📝 Post
Posting this again, last attempt some how copy pasted some weird code/text hybrid that I have no idea what it was (Read this like Adam Sandler is Narrating) My client is happy. Like… "actually" happy. He approved the final design two days ago after 22 days of revisions on his coffee shop’s logo. Twenty-two. Days. I’ve had shorter relationships. I’m a logo designer, and this project completely drained me. But I love my work. I really do. I work way harder than most people think, so I went above and beyond the contract. Instead of the originally agreed 4 to 6 revisions, I did 10. Ten. Because I’m emotionally weak and creatively optimistic. I know, I know , you can call me out. I just really loved the project and wanted to finish it right. So anyway… I’m sitting there, feeling proud, feeling done, feeling like a responsible adult. And then, boom. My client’s girlfriend shows up, bulldozes everything we’ve done for the last 22 days, hands me a hand-drawn doodle, and says she wants "that" as the logo instead. A doodle. The client just stood there. Not confused. Not surprised. Just… accepting his fate. Like a man who knows this meeting is no longer his meeting. I’ve already received 60% of the payment, even though 100% of the work is done, and honestly, I think I’m done too. Professionally. Emotionally. Spiritually. So what’s the best way to politely refuse and terminate this contract… without you know, hurting their feelings. throw me your best text message grade refusals.
🧩 Problem
Client's girlfriend overrides logo design after extensive revisions
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
Hey Everyone, I'm running a small phone case brand and I've been trying to understand what really pushes someone to buy one case over another when there are endless options. From what I can glean, people seem to want protection, but in reality it feels to me like design, how it looks on the phone, and overall vibe matter just as much -- if not more. I've been experimenting with with cleaner, more minimal styles, but its hard to tell what truly makes something feel "worth the price" from a buyer's perspective. I don't what to build something nobody actually wants, so I'm curios: when you bought your last phone case, what was the deciding factor?
🧩 Problem
Understanding buyer preferences for phone cases
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #content
---
Posting this again, last attempt some how copy pasted some weird code/text hybrid that I have no idea what it was (Read this like Adam Sandler is Narrating) My client is happy. Like… "actually" happy. He approved the final design two days ago after 22 days of revisions on his coffee shop’s logo. Twenty-two. Days. I’ve had shorter relationships. I’m a logo designer, and this project completely drained me. But I love my work. I really do. I work way harder than most people think, so I went above and beyond the contract. Instead of the originally agreed 4 to 6 revisions, I did 10. Ten. Because I’m emotionally weak and creatively optimistic. I know, I know , you can call me out. I just really loved the project and wanted to finish it right. So anyway… I’m sitting there, feeling proud, feeling done, feeling like a responsible adult. And then, boom. My client’s girlfriend shows up, bulldozes everything we’ve done for the last 22 days, hands me a hand-drawn doodle, and says she wants "that" as the logo instead. A doodle. The client just stood there. Not confused. Not surprised. Just… accepting his fate. Like a man who knows this meeting is no longer his meeting. I’ve already received 60% of the payment, even though 100% of the work is done, and honestly, I think I’m done too. Professionally. Emotionally. Spiritually. So what’s the best way to politely refuse and terminate this contract… without you know, hurting their feelings. throw me your best text message grade refusals.
🧩 Problem
Client's girlfriend overrides logo design after extensive revisions
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
Hey Everyone, I'm running a small phone case brand and I've been trying to understand what really pushes someone to buy one case over another when there are endless options. From what I can glean, people seem to want protection, but in reality it feels to me like design, how it looks on the phone, and overall vibe matter just as much -- if not more. I've been experimenting with with cleaner, more minimal styles, but its hard to tell what truly makes something feel "worth the price" from a buyer's perspective. I don't what to build something nobody actually wants, so I'm curios: when you bought your last phone case, what was the deciding factor?
🧩 Problem
Understanding buyer preferences for phone cases
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #content
---
📝 Post
My first viral sale as a school supplies distributor started with a pencil pouch. I bought a few cute Korean pencil pouches for my daughters; small, dainty, and perfect for pencils and little stationery bits. They came back from school raving and asked if they could help sell them to classmates. I casually gave them three to test. They sold out and came back asking for more and it was surprising. I didn’t want them to struggle with orders, so I approached the school authority and offered a bulk supply. By the end of the week I was called in to supply other classes. The aesthetic alone did the heavy lifting: bright designs, soft material, characters kids loved. I even did custom prints with school logos and motivational quotes. One weekend exhibition changed everything: I sold out in under two hours, and three nearby schools asked to partner for term supplies. From there, things slowly got bigger than I expected matching lunch bags, water bottles, even custom stationery sets. I spent a lot of time figuring things out as I went, including how to work with suppliers on Alibaba without losing consistency. What started as a small favor for my daughters quietly turned into something I was spending most of my time on. Does anyone else have a product that unexpectedly sparked a business?"
🧩 Problem
Unexpected growth from a small product idea
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #playbook
---
📝 Post
I have a party rental business and I'm looking to get some sort of automated/self booking integration into the website and I came across inflatable office. Have any of you used them? Are they any good? If not, what are good options?
🧩 Problem
Need for automated booking integration for rentals
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #product
---
📝 Post
I just "opened" this month selling decorative firearm rail covers on [lokpins.com](http://lokpins.com) I tried selling on Etsy but was immediately shot down. Trying to find other ways to advertise these without being removed or spending a ton of money while I get started. Any ideas or advice? Thanks!!
🧩 Problem
Finding advertising methods for a new product
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #content
---
📝 Post
How do y'all balance spending all your time making your products but then find the time and creativity to do your own marketing, promotion, etc? I can't afford to hire anyone right now but I feel like my greatest weakness is promoting myself
🧩 Problem
Balancing product creation with marketing and promotion
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #playbook
---
My first viral sale as a school supplies distributor started with a pencil pouch. I bought a few cute Korean pencil pouches for my daughters; small, dainty, and perfect for pencils and little stationery bits. They came back from school raving and asked if they could help sell them to classmates. I casually gave them three to test. They sold out and came back asking for more and it was surprising. I didn’t want them to struggle with orders, so I approached the school authority and offered a bulk supply. By the end of the week I was called in to supply other classes. The aesthetic alone did the heavy lifting: bright designs, soft material, characters kids loved. I even did custom prints with school logos and motivational quotes. One weekend exhibition changed everything: I sold out in under two hours, and three nearby schools asked to partner for term supplies. From there, things slowly got bigger than I expected matching lunch bags, water bottles, even custom stationery sets. I spent a lot of time figuring things out as I went, including how to work with suppliers on Alibaba without losing consistency. What started as a small favor for my daughters quietly turned into something I was spending most of my time on. Does anyone else have a product that unexpectedly sparked a business?"
🧩 Problem
Unexpected growth from a small product idea
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #playbook
---
📝 Post
I have a party rental business and I'm looking to get some sort of automated/self booking integration into the website and I came across inflatable office. Have any of you used them? Are they any good? If not, what are good options?
🧩 Problem
Need for automated booking integration for rentals
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #product
---
📝 Post
I just "opened" this month selling decorative firearm rail covers on [lokpins.com](http://lokpins.com) I tried selling on Etsy but was immediately shot down. Trying to find other ways to advertise these without being removed or spending a ton of money while I get started. Any ideas or advice? Thanks!!
🧩 Problem
Finding advertising methods for a new product
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #content
---
📝 Post
How do y'all balance spending all your time making your products but then find the time and creativity to do your own marketing, promotion, etc? I can't afford to hire anyone right now but I feel like my greatest weakness is promoting myself
🧩 Problem
Balancing product creation with marketing and promotion
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #playbook
---
📝 Post
Hi everyone, My dad runs a small mini-market in Los Angeles CA and I’m trying to be more responsible about what we do with products that pass their best-by / best-used-by dates. For context, we are new here and not familiar with all the rules and regulations. I’d love to hear how other small business owners handle this: • Do you donate items that are just past the best-by date? Or should we trash them? • Is there a general guideline you follow (e.g., donate 1 month past date vs. trash several months past)? • Are there organizations or food banks that actually accept items past best-by (especially shelf-stable items like drinks, snacks, packaged foods)? I’m also curious about: • Liability concerns (do you require a waiver or only donate to certain orgs?) • Tax implications — can donated inventory be written off, and is there anything specific I should watch out for as a small business? Our business is very small, so we are not talking about thousands $$$. Any tips, experiences, or resources would be hugely appreciated. Trying to reduce waste while staying compliant and responsible. Thanks in advance!
🧩 Problem
Uncertainty about handling products past best-by dates
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #content
---
📝 Post
Pretty tired of having to check after everyone we work with: marketing or accountant. For clarity this accountant has shit the bed so bad that we’re facing major fines for oversights and they’re still resolving it. Is this a normal cost for prepping 6x 1099 by our accountant. They are also our book keeper. 6 billable hours/ $650
🧩 Problem
Facing major fines due to accountant's oversights.
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #service
---
Hi everyone, My dad runs a small mini-market in Los Angeles CA and I’m trying to be more responsible about what we do with products that pass their best-by / best-used-by dates. For context, we are new here and not familiar with all the rules and regulations. I’d love to hear how other small business owners handle this: • Do you donate items that are just past the best-by date? Or should we trash them? • Is there a general guideline you follow (e.g., donate 1 month past date vs. trash several months past)? • Are there organizations or food banks that actually accept items past best-by (especially shelf-stable items like drinks, snacks, packaged foods)? I’m also curious about: • Liability concerns (do you require a waiver or only donate to certain orgs?) • Tax implications — can donated inventory be written off, and is there anything specific I should watch out for as a small business? Our business is very small, so we are not talking about thousands $$$. Any tips, experiences, or resources would be hugely appreciated. Trying to reduce waste while staying compliant and responsible. Thanks in advance!
