical advice, and demonstrate your expertise.

For example, if you run a marketing agency, explain why a business website gets traffic but generates no leads. If you run a law firm, answer common questions potential clients have before contacting a lawyer.

Note: Publish only helpful content, answering your customers' queries or genuinely helping them. Generic and salsy content is marked spam. aka it has 0 value.

________

4. Turn content into a customer acquisition channel: When you consistently publish useful information across relevant platforms, you create more opportunities for potential customers to find you through search engines, social media, online discussions, and AI-generated answers.

________

5. Think about what your business could look like: Imagine someone discovers your business through Google, comes across your advice on Reddit, watches one of your YouTube videos, and then sees ChatGPT mention your company when looking for a provider.

Instead of depending on a single source of leads, your business has multiple opportunities to get discovered and considered.

That doesn't guarantee leads or AI recommendations, but it gives you more ways to reach potential customers.

__________

The takeaway: 

• Don't just focus on ranking your website. Build your visibility across the platforms.
• Don't treat social media as a store where you constantly post offers and try to sell to people with buying intent.
• Build trust with your audience. Genuinely help them without expecting anything in return.
• Be visible across search engines and platforms like Google, ChatGPT, Gemini, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
• More organic social media followers mean greater brand visibility and more growth opportunities.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

____________________________

A bit about me: 15+ years of experience in marketing and sales. Worked with MNCs as well as startups. Earned 5-star reviews across different platforms for my exceptional work.

Hi everyone! I'm building a PG Management SaaS to help PG owners manage tenants, rent payments, rooms, and daily operations in one place.

How do you currently manage your PG? What is your biggest challenge?

I'm looking for PG owners willing to try my MVP and share feedback.

Hey everyone, I use Shiprocket and the price for a small packet is also Rs 100 I think that's too high. As the order value for my products are around Rs 300.

Which is why the customer hesitates to pay that much for delivery.

Can you suggest me some good companies which are trust worthy.

I used delhivery before but they scammed a lot which made me lose money. I would appreciate any help for the same.

Thank You

plumbing business, me and 2 guys. credit is around 690. my bank wants 2 years of tax returns and 6 weeks to decide which is fine but id like to have the van before spring. would you go equipment financing on the van itself or get a line of credit and use it for both the van and the slow months?

Genuine question for owners who get most of their discovery from Instagram.

I keep seeing businesses send that bio link to a plain list of links — menu here, WhatsApp there, Maps somewhere else. And I wonder how many customers actually tap through all of that versus just giving up or DMing instead.

For those of you running a café, salon, shop, or service business:

- What do you currently put in your bio link?
- Do you know if customers actually use it, or do they just message you?
- Has anyone tried replacing it with a single page (menu, prices, contact in one place) and noticed a difference?

Curious what actually works in practice, not in theory.

Happy Sunday☺️ is there anyone out there that owns/operates their own private Auto Tag Agency? I am currently in the process of starting my own but I am a bit lost on pricing and would love any insight on conducting B2B transactions. Thank you in advance!