🧩 Problem
Uncertainty about handling products past best-by dates
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #content
---
📝 Post
Pretty tired of having to check after everyone we work with: marketing or accountant. For clarity this accountant has shit the bed so bad that we’re facing major fines for oversights and they’re still resolving it. Is this a normal cost for prepping 6x 1099 by our accountant. They are also our book keeper. 6 billable hours/ $650
🧩 Problem
Facing major fines due to accountant's oversights.
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #service
---
📝 Post
Running a small business with a tight budget means you gotta make sure each part is spent wisely. Paid ads are expensive, especially across borders, a lot of small shop owners I talk to are seeing diminishing returns in Tiktok with the increasing geo restriction updates. So we just flipped it and start doing more organic than paid The main attraction was lower costs but eventually we realized mixing paid and organic was better. Paid TikTok costs about $0.018 to $0.021 per view depending on where you're targeting. Organic? Once the content's live, additional views are basically free. It just sucks that Tiktok algorithm is geofenced. Post from the UK and your content rarely hits US audiences, no matter how good it is and situation repeats from anywhere. Lots of us get stuck there, they either accept limited reach or resort to VPNs or alternatives, which works backwards because Tiktok eventually detects the location mismatch and throttles you. So I switched the setup by hiring locals through a service that creates accounts and posts for me in the countries I need. That allowed me to post natively from day one, which saved me the headache of setting up the whole infrastructure for several accounts and just focused on content. Also one account isn't enough, for normal entrepreneurs you would like to have several accounts spread across countries and if you're a dropshipper testing products with multiple niches, its better to run 3 or 5 separate profiles. Each one targets a different angle or audience segment or country. You batch the content once, post it to all five accounts, and watch which one gets higher metrics. the better one, you double down. When one fails, pause it or keep trying depending your budget. It's essentially A/B testing at scale, and it saves my wallet. For example, a fitness ecommerce brand spent $5,400 on French TikTok ads in Q4 2024 and got 257K views. That's $0.021 per view. When they switched to a real French account and after failing 5 accounts t…
🧩 Problem
Challenges with paid advertising effectiveness on TikTok.
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #workflow_automation
---
Running a small business with a tight budget means you gotta make sure each part is spent wisely. Paid ads are expensive, especially across borders, a lot of small shop owners I talk to are seeing diminishing returns in Tiktok with the increasing geo restriction updates. So we just flipped it and start doing more organic than paid The main attraction was lower costs but eventually we realized mixing paid and organic was better. Paid TikTok costs about $0.018 to $0.021 per view depending on where you're targeting. Organic? Once the content's live, additional views are basically free. It just sucks that Tiktok algorithm is geofenced. Post from the UK and your content rarely hits US audiences, no matter how good it is and situation repeats from anywhere. Lots of us get stuck there, they either accept limited reach or resort to VPNs or alternatives, which works backwards because Tiktok eventually detects the location mismatch and throttles you. So I switched the setup by hiring locals through a service that creates accounts and posts for me in the countries I need. That allowed me to post natively from day one, which saved me the headache of setting up the whole infrastructure for several accounts and just focused on content. Also one account isn't enough, for normal entrepreneurs you would like to have several accounts spread across countries and if you're a dropshipper testing products with multiple niches, its better to run 3 or 5 separate profiles. Each one targets a different angle or audience segment or country. You batch the content once, post it to all five accounts, and watch which one gets higher metrics. the better one, you double down. When one fails, pause it or keep trying depending your budget. It's essentially A/B testing at scale, and it saves my wallet. For example, a fitness ecommerce brand spent $5,400 on French TikTok ads in Q4 2024 and got 257K views. That's $0.021 per view. When they switched to a real French account and after failing 5 accounts t…
🧩 Problem
Challenges with paid advertising effectiveness on TikTok.
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #workflow_automation
---
📝 Post
Hi everyone, I’ve been working with clients for a while now as a marketing agency owner. Our job was simple: bring leads to our clients. But we noticed a frustrating pattern. We would send the same volume of high-quality leads to two different coaches: * **Client A** would close 20% of them. * **Client B** would close 5% (and complain the leads were bad). I dug into "Coach B’s" process and realized it wasn't a sales problem. It was an **Operations problem**. They were managing clients on messy Excel sheets, forgetting follow-ups, sending invoices via text message, and keeping session notes in random notebooks. They were spending \~15 hours a week on "admin panic" instead of coaching. I realized I couldn't help them scale if their "bucket" was full of holes. So, instead of just running ads, we decided to build a dedicated platform called **Align** to fix the operational side. We just launched the MVP and I’d love to get this community’s take on our "Operations First" philosophy. **The core features we focused on (keeping it simple):** 1. **The "10-Second Rule" (Client Management):** We built a simple dashboard where you can pull up a client's entire history, notes, and stats in under 10 seconds. No more "what did we talk about last week?" panic. 2. **Professional Invoicing:** We noticed clients pay faster when they get a clean PDF invoice rather than a WhatsApp text. So we built a 3-click generator for that. 3. **The "No-Show" Killer:** Automated email reminders sent 24h before sessions. Simple, but it drastically reduced missed appointments for our test users. **The Ask:** We are trying to keep this tool distinct from complex CRMs like HubSpot or Salesforce that are overkill for solo coaches. For those of you running your own practice: **Is "Admin Drag" a major pain point for you?** And if you were to test a new tool, what is the *one* feature that would make you switch from your current setup? Thanks for letting me share—would really appreciate any ruthless feedbac…
🧩 Problem
Clients struggling with operational inefficiencies
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #product
---
📝 Post
I’ve been building WP sites as my side business for years. The progress in AI is insane. Tools like Gemini or Lovable can now generate incredibly high-end pages with sleek animations. Here’s my frustration: I can get the AI generated frontend code, but the moment I try to bring that into my existing WordPress websites, it becomes a mess. I either have to manually reconstruct it in a Page Builder (which loses half the polish) or struggle with custom PHP/Tailwind that's hard to manage later. I feel like there's a huge wall between "Beautiful AI Design" and "Functional WP Site." I’m curious how you all handle this: \- If you’re an Agency: Are you finding ways to use these AI tools to speed up custom theme WP dev? Is the "WP conversion" part still the biggest bottleneck in your workflow? \- If you’re a Site Owner: Do you even care about these AI-generated designs if they aren't easy to manage in the WP dashboard? Would you trade your current Page Builder for a "Locked but Beautiful" AI-generated theme? Am I the only one feeling this gap? How are you guys actually getting AI designs into WP without losing your mind?
🧩 Problem
Difficulty integrating AI-generated designs into WordPress
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #workflow_automation
---
Hi everyone, I’ve been working with clients for a while now as a marketing agency owner. Our job was simple: bring leads to our clients. But we noticed a frustrating pattern. We would send the same volume of high-quality leads to two different coaches: * **Client A** would close 20% of them. * **Client B** would close 5% (and complain the leads were bad). I dug into "Coach B’s" process and realized it wasn't a sales problem. It was an **Operations problem**. They were managing clients on messy Excel sheets, forgetting follow-ups, sending invoices via text message, and keeping session notes in random notebooks. They were spending \~15 hours a week on "admin panic" instead of coaching. I realized I couldn't help them scale if their "bucket" was full of holes. So, instead of just running ads, we decided to build a dedicated platform called **Align** to fix the operational side. We just launched the MVP and I’d love to get this community’s take on our "Operations First" philosophy. **The core features we focused on (keeping it simple):** 1. **The "10-Second Rule" (Client Management):** We built a simple dashboard where you can pull up a client's entire history, notes, and stats in under 10 seconds. No more "what did we talk about last week?" panic. 2. **Professional Invoicing:** We noticed clients pay faster when they get a clean PDF invoice rather than a WhatsApp text. So we built a 3-click generator for that. 3. **The "No-Show" Killer:** Automated email reminders sent 24h before sessions. Simple, but it drastically reduced missed appointments for our test users. **The Ask:** We are trying to keep this tool distinct from complex CRMs like HubSpot or Salesforce that are overkill for solo coaches. For those of you running your own practice: **Is "Admin Drag" a major pain point for you?** And if you were to test a new tool, what is the *one* feature that would make you switch from your current setup? Thanks for letting me share—would really appreciate any ruthless feedbac…
🧩 Problem
Clients struggling with operational inefficiencies
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #product
---
📝 Post
I’ve been building WP sites as my side business for years. The progress in AI is insane. Tools like Gemini or Lovable can now generate incredibly high-end pages with sleek animations. Here’s my frustration: I can get the AI generated frontend code, but the moment I try to bring that into my existing WordPress websites, it becomes a mess. I either have to manually reconstruct it in a Page Builder (which loses half the polish) or struggle with custom PHP/Tailwind that's hard to manage later. I feel like there's a huge wall between "Beautiful AI Design" and "Functional WP Site." I’m curious how you all handle this: \- If you’re an Agency: Are you finding ways to use these AI tools to speed up custom theme WP dev? Is the "WP conversion" part still the biggest bottleneck in your workflow? \- If you’re a Site Owner: Do you even care about these AI-generated designs if they aren't easy to manage in the WP dashboard? Would you trade your current Page Builder for a "Locked but Beautiful" AI-generated theme? Am I the only one feeling this gap? How are you guys actually getting AI designs into WP without losing your mind?
🧩 Problem
Difficulty integrating AI-generated designs into WordPress
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #workflow_automation
---
📝 Post
I’m looking for honest, practical feedback because I feel stuck and possibly too emotionally attached to this idea. I started making reusable flower-carrying bags after multiple people told me the concept was genuinely good. Based on that feedback, I began producing them more seriously. What I’ve done so far \- ordered 25 factory made bags \- started an Instagram in October. Posting at least three times a month which is horrible I know. \- I’ve sold it total of five bags ( cheaper than I wanted) \- Currently have 70 Instagram followers \- accidentally developed two lines handmade and now factory made. \- Price, this has been a nightmare for me. I realise that the bag cost about £22 to make if I made them myself. Plus the time that I used to make them a total of £41 per bag. Meaning that if I sold it for any less than 50 I would be kidding myself. Products details : \-Multiple carry modes (handheld, shoulder, sling, horizontal/vertical) \- Waterproof base (can hold wrapped flowers with water) \-Foldable into a pot-style storage shape My dilemma: \-People keep telling me to “just open an Etsy shop,” but that feels like extra admin for unclear payoff \- I’ve been advised instead to sell directly and reach out to florists. \- Price of the handmade version makes it impossible to actually wholesale. Especially without proof of concept. \- I’m targeting florists specifically because they actually need this product, but I feel like I’m spamming peoples DMS \- Planning a car boot sale in late Feb / March (spring feels logical) don’t know if that would be appropriate for a brand. I’m trying to trying to start. But it’s the only way I feel like I can get close with actual people and Proper craft markets won’t take me yet because I don’t have traction or a defined retail presence Like I feel like an idiot because I actually don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I’m thinking that this is a good idea but again a part of me is like am I being an emotional about this?
🧩 Problem
Struggling with pricing and marketing for a new product.
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
I run a small but fast growing online coffee roasting & subscription business in Tanzania. I sell roasted beans (ground & whole) with weekly/monthly deliveries. Customers reorder, demand is growing and I targeted small office and coffee maker machine owners I roast my coffee and pack at home but To scale I need a physical address / small office. In my country that’s a big credibility. Problem traditional business loans here are almost impossible without assets or connections. Someone who likes my business offered about $4,000 (\~10M TSh). Sounds great… except: It’s framed as a loan and he wants significant control over the business mainly tied to the physical space, I’m conflicted the money would speed things up a lot. But I’m worried about Giving up control too early Or refusing and watching him copy the model and outcompete me with more capital....It feels like that moment when your business starts to look attractive… and powerful people show up. So, founders:Is this a classic red flag?Would you take the money to grow faster? Or protect control and grow slower even if it risks being overtaken?
🧩 Problem
Conflicted about accepting a loan that requires giving up control.
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
I’m looking for honest, practical feedback because I feel stuck and possibly too emotionally attached to this idea. I started making reusable flower-carrying bags after multiple people told me the concept was genuinely good. Based on that feedback, I began producing them more seriously. What I’ve done so far \- ordered 25 factory made bags \- started an Instagram in October. Posting at least three times a month which is horrible I know. \- I’ve sold it total of five bags ( cheaper than I wanted) \- Currently have 70 Instagram followers \- accidentally developed two lines handmade and now factory made. \- Price, this has been a nightmare for me. I realise that the bag cost about £22 to make if I made them myself. Plus the time that I used to make them a total of £41 per bag. Meaning that if I sold it for any less than 50 I would be kidding myself. Products details : \-Multiple carry modes (handheld, shoulder, sling, horizontal/vertical) \- Waterproof base (can hold wrapped flowers with water) \-Foldable into a pot-style storage shape My dilemma: \-People keep telling me to “just open an Etsy shop,” but that feels like extra admin for unclear payoff \- I’ve been advised instead to sell directly and reach out to florists. \- Price of the handmade version makes it impossible to actually wholesale. Especially without proof of concept. \- I’m targeting florists specifically because they actually need this product, but I feel like I’m spamming peoples DMS \- Planning a car boot sale in late Feb / March (spring feels logical) don’t know if that would be appropriate for a brand. I’m trying to trying to start. But it’s the only way I feel like I can get close with actual people and Proper craft markets won’t take me yet because I don’t have traction or a defined retail presence Like I feel like an idiot because I actually don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I’m thinking that this is a good idea but again a part of me is like am I being an emotional about this?
🧩 Problem
Struggling with pricing and marketing for a new product.
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
I run a small but fast growing online coffee roasting & subscription business in Tanzania. I sell roasted beans (ground & whole) with weekly/monthly deliveries. Customers reorder, demand is growing and I targeted small office and coffee maker machine owners I roast my coffee and pack at home but To scale I need a physical address / small office. In my country that’s a big credibility. Problem traditional business loans here are almost impossible without assets or connections. Someone who likes my business offered about $4,000 (\~10M TSh). Sounds great… except: It’s framed as a loan and he wants significant control over the business mainly tied to the physical space, I’m conflicted the money would speed things up a lot. But I’m worried about Giving up control too early Or refusing and watching him copy the model and outcompete me with more capital....It feels like that moment when your business starts to look attractive… and powerful people show up. So, founders:Is this a classic red flag?Would you take the money to grow faster? Or protect control and grow slower even if it risks being overtaken?
🧩 Problem
Conflicted about accepting a loan that requires giving up control.
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
Wow. Didn't think this would happen so fast. We had a (former) employee record conversations without anyone's knowledge or approval and plug them all into an LLM. It started at "organizing my thoughts" and ended with "listen to this conversation and tell me how to manipulate my coworkers". To top it off we are in the defense space and this person occasionally handled CUI/EAR information. Luckily no evidence they ever input that information into ChatGPT. It was all sorts of conversations, normal business meetings, customer conversations, HR meetings. Sensitive topics. We're in a 2 party consent state for recordings this has been a huge and expensive nightmare. Civil, Criminal and ITAR lawyers had to weigh in. I've never seen this in my career. If you don't have an AI policy in your handbook add one now! ChatGPT logs aren't confidential. Don't wait until someone thought they were doing you a favor by uploading all your IP to a 3rd party on a personal account.
🧩 Problem
Employee misconduct leading to legal and operational issues
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
I’m looking for some perspective from business owners who ignored the standard advice of "don’t hire your spouse" and ended up in a bad spot because of it. When I started my tree service business, I had mentors tell me to keep family out of the books. I chose to trust my wife with the accounting instead, thinking our shared goals would keep us on the same page. Unfortunately, the reality hasn't matched the expectation. Over the last three years, things have unraveled: Payroll often became a last-minute scramble, occasionally leaving my crew without checks for days. Financial Boundaries: Personal expenses started creeping into business accounts despite us both taking set salaries. I recently discovered that 2023, 2024, and 2025 taxes were never filed. I’m now facing property liens for unpaid payroll taxes and unemployment. I realize now that my "blind trust" was a major management failure on my part, but I’m trying to figure out the path forward from here. For those who have been through this specific type of "business vs. marriage" disaster: Firstly how did you stop the bleeding? Did you hire a forensic accountant or a tax attorney first? How did you prioritize which "fire" to put out first (IRS, state liens, or bank accounts)? How did you transition the business away from your spouse without completely blowing up the marriage? Is it possible to go back to "just being partners" after a breach of trust this size? If you managed to save the business, what were the "non-negotiable" systems you put in place to ensure you never lost sight of the financials again? I’d appreciate hearing from anyone who has navigated the mess of combining marriage and a business, because it absolutely has been the most heartbreaking, trust shattering, soul crushing experience of my life, and I've never felt like a bigger failure.
🧩 Problem
Financial mismanagement due to hiring a spouse
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
Wow. Didn't think this would happen so fast. We had a (former) employee record conversations without anyone's knowledge or approval and plug them all into an LLM. It started at "organizing my thoughts" and ended with "listen to this conversation and tell me how to manipulate my coworkers". To top it off we are in the defense space and this person occasionally handled CUI/EAR information. Luckily no evidence they ever input that information into ChatGPT. It was all sorts of conversations, normal business meetings, customer conversations, HR meetings. Sensitive topics. We're in a 2 party consent state for recordings this has been a huge and expensive nightmare. Civil, Criminal and ITAR lawyers had to weigh in. I've never seen this in my career. If you don't have an AI policy in your handbook add one now! ChatGPT logs aren't confidential. Don't wait until someone thought they were doing you a favor by uploading all your IP to a 3rd party on a personal account.
🧩 Problem
Employee misconduct leading to legal and operational issues
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
I’m looking for some perspective from business owners who ignored the standard advice of "don’t hire your spouse" and ended up in a bad spot because of it. When I started my tree service business, I had mentors tell me to keep family out of the books. I chose to trust my wife with the accounting instead, thinking our shared goals would keep us on the same page. Unfortunately, the reality hasn't matched the expectation. Over the last three years, things have unraveled: Payroll often became a last-minute scramble, occasionally leaving my crew without checks for days. Financial Boundaries: Personal expenses started creeping into business accounts despite us both taking set salaries. I recently discovered that 2023, 2024, and 2025 taxes were never filed. I’m now facing property liens for unpaid payroll taxes and unemployment. I realize now that my "blind trust" was a major management failure on my part, but I’m trying to figure out the path forward from here. For those who have been through this specific type of "business vs. marriage" disaster: Firstly how did you stop the bleeding? Did you hire a forensic accountant or a tax attorney first? How did you prioritize which "fire" to put out first (IRS, state liens, or bank accounts)? How did you transition the business away from your spouse without completely blowing up the marriage? Is it possible to go back to "just being partners" after a breach of trust this size? If you managed to save the business, what were the "non-negotiable" systems you put in place to ensure you never lost sight of the financials again? I’d appreciate hearing from anyone who has navigated the mess of combining marriage and a business, because it absolutely has been the most heartbreaking, trust shattering, soul crushing experience of my life, and I've never felt like a bigger failure.
🧩 Problem
Financial mismanagement due to hiring a spouse
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
I wanted to share a major financial blind spot I've been researching that most small business owners aren't aware of until it's too late. Most of us trust QuickBooks, Xero, or Zoho to catch duplicate invoices. But here’s the scary part: they only catch exact matches. If a vendor sends an invoice as "INV-5521" and it gets entered again later as "5521-OPS" (maybe by a different department or an intern), the system usually won't flag it. In a mid-sized company, these "fuzzy" duplicates can represent 5–15% of your total vendor spend. I recently analyzed a case where an accounting intern paid the same invoice 7 times because the software didn't detect the slightly altered numbers. A few tips to protect your cash flow: Don't rely on bank reconciliation alone: It only shows the problem after the money is gone. Check for "Semantic" duplicates: Look for identical amounts paid to similar vendor names (e.g., "Stripe" vs "Stripe Inc.") within the same 30-day window. Three-way matching: Always verify the PO, the Invoice, and the Payment manually if you don't have a simple automated way to do it. Has anyone else caught a duplicate payment that their software missed? Curious to hear how you're handling the reconciliation "chaos" as you scale.
🧩 Problem
Duplicate invoices not caught by accounting software.
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #workflow_automation
---
📝 Post
I do construction and restoration services such as water fire mold. I am the manager where I am and I work hourly. I do get bonuses based on the job. But lately, i've been having some issues with my boss and him being cheap and just not paying me bonuses and just saying that we didn't make profit which makes no sense to me when i feel like we are on a tight ship here.Even with the limited supplies Anyways my most recent tax return was almost 100k with 22% of that being overtime On certain jobs that are just too big for us. I send over to another company and he really likes our work. He loves it every time we send him a job. Because we do such great work eventually, we became friends and now he wants me to open the emergency service department. At his construction company And I felt like he's just overselling the situation.. He mentioned since I will be part owner. I will have clear access to all of our financial records. But I would get a 10% bonus and then I would get paid 6k as cash" he also mentioned that I wouldn't have to do taxes because my wage would be included in the business taxes. Honestly, I don't really know how to move forward with this. But if anybody has any questions, I should send this guy just to get confirmations as well as any, like clarifying situations of my financial guarantee
🧩 Problem
Issues with boss regarding bonus payments and financial transparency
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
I wanted to share a major financial blind spot I've been researching that most small business owners aren't aware of until it's too late. Most of us trust QuickBooks, Xero, or Zoho to catch duplicate invoices. But here’s the scary part: they only catch exact matches. If a vendor sends an invoice as "INV-5521" and it gets entered again later as "5521-OPS" (maybe by a different department or an intern), the system usually won't flag it. In a mid-sized company, these "fuzzy" duplicates can represent 5–15% of your total vendor spend. I recently analyzed a case where an accounting intern paid the same invoice 7 times because the software didn't detect the slightly altered numbers. A few tips to protect your cash flow: Don't rely on bank reconciliation alone: It only shows the problem after the money is gone. Check for "Semantic" duplicates: Look for identical amounts paid to similar vendor names (e.g., "Stripe" vs "Stripe Inc.") within the same 30-day window. Three-way matching: Always verify the PO, the Invoice, and the Payment manually if you don't have a simple automated way to do it. Has anyone else caught a duplicate payment that their software missed? Curious to hear how you're handling the reconciliation "chaos" as you scale.
🧩 Problem
Duplicate invoices not caught by accounting software.
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #workflow_automation
---
📝 Post
I do construction and restoration services such as water fire mold. I am the manager where I am and I work hourly. I do get bonuses based on the job. But lately, i've been having some issues with my boss and him being cheap and just not paying me bonuses and just saying that we didn't make profit which makes no sense to me when i feel like we are on a tight ship here.Even with the limited supplies Anyways my most recent tax return was almost 100k with 22% of that being overtime On certain jobs that are just too big for us. I send over to another company and he really likes our work. He loves it every time we send him a job. Because we do such great work eventually, we became friends and now he wants me to open the emergency service department. At his construction company And I felt like he's just overselling the situation.. He mentioned since I will be part owner. I will have clear access to all of our financial records. But I would get a 10% bonus and then I would get paid 6k as cash" he also mentioned that I wouldn't have to do taxes because my wage would be included in the business taxes. Honestly, I don't really know how to move forward with this. But if anybody has any questions, I should send this guy just to get confirmations as well as any, like clarifying situations of my financial guarantee
🧩 Problem
Issues with boss regarding bonus payments and financial transparency
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
Running a business feels a lot more multi-dimensional than people usually describe. At different stages, completely different skills seem to matter. Early on (0 → 1), you mostly lean on what you already know. Speed, intuition, and brute force go a long way. Decision-making is centralized and messy, but it works because you *are* the system. As things move from 1 → 10, you start picking up new skills out of necessity. You learn enough finance to not blow yourself up, enough ops to keep things moving, enough hiring to delegate. That stretch can last a while, and it often feels like “if I just learn a bit more, I’ll be fine.” But at some point (10 → 100-ish), that model starts to break. Not because of effort or motivation, but because your personal skill ceiling becomes the bottleneck. There are limits to how much judgment, context, and specialized thinking one person can scale. That’s usually where hiring genuinely skilled or smarter-than-you people comes into the picture. Fractional CFOs, senior operators, advisors — roles where you’re not really paying for time, but for judgment and leverage. And this is the part I find tricky. The decision to hire isn’t the hard part. The hard part is figuring out how to compensate intelligence in a way that actually makes sense. Fixed monthly retainers feel safe and predictable, but sometimes they feel disconnected from real outcomes, especially in uneven months. Value-aligned compensation sounds better in theory, but it’s hard to define and even harder to measure cleanly when the impact is indirect or long-term. You also don’t always know upfront how much you’ll “use” someone yet underpaying for leverage feels just as risky as overpaying for availability. So I’m trying to learn from how this plays out in practice, not theory. For people who’ve hired skilled or intellectual help before: * What actually worked? * What didn’t, even though it sounded good on paper? * Fixed fee vs value-aligned, where did things break? For people who …
🧩 Problem
Challenges in scaling business skills and hiring
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
Running a business feels a lot more multi-dimensional than people usually describe. At different stages, completely different skills seem to matter. Early on (0 → 1), you mostly lean on what you already know. Speed, intuition, and brute force go a long way. Decision-making is centralized and messy, but it works because you *are* the system. As things move from 1 → 10, you start picking up new skills out of necessity. You learn enough finance to not blow yourself up, enough ops to keep things moving, enough hiring to delegate. That stretch can last a while, and it often feels like “if I just learn a bit more, I’ll be fine.” But at some point (10 → 100-ish), that model starts to break. Not because of effort or motivation, but because your personal skill ceiling becomes the bottleneck. There are limits to how much judgment, context, and specialized thinking one person can scale. That’s usually where hiring genuinely skilled or smarter-than-you people comes into the picture. Fractional CFOs, senior operators, advisors — roles where you’re not really paying for time, but for judgment and leverage. And this is the part I find tricky. The decision to hire isn’t the hard part. The hard part is figuring out how to compensate intelligence in a way that actually makes sense. Fixed monthly retainers feel safe and predictable, but sometimes they feel disconnected from real outcomes, especially in uneven months. Value-aligned compensation sounds better in theory, but it’s hard to define and even harder to measure cleanly when the impact is indirect or long-term. You also don’t always know upfront how much you’ll “use” someone yet underpaying for leverage feels just as risky as overpaying for availability. So I’m trying to learn from how this plays out in practice, not theory. For people who’ve hired skilled or intellectual help before: * What actually worked? * What didn’t, even though it sounded good on paper? * Fixed fee vs value-aligned, where did things break? For people who …
🧩 Problem
Challenges in scaling business skills and hiring
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
Edit: located in a smaller (50k people)Canadian city. We sell custom sports jerseys and team apparel. And are moving from a home office to a commercial space with a small showroom, office, and warehouse. I am trying to figure out the pickup situation. When we worked from home, customers could just swing by whenever, and pickup packages from our front porch. Now that we're in a commercial space, I don't think the same thing can happen, and having people work late every day seems like it might be costly, and people what to come on weekends which doesn't make sense to have staffed. But we still have local customers who prefer pickup over shipping. Current idea: a large metal lockbox with a combo lock mounted outside our front door. We would share the combo with customers, but the box has just one compartment and if opened they would see all the boxes, which I am not to worried about as we seek custom jerseys, who would wear someone else's name on their shirt. I am more worried about someone taking the whole box, or something. I've seen those smart parcel lockers with keypads and individual compartments, which would be perfect, but I've only ever seen them indoors. Our pickup would need to be outside or in an unheated vestibule. What do other small businesses do for local pickup? Especially curious about: \- Anyone using smart lockers outdoors? \- Creative low-tech solutions that look more professional? \- How you handle the "we close at 5 but customers want to pick up at 6" problem? Appreciate any ideas.
🧩 Problem
Managing customer pickups in a new commercial space
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #workflow_automation
---
📝 Post
Hi all, I’m a minority member of a family-owned LLC in NH that was originally founded and operated by a parent who has since passed away. The business itself continued operating, but I’ve been trying to better understand how other small business owners handle governance, records, and continuity when a founder dies. In particular, I’m curious about best practices around: • How ownership and member interests are typically documented or updated after a death • What business records (banking, operating agreements, capital accounts, etc.) owners usually rely on to understand the real financial picture during that transition • How much transparency is normal or expected among members in a closely-held LLC during periods like this • Whether owners typically bring in outside professionals (CPA, attorney, mediator) early on, or wait until questions arise • Any lessons learned from people who’ve gone through a similar transition - things you wish you’d done sooner or differently I’m not looking to stir up conflict - I’m trying to understand what good governance looks like in these situations so I can approach things thoughtfully and realistically. Would really appreciate hearing from other owners who’ve navigated founder transitions, inherited businesses, or family-run LLCs. Thank you in advance!
🧩 Problem
Need for guidance on governance after a founder's death.
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: low
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
Edit: located in a smaller (50k people)Canadian city. We sell custom sports jerseys and team apparel. And are moving from a home office to a commercial space with a small showroom, office, and warehouse. I am trying to figure out the pickup situation. When we worked from home, customers could just swing by whenever, and pickup packages from our front porch. Now that we're in a commercial space, I don't think the same thing can happen, and having people work late every day seems like it might be costly, and people what to come on weekends which doesn't make sense to have staffed. But we still have local customers who prefer pickup over shipping. Current idea: a large metal lockbox with a combo lock mounted outside our front door. We would share the combo with customers, but the box has just one compartment and if opened they would see all the boxes, which I am not to worried about as we seek custom jerseys, who would wear someone else's name on their shirt. I am more worried about someone taking the whole box, or something. I've seen those smart parcel lockers with keypads and individual compartments, which would be perfect, but I've only ever seen them indoors. Our pickup would need to be outside or in an unheated vestibule. What do other small businesses do for local pickup? Especially curious about: \- Anyone using smart lockers outdoors? \- Creative low-tech solutions that look more professional? \- How you handle the "we close at 5 but customers want to pick up at 6" problem? Appreciate any ideas.
🧩 Problem
Managing customer pickups in a new commercial space
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #workflow_automation
---
📝 Post
Hi all, I’m a minority member of a family-owned LLC in NH that was originally founded and operated by a parent who has since passed away. The business itself continued operating, but I’ve been trying to better understand how other small business owners handle governance, records, and continuity when a founder dies. In particular, I’m curious about best practices around: • How ownership and member interests are typically documented or updated after a death • What business records (banking, operating agreements, capital accounts, etc.) owners usually rely on to understand the real financial picture during that transition • How much transparency is normal or expected among members in a closely-held LLC during periods like this • Whether owners typically bring in outside professionals (CPA, attorney, mediator) early on, or wait until questions arise • Any lessons learned from people who’ve gone through a similar transition - things you wish you’d done sooner or differently I’m not looking to stir up conflict - I’m trying to understand what good governance looks like in these situations so I can approach things thoughtfully and realistically. Would really appreciate hearing from other owners who’ve navigated founder transitions, inherited businesses, or family-run LLCs. Thank you in advance!
🧩 Problem
Need for guidance on governance after a founder's death.
⚙️ Complexity: high
📣 Popularity: low
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
Этот проект я создал для личных нужд, но контента становится слишком много и навигация Telegram уже стала узким горлышком.
В месяц публикуется 3к+ бизнес болей. С таким объемом нужно работать уже по другому.
Буду делать базу данных бизнес болей с удобным UI
– Фильтрацией по типу решения, сложности решения, популярности проблемы
– Временные тренды
– Навигацию по узким нишам
Ждите новостей 😁
В месяц публикуется 3к+ бизнес болей. С таким объемом нужно работать уже по другому.
Буду делать базу данных бизнес болей с удобным UI
– Фильтрацией по типу решения, сложности решения, популярности проблемы
– Временные тренды
– Навигацию по узким нишам
Ждите новостей 😁
Product Ideas (closed) pinned «Этот проект я создал для личных нужд, но контента становится слишком много и навигация Telegram уже стала узким горлышком. В месяц публикуется 3к+ бизнес болей. С таким объемом нужно работать уже по другому. Буду делать базу данных бизнес болей с удобным…»
📝 Post
I’m looking at opening a blacklight indoor mini golf course. I would like to start out with a modular course to test the waters rather than committing to a full custom build right out of the gate. Does anyone have any suggestions on places to buy a modular course?
🧩 Problem
Looking for modular course options for mini golf business.
⚙️ Complexity: low
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #matching
---
📝 Post
I want to use instagram with my Shopify store but I don’t want to ping people I follow with my personal account when I post from the business page. When I created a test post it notified my personal followers. How do I set it up so this doesn’t happen?
🧩 Problem
Concerned about personal account notifications when posting from business page.
⚙️ Complexity: low
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #product
---
📝 Post
I just recently got my LLC for my small bracelet making business. I was initially going to selling at my local farmer's market, but I saw the application asked for state business info (which I didn't have at the time). My question is, do you think getting a LLC and a possible ein was even necessary? Especially when I'm not sure if I will make a profit.
🧩 Problem
Uncertainty about necessity of LLC and EIN for small business
⚙️ Complexity: low
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
I’ve got 2 small side hustles, one that has a resell license and one that does not. Is there a good accounting/expense tracking app that can keep copies of receipts as well; that also would allow for 2 separate business? I’d prefer a free app at the moment until one or both start scaling up but if there’s a better one for somewhat cheap I may be willing to pay for the better one.
🧩 Problem
Looking for accounting app for multiple small businesses.
⚙️ Complexity: low
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #product
---
📝 Post
New business owner here. So I’m debating whether or not to break down my hourly rate on my invoices, or just give a whole price and write (labor included). Is there a down side to putting your labor rate out there?
🧩 Problem
Deciding how to present hourly rates on invoices
⚙️ Complexity: low
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
In the UK you have to declare the type of business you run when you set up a bank account. What if you want to diversify, say it's a professional services business such as photography but want to add a retail side that is for advertising or selling goods non photographic?
🧩 Problem
Need to declare business type when diversifying services.
⚙️ Complexity: low
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
Hi all, wondering if anyone uses Pinterest for their small business and has seen any significant traffic to your website or sales with it. Also, how often do you post and any other tips would be great! Ty!
🧩 Problem
Uncertainty about Pinterest's effectiveness for small business traffic
⚙️ Complexity: low
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #content
---
I’m looking at opening a blacklight indoor mini golf course. I would like to start out with a modular course to test the waters rather than committing to a full custom build right out of the gate. Does anyone have any suggestions on places to buy a modular course?
🧩 Problem
Looking for modular course options for mini golf business.
⚙️ Complexity: low
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #matching
---
📝 Post
I want to use instagram with my Shopify store but I don’t want to ping people I follow with my personal account when I post from the business page. When I created a test post it notified my personal followers. How do I set it up so this doesn’t happen?
🧩 Problem
Concerned about personal account notifications when posting from business page.
⚙️ Complexity: low
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #product
---
📝 Post
I just recently got my LLC for my small bracelet making business. I was initially going to selling at my local farmer's market, but I saw the application asked for state business info (which I didn't have at the time). My question is, do you think getting a LLC and a possible ein was even necessary? Especially when I'm not sure if I will make a profit.
🧩 Problem
Uncertainty about necessity of LLC and EIN for small business
⚙️ Complexity: low
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
I’ve got 2 small side hustles, one that has a resell license and one that does not. Is there a good accounting/expense tracking app that can keep copies of receipts as well; that also would allow for 2 separate business? I’d prefer a free app at the moment until one or both start scaling up but if there’s a better one for somewhat cheap I may be willing to pay for the better one.
🧩 Problem
Looking for accounting app for multiple small businesses.
⚙️ Complexity: low
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #product
---
📝 Post
New business owner here. So I’m debating whether or not to break down my hourly rate on my invoices, or just give a whole price and write (labor included). Is there a down side to putting your labor rate out there?
🧩 Problem
Deciding how to present hourly rates on invoices
⚙️ Complexity: low
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
In the UK you have to declare the type of business you run when you set up a bank account. What if you want to diversify, say it's a professional services business such as photography but want to add a retail side that is for advertising or selling goods non photographic?
🧩 Problem
Need to declare business type when diversifying services.
⚙️ Complexity: low
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
Hi all, wondering if anyone uses Pinterest for their small business and has seen any significant traffic to your website or sales with it. Also, how often do you post and any other tips would be great! Ty!
🧩 Problem
Uncertainty about Pinterest's effectiveness for small business traffic
⚙️ Complexity: low
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #content
---
📝 Post
Hi everyone, My dad runs a small mini-market in Los Angeles CA and I’m trying to be more responsible about what we do with products that pass their best-by / best-used-by dates. For context, we are new here and not familiar with all the rules and regulations. I’d love to hear how other small business owners handle this: • Do you donate items that are just past the best-by date? Or should we trash them? • Is there a general guideline you follow (e.g., donate 1 month past date vs. trash several months past)? • Are there organizations or food banks that actually accept items past best-by (especially shelf-stable items like drinks, snacks, packaged foods)? I’m also curious about: • Liability concerns (do you require a waiver or only donate to certain orgs?) • Tax implications — can donated inventory be written off, and is there anything specific I should watch out for as a small business? Our business is very small, so we are not talking about thousands $$$. Any tips, experiences, or resources would be hugely appreciated. Trying to reduce waste while staying compliant and responsible. Thanks in advance!
🧩 Problem
Uncertainty about handling expired products in a mini-market.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #playbook
---
📝 Post
How do y'all balance spending all your time making your products but then find the time and creativity to do your own marketing, promotion, etc? I can't afford to hire anyone right now but I feel like my greatest weakness is promoting myself
🧩 Problem
Struggling to balance product creation and marketing efforts.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #training
---
📝 Post
Running a small team and curious what other business owners deal with. I keep finding myself doing the same clicks over and over, logging into dashboards, copying info between tools, updating the same thing in multiple places. Feels like I spend 2-3 hours per day doing the same thing, is this normal? Do you guys have any example of how you deal with those repetitive task? If I were to hire a VA, can I trus them to handle all my tasks?
🧩 Problem
Spending too much time on repetitive tasks across multiple tools.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #workflow_automation
---
Hi everyone, My dad runs a small mini-market in Los Angeles CA and I’m trying to be more responsible about what we do with products that pass their best-by / best-used-by dates. For context, we are new here and not familiar with all the rules and regulations. I’d love to hear how other small business owners handle this: • Do you donate items that are just past the best-by date? Or should we trash them? • Is there a general guideline you follow (e.g., donate 1 month past date vs. trash several months past)? • Are there organizations or food banks that actually accept items past best-by (especially shelf-stable items like drinks, snacks, packaged foods)? I’m also curious about: • Liability concerns (do you require a waiver or only donate to certain orgs?) • Tax implications — can donated inventory be written off, and is there anything specific I should watch out for as a small business? Our business is very small, so we are not talking about thousands $$$. Any tips, experiences, or resources would be hugely appreciated. Trying to reduce waste while staying compliant and responsible. Thanks in advance!
🧩 Problem
Uncertainty about handling expired products in a mini-market.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #playbook
---
📝 Post
How do y'all balance spending all your time making your products but then find the time and creativity to do your own marketing, promotion, etc? I can't afford to hire anyone right now but I feel like my greatest weakness is promoting myself
🧩 Problem
Struggling to balance product creation and marketing efforts.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #training
---
📝 Post
Running a small team and curious what other business owners deal with. I keep finding myself doing the same clicks over and over, logging into dashboards, copying info between tools, updating the same thing in multiple places. Feels like I spend 2-3 hours per day doing the same thing, is this normal? Do you guys have any example of how you deal with those repetitive task? If I were to hire a VA, can I trus them to handle all my tasks?
🧩 Problem
Spending too much time on repetitive tasks across multiple tools.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #workflow_automation
---
📝 Post
I run a small business and most days I’m proud of it. I built it from nothing, learned things the hard way, and I’ve managed to keep it alive longer than a lot of people told me it would last. I even have some money saved up now, which still feels strange to say because for a long time everything went straight back into the business. What I wasn’t prepared for is how isolating the decision making can feel. Every choice feels like it matters more than it probably does. Pricing, hiring help, saying no to a client, saying yes to the wrong one. There’s no manager to sanity check things, no team meeting where someone else shares the weight. It’s just me, my laptop, and a constant background question of am I doing this right. I’ll go back and forth for days over things that look small from the outside. Spend a little to save time or save the money and burn myself out. Play it safe or take a risk. Protect the cash I worked hard to build or reinvest and hope it pays off. Either way, if it goes wrong, it’s on me. What makes it harder is that people assume owning a business means freedom and confidence. So I don’t really talk about the doubt part. I nod along, say things are good, and keep the stress to myself. I don’t regret starting this at all. I just didn’t realize how much of the job is sitting quietly with uncertainty and still having to move forward. I guess I’m curious how other small business owners deal with that. Does the constant second guessing ever calm down, or do you just get better at carrying it without letting it take over everything.
🧩 Problem
Feeling isolated and uncertain in decision-making as a business owner.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
hi everyone! i made an etsy over 6 month ago and gave up halfway realizing it wasn’t anything i was passionate about. :/ today i relaunched my old account with a new branding: selling bookish merch! like bookmarks, enamel pins and more to come. reading has become my favorite hobby where i can escape reality and “live a thousand lives”. grateful my family made my first few sales, but i haven’t had any sales outside of them yet. i’m getting some views, but no new sales. would appreciate some feedback for my small business and areas to improve!! ETSY: www.etsy.com/shop/littlejoystudioUS
🧩 Problem
No sales outside of initial family support for new Etsy shop
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #training
---
📝 Post
just recently learned ai automation and now i want to sell the service actually i had a big plans to start my business but now cuz of being a student i don,t have money at all so i want to sell the service to people for thier business automation and wanna make money with it i don,t have followers and no body knows me who i am but still i wanna find the client so i could easily sell the service to them and make my first $1k online.
🧩 Problem
Struggling to find clients to sell automation services.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
I run a small business and most days I’m proud of it. I built it from nothing, learned things the hard way, and I’ve managed to keep it alive longer than a lot of people told me it would last. I even have some money saved up now, which still feels strange to say because for a long time everything went straight back into the business. What I wasn’t prepared for is how isolating the decision making can feel. Every choice feels like it matters more than it probably does. Pricing, hiring help, saying no to a client, saying yes to the wrong one. There’s no manager to sanity check things, no team meeting where someone else shares the weight. It’s just me, my laptop, and a constant background question of am I doing this right. I’ll go back and forth for days over things that look small from the outside. Spend a little to save time or save the money and burn myself out. Play it safe or take a risk. Protect the cash I worked hard to build or reinvest and hope it pays off. Either way, if it goes wrong, it’s on me. What makes it harder is that people assume owning a business means freedom and confidence. So I don’t really talk about the doubt part. I nod along, say things are good, and keep the stress to myself. I don’t regret starting this at all. I just didn’t realize how much of the job is sitting quietly with uncertainty and still having to move forward. I guess I’m curious how other small business owners deal with that. Does the constant second guessing ever calm down, or do you just get better at carrying it without letting it take over everything.
🧩 Problem
Feeling isolated and uncertain in decision-making as a business owner.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
hi everyone! i made an etsy over 6 month ago and gave up halfway realizing it wasn’t anything i was passionate about. :/ today i relaunched my old account with a new branding: selling bookish merch! like bookmarks, enamel pins and more to come. reading has become my favorite hobby where i can escape reality and “live a thousand lives”. grateful my family made my first few sales, but i haven’t had any sales outside of them yet. i’m getting some views, but no new sales. would appreciate some feedback for my small business and areas to improve!! ETSY: www.etsy.com/shop/littlejoystudioUS
🧩 Problem
No sales outside of initial family support for new Etsy shop
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #training
---
📝 Post
just recently learned ai automation and now i want to sell the service actually i had a big plans to start my business but now cuz of being a student i don,t have money at all so i want to sell the service to people for thier business automation and wanna make money with it i don,t have followers and no body knows me who i am but still i wanna find the client so i could easily sell the service to them and make my first $1k online.
🧩 Problem
Struggling to find clients to sell automation services.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
Etsy
littlejoystudioUS - Etsy
Shop Cute Bookmarks & Cozy Reading Gifts by littlejoystudioUS located in San Francisco, California.
📝 Post
When I took over marketing for my family’s bakery, branding was chaos: different logos across platforms and inconsistent visuals. Fixing it helped us grow, but it was time-consuming.I’m building an app, BRANDISEER that learns a brand from a website or uploads, then generates/edit visuals that match that brand (ads, posts, menus, etc.). Before I overbuild: **What’s your biggest bottleneck?** * Picking colors/fonts? * Creating social content weekly? * Product photos? * Print materials (menus, flyers, cards)? * Keeping everything consistent?
🧩 Problem
Inconsistent branding across platforms.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #product
---
📝 Post
I've been struggling to balance customer support with growth in my business and I'm curious to hear from others who have been in similar shoes. How do you ensure that your customers are getting the help they need without breaking the bank or sacrificing quality? I've tried hiring more staff, but it's hard to find people who can provide the level of service I want. Have any of you found any creative solutions to this problem, or is it just a necessary evil of growing a business? I'd love to hear about your experiences and any advice you might have.
🧩 Problem
Balancing customer support with business growth
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #service
---
📝 Post
We were losing deals because people weren't following up. Not because anyone was lazy or disorganized. Just... stuff got buried. We tried the usual stuff. Shared spreadsheets that went out of sync after two weeks. We shared calendar reminders that people started ignoring. Weekly meetings where we'd spend half an hour trying to figure out who was supposed to do what. Nothing stuck. The real problem wasn't that people forgot. It was that nobody could see what anyone else had on their plate. So if someone got slammed with calls, their follow-ups just sat there. If someone took PTO, deals quietly died. We were treating it like a personal discipline thing when it was actually a visibility thing. What fixed it was putting everything in one place where the whole team could see it. Every deal, every follow-up, every next step we’d take. The rule was simple: if it's not in there, it doesn't exist. Before you left for the day, you updated your stuff. Once everyone could see what was pending, the problem basically solved itself. People started covering for each other without being asked. Handoffs during vacation actually worked out well. Our Monday meetings went from confused faces to like ten minutes. The biggest surprise was realizing half of what we thought was a follow-up problem was actually us chasing the wrong deals. We just couldn't see it clearly enough until everything was visible in one place. If you're losing deals to missed follow-ups, it's probably not a discipline problem. Make it visible to everyone and see what happens.
🧩 Problem
Missed follow-ups leading to lost deals
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #workflow_automation
---
When I took over marketing for my family’s bakery, branding was chaos: different logos across platforms and inconsistent visuals. Fixing it helped us grow, but it was time-consuming.I’m building an app, BRANDISEER that learns a brand from a website or uploads, then generates/edit visuals that match that brand (ads, posts, menus, etc.). Before I overbuild: **What’s your biggest bottleneck?** * Picking colors/fonts? * Creating social content weekly? * Product photos? * Print materials (menus, flyers, cards)? * Keeping everything consistent?
🧩 Problem
Inconsistent branding across platforms.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #product
---
📝 Post
I've been struggling to balance customer support with growth in my business and I'm curious to hear from others who have been in similar shoes. How do you ensure that your customers are getting the help they need without breaking the bank or sacrificing quality? I've tried hiring more staff, but it's hard to find people who can provide the level of service I want. Have any of you found any creative solutions to this problem, or is it just a necessary evil of growing a business? I'd love to hear about your experiences and any advice you might have.
🧩 Problem
Balancing customer support with business growth
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #service
---
📝 Post
We were losing deals because people weren't following up. Not because anyone was lazy or disorganized. Just... stuff got buried. We tried the usual stuff. Shared spreadsheets that went out of sync after two weeks. We shared calendar reminders that people started ignoring. Weekly meetings where we'd spend half an hour trying to figure out who was supposed to do what. Nothing stuck. The real problem wasn't that people forgot. It was that nobody could see what anyone else had on their plate. So if someone got slammed with calls, their follow-ups just sat there. If someone took PTO, deals quietly died. We were treating it like a personal discipline thing when it was actually a visibility thing. What fixed it was putting everything in one place where the whole team could see it. Every deal, every follow-up, every next step we’d take. The rule was simple: if it's not in there, it doesn't exist. Before you left for the day, you updated your stuff. Once everyone could see what was pending, the problem basically solved itself. People started covering for each other without being asked. Handoffs during vacation actually worked out well. Our Monday meetings went from confused faces to like ten minutes. The biggest surprise was realizing half of what we thought was a follow-up problem was actually us chasing the wrong deals. We just couldn't see it clearly enough until everything was visible in one place. If you're losing deals to missed follow-ups, it's probably not a discipline problem. Make it visible to everyone and see what happens.
🧩 Problem
Missed follow-ups leading to lost deals
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #workflow_automation
---
📝 Post
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. As brand owners, we’re told to fix everything with better marketing. More content. More ads. Better funnels. But the more I build, the more I realize that marketing isn’t the real problem. Trust is. You can have a good product, a solid team, and still feel invisible. I’ve been there. People hesitate. They don’t respond. Sales drag on longer than they should. What hurts the most is watching competitors get quoted or talked about, even when you know you understand the space just as well or better. I’ve learned that people don’t trust brands by default anymore. They trust people. When I started sharing real opinions, lessons learned, and honest takes on what’s broken in my industry (not selling, just explaining), conversations changed. People engaged more. Questions felt warmer. Objections softened. Another thing I noticed: when everyone sounds the same, no one stands out. Having a point of view feels risky, but being invisible is worse. Ads can help, but once you stop paying, everything stops. Building trust through your voice takes longer, but it sticks. Curious if other founders have felt this shift too. Have you noticed trust becoming a bigger issue than marketing itself?
🧩 Problem
Building trust with customers is more challenging than marketing.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #content
---
📝 Post
Running a small service business and honestly confused about where to put my marketing energy. I keep getting told "you HAVE to be on social media" but the time investment vs results doesn't seem to add up for me. I've tried: \- Instagram: posted 3x/week for 6 months, got maybe 2 actual leads \- Facebook: feels like a ghost town unless I pay for ads \- TikTok: my target audience (45+) isn't really there \- LinkedIn: better for B2B but I'm B2C Meanwhile, Google reviews and word of mouth are still bringing in 90% of my business. For those of you who've actually made social media work: 1. What platform actually brings you paying customers (not just followers)? 2. How much time/money do you realistically spend on it weekly? 3. Did you do it yourself or hire someone/use tools to help? Starting to wonder if "social media is essential" is just marketing advice that benefits marketing agencies more than actual small business owners. But maybe I'm just doing it wrong? Would love to hear real experiences, not just theory.
🧩 Problem
Confusion about effective marketing channels for a service business.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. As brand owners, we’re told to fix everything with better marketing. More content. More ads. Better funnels. But the more I build, the more I realize that marketing isn’t the real problem. Trust is. You can have a good product, a solid team, and still feel invisible. I’ve been there. People hesitate. They don’t respond. Sales drag on longer than they should. What hurts the most is watching competitors get quoted or talked about, even when you know you understand the space just as well or better. I’ve learned that people don’t trust brands by default anymore. They trust people. When I started sharing real opinions, lessons learned, and honest takes on what’s broken in my industry (not selling, just explaining), conversations changed. People engaged more. Questions felt warmer. Objections softened. Another thing I noticed: when everyone sounds the same, no one stands out. Having a point of view feels risky, but being invisible is worse. Ads can help, but once you stop paying, everything stops. Building trust through your voice takes longer, but it sticks. Curious if other founders have felt this shift too. Have you noticed trust becoming a bigger issue than marketing itself?
🧩 Problem
Building trust with customers is more challenging than marketing.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #content
---
📝 Post
Running a small service business and honestly confused about where to put my marketing energy. I keep getting told "you HAVE to be on social media" but the time investment vs results doesn't seem to add up for me. I've tried: \- Instagram: posted 3x/week for 6 months, got maybe 2 actual leads \- Facebook: feels like a ghost town unless I pay for ads \- TikTok: my target audience (45+) isn't really there \- LinkedIn: better for B2B but I'm B2C Meanwhile, Google reviews and word of mouth are still bringing in 90% of my business. For those of you who've actually made social media work: 1. What platform actually brings you paying customers (not just followers)? 2. How much time/money do you realistically spend on it weekly? 3. Did you do it yourself or hire someone/use tools to help? Starting to wonder if "social media is essential" is just marketing advice that benefits marketing agencies more than actual small business owners. But maybe I'm just doing it wrong? Would love to hear real experiences, not just theory.
🧩 Problem
Confusion about effective marketing channels for a service business.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
I'm just curious if other people are experiencing this, but in the last year or so I've been noticing an intense increase in the amount of totally unrealistic customer expectations. Things like expecting items to be shipped within hours of an order, expecting it to be delivered in less than 2 days, expecting immediate response to questions submitted after hours or even in the middle of the night etc. I have 4 customers this weekend alone who placed orders at the end of the week and are sending messages upset because their orders haven't shipped yet. One of them sent their complaint just 9 hours after ordering. My store tells people to expect a 5 business day processing time, repeatedly, but I'm having people constantly approach me like I'm faster than amazon.
🧩 Problem
Unrealistic customer expectations for order processing and shipping times.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #playbook
---
📝 Post
I run ops for a small org and I’m tired of manually copying PayPal payments into Google Sheets for reconciliation. Right now I: * export CSVs * clean names * match payments to people * manually check duplicates It’s error-prone and wastes hours. How are you doing this today? Is there a clean way I’m missing? Thank you!!
🧩 Problem
Manual reconciliation of PayPal payments is error-prone and time-consuming.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #workflow_automation
---
📝 Post
I’ve been building websites mostly as portfolio work, and it helped me improve technically. But I’m realizing that working in isolation misses a lot of the real challenges. When you build for yourself, you don’t deal with real customers, changing needs, or business constraints. Lately I’ve been thinking that working closer to real small businesses is the best way to actually get better. For small business owners and builders here, what do you think matters most in a website? What do developers usually overlook?
🧩 Problem
Need for real-world challenges in website development.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #training
---
I'm just curious if other people are experiencing this, but in the last year or so I've been noticing an intense increase in the amount of totally unrealistic customer expectations. Things like expecting items to be shipped within hours of an order, expecting it to be delivered in less than 2 days, expecting immediate response to questions submitted after hours or even in the middle of the night etc. I have 4 customers this weekend alone who placed orders at the end of the week and are sending messages upset because their orders haven't shipped yet. One of them sent their complaint just 9 hours after ordering. My store tells people to expect a 5 business day processing time, repeatedly, but I'm having people constantly approach me like I'm faster than amazon.
🧩 Problem
Unrealistic customer expectations for order processing and shipping times.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: high
🧭 Solution Type: #playbook
---
📝 Post
I run ops for a small org and I’m tired of manually copying PayPal payments into Google Sheets for reconciliation. Right now I: * export CSVs * clean names * match payments to people * manually check duplicates It’s error-prone and wastes hours. How are you doing this today? Is there a clean way I’m missing? Thank you!!
🧩 Problem
Manual reconciliation of PayPal payments is error-prone and time-consuming.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #workflow_automation
---
📝 Post
I’ve been building websites mostly as portfolio work, and it helped me improve technically. But I’m realizing that working in isolation misses a lot of the real challenges. When you build for yourself, you don’t deal with real customers, changing needs, or business constraints. Lately I’ve been thinking that working closer to real small businesses is the best way to actually get better. For small business owners and builders here, what do you think matters most in a website? What do developers usually overlook?
🧩 Problem
Need for real-world challenges in website development.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #training
---
📝 Post
Edit: located in a smaller (50k people)Canadian city. We sell custom sports jerseys and team apparel. And are moving from a home office to a commercial space with a small showroom, office, and warehouse. I am trying to figure out the pickup situation. When we worked from home, customers could just swing by whenever, and pickup packages from our front porch. Now that we're in a commercial space, I don't think the same thing can happen, and having people work late every day seems like it might be costly, and people what to come on weekends which doesn't make sense to have staffed. But we still have local customers who prefer pickup over shipping. Current idea: a large metal lockbox with a combo lock mounted outside our front door. We would share the combo with customers, but the box has just one compartment and if opened they would see all the boxes, which I am not to worried about as we seek custom jerseys, who would wear someone else's name on their shirt. I am more worried about someone taking the whole box, or something. I've seen those smart parcel lockers with keypads and individual compartments, which would be perfect, but I've only ever seen them indoors. Our pickup would need to be outside or in an unheated vestibule. What do other small businesses do for local pickup? Especially curious about: \- Anyone using smart lockers outdoors? \- Creative low-tech solutions that look more professional? \- How you handle the "we close at 5 but customers want to pick up at 6" problem? Appreciate any ideas.
🧩 Problem
Need a solution for customer pickups at a new commercial space.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #workflow_automation
---
📝 Post
I have a party rental business and I'm looking to get some sort of automated/self booking integration into the website and I came across inflatable office. Have any of you used them? Are they any good? If not, what are good options?
🧩 Problem
Looking for automated booking integration for a party rental business.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #product
---
📝 Post
This is regarding a single employee under a sole-prop. Considering someone working a standard W2 job, they have to spend money on a vehicle to get to work (usually), fuel to operate it, work clothes, work shoes, etc. But if their W2 says $80,000, that's the amount they look at, as well as pay stubs. They don't discount the money they spent on getting to or being at work. Now if you made $80,000 on a 1099, after deducting all your expenses, mileage, etc your AGI is $21,000, that seems to be all they focus on. (For reference I sell on eBay so a lot is cost of goods sold, refunds, etc) Why? Your actual net is say $36,000, but the IRS is lenient with business deductions. For example driving 100 miles writes off $72.50 of taxable income, but it might of only actually cost you say $15 in gas to drive that far. You also get a deduction for having a home office, even if that means you didn't actually spend real money on it.
🧩 Problem
Tax implications of 1099 income versus W2 income
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
Edit: located in a smaller (50k people)Canadian city. We sell custom sports jerseys and team apparel. And are moving from a home office to a commercial space with a small showroom, office, and warehouse. I am trying to figure out the pickup situation. When we worked from home, customers could just swing by whenever, and pickup packages from our front porch. Now that we're in a commercial space, I don't think the same thing can happen, and having people work late every day seems like it might be costly, and people what to come on weekends which doesn't make sense to have staffed. But we still have local customers who prefer pickup over shipping. Current idea: a large metal lockbox with a combo lock mounted outside our front door. We would share the combo with customers, but the box has just one compartment and if opened they would see all the boxes, which I am not to worried about as we seek custom jerseys, who would wear someone else's name on their shirt. I am more worried about someone taking the whole box, or something. I've seen those smart parcel lockers with keypads and individual compartments, which would be perfect, but I've only ever seen them indoors. Our pickup would need to be outside or in an unheated vestibule. What do other small businesses do for local pickup? Especially curious about: \- Anyone using smart lockers outdoors? \- Creative low-tech solutions that look more professional? \- How you handle the "we close at 5 but customers want to pick up at 6" problem? Appreciate any ideas.
🧩 Problem
Need a solution for customer pickups at a new commercial space.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #workflow_automation
---
📝 Post
I have a party rental business and I'm looking to get some sort of automated/self booking integration into the website and I came across inflatable office. Have any of you used them? Are they any good? If not, what are good options?
🧩 Problem
Looking for automated booking integration for a party rental business.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #product
---
📝 Post
This is regarding a single employee under a sole-prop. Considering someone working a standard W2 job, they have to spend money on a vehicle to get to work (usually), fuel to operate it, work clothes, work shoes, etc. But if their W2 says $80,000, that's the amount they look at, as well as pay stubs. They don't discount the money they spent on getting to or being at work. Now if you made $80,000 on a 1099, after deducting all your expenses, mileage, etc your AGI is $21,000, that seems to be all they focus on. (For reference I sell on eBay so a lot is cost of goods sold, refunds, etc) Why? Your actual net is say $36,000, but the IRS is lenient with business deductions. For example driving 100 miles writes off $72.50 of taxable income, but it might of only actually cost you say $15 in gas to drive that far. You also get a deduction for having a home office, even if that means you didn't actually spend real money on it.
🧩 Problem
Tax implications of 1099 income versus W2 income
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
I just "opened" this month selling decorative firearm rail covers on [lokpins.com](http://lokpins.com) I tried selling on Etsy but was immediately shot down. Trying to find other ways to advertise these without being removed or spending a ton of money while I get started. Any ideas or advice? Thanks!!
🧩 Problem
Finding affordable advertising for new product
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #content
---
📝 Post
I filed on Oct , 2025. I believe starting 2026 it's my second year, or does my second year start on Oct, 2026 ? My first filing would be till April 15, 2026. But, do I now have to also file quarterly taxes as well? Would that be 4 times a year? I ask this because in my previous posts people told me I don't have to file my quarterly taxes in my first year as I don't have revenue, and, I expect still no revenue this whole year as well... would it be more profitable to just close the LLC instead of having to hire a CPA 4 times a year and do business as an individual?
🧩 Problem
Confusion about filing quarterly taxes for LLC
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
I have a request to perform work on short notice (within the next 3-4 business days). I typically stay booked 3 weeks out. This is a good customer (not my biggest or best, but they are a repeat customer) and I’m trying to not take advantage, but I legitimately will need to bump work to accommodate them. The primary question is for travel, per diem (hotels and food), would it be acceptable to charge extra 1.75X or 2X on these items? I advised them that this would be the case for the labor aspect of the job. Would it be acceptable to also so this with material? I just want to make sure I’m matching up with other service provider expectations and demands. I operate in a specialized market segment. Thanks for any advice.
🧩 Problem
Charging extra for travel and materials on short notice work
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
I'm looking at going independent in my field. I am confident in my abilities (15 years in various aspects of the industry) and won't have much overhead other than my cost of living and some minor software ($100 a month, tops) but I don't have a ton of cash. How do you start up? I'm single. My expenses with rent and all are less than $3000 a month but I don't have history of business to prove I can do it - is there loan options?
🧩 Problem
Need guidance on starting a business with limited cash.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
Hello, my question is pretty much in the title. I'm curious which tradeshows would be the best to go to with these items and other fashion accessories like bandanas, snapback style trucker hats, and random, cool vintage inspired accessories? Does something like this exist or are these type items in separate shows? I'm looking to retail these types of items and looking for the best place to start. Any input would be appreciated. Thank you!
🧩 Problem
Need advice on best tradeshows for fashion accessories.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
I just "opened" this month selling decorative firearm rail covers on [lokpins.com](http://lokpins.com) I tried selling on Etsy but was immediately shot down. Trying to find other ways to advertise these without being removed or spending a ton of money while I get started. Any ideas or advice? Thanks!!
🧩 Problem
Finding affordable advertising for new product
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #content
---
📝 Post
I filed on Oct , 2025. I believe starting 2026 it's my second year, or does my second year start on Oct, 2026 ? My first filing would be till April 15, 2026. But, do I now have to also file quarterly taxes as well? Would that be 4 times a year? I ask this because in my previous posts people told me I don't have to file my quarterly taxes in my first year as I don't have revenue, and, I expect still no revenue this whole year as well... would it be more profitable to just close the LLC instead of having to hire a CPA 4 times a year and do business as an individual?
🧩 Problem
Confusion about filing quarterly taxes for LLC
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
I have a request to perform work on short notice (within the next 3-4 business days). I typically stay booked 3 weeks out. This is a good customer (not my biggest or best, but they are a repeat customer) and I’m trying to not take advantage, but I legitimately will need to bump work to accommodate them. The primary question is for travel, per diem (hotels and food), would it be acceptable to charge extra 1.75X or 2X on these items? I advised them that this would be the case for the labor aspect of the job. Would it be acceptable to also so this with material? I just want to make sure I’m matching up with other service provider expectations and demands. I operate in a specialized market segment. Thanks for any advice.
🧩 Problem
Charging extra for travel and materials on short notice work
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
I'm looking at going independent in my field. I am confident in my abilities (15 years in various aspects of the industry) and won't have much overhead other than my cost of living and some minor software ($100 a month, tops) but I don't have a ton of cash. How do you start up? I'm single. My expenses with rent and all are less than $3000 a month but I don't have history of business to prove I can do it - is there loan options?
🧩 Problem
Need guidance on starting a business with limited cash.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
Hello, my question is pretty much in the title. I'm curious which tradeshows would be the best to go to with these items and other fashion accessories like bandanas, snapback style trucker hats, and random, cool vintage inspired accessories? Does something like this exist or are these type items in separate shows? I'm looking to retail these types of items and looking for the best place to start. Any input would be appreciated. Thank you!
🧩 Problem
Need advice on best tradeshows for fashion accessories.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
i’m keeping costs near zero and testing demand via a waitlist. the product is the stacker, a clean, aesthetic planner app. here’s the waitlist if you want to see what i’m building: [https://forms.gle/NJJ4auWp5REAxb3v7](https://forms.gle/NJJ4auWp5REAxb3v7) would appreciate advice on next validation steps.
🧩 Problem
Seeking advice on validating a planner app.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
Hi everyone, I’m based in Perth, WA and I’m looking for some guidance from people already working in the garage door industry. I’m planning to eventually start a **small, solo garage door installation and service business**, but I’m very conscious that this is a trade where **experience, safety, and proper training matter**. I’m not looking to shortcut anything or compete unfairly — I want to learn the right way first. I’ve started reaching out to manufacturers and suppliers to ask about training and authorised installer pathways, but I’d really value hearing from those already in the field: • How did you get your initial training or experience? • Are manufacturer courses enough, or is working under an established installer the best path? • Any common mistakes you see beginners make that I should avoid? I’m open to advice, criticism, or suggestions and appreciate anyone taking the time to share their experience. Thanks in advance.
🧩 Problem
Seeking guidance on training for garage door installation.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
This might be a bit niche, but I'm wondering if anyone else is doing something like this and found a successful path to doing it. I own a music lessons business out of the home we rent and we've been lucky that the owner has been very okay with that. It helps that everything happens in the garage and a large room off the garage door on the base level of the town home. We became successful enough that, when an excellent location for an excellent rate became available, we jumped on opening a second location - our first commercial space. This year, we plan to open a third location, but wonder if our goal is achievable. Ideally, we want to move out of our current space and into a new one, keeping the current one going but living elsewhere (most of the time). However, we're not really sure if it's reliable to count on the idea of getting another sympathetic landlord. At the same time, commercial real estate prices are insane - and we could rent a $3k square for home for less than the price of a 1,500 square for commercial space. We also have a very hectic routine here that moving away and starting bookings elsewhere would give us some much needed peace and quiet for a while. If you've had any experience (or better yet, luck) doing this, I'm all ears. So, in short... **TLDR: is there a feasible strategy for reliably renting residential for a properly zoned business with a proven track record? Or are most landlords just never going to give you the time of day under any circumstance?**
🧩 Problem
Uncertainty about renting residential space for a business.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
i’m keeping costs near zero and testing demand via a waitlist. the product is the stacker, a clean, aesthetic planner app. here’s the waitlist if you want to see what i’m building: [https://forms.gle/NJJ4auWp5REAxb3v7](https://forms.gle/NJJ4auWp5REAxb3v7) would appreciate advice on next validation steps.
🧩 Problem
Seeking advice on validating a planner app.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
Hi everyone, I’m based in Perth, WA and I’m looking for some guidance from people already working in the garage door industry. I’m planning to eventually start a **small, solo garage door installation and service business**, but I’m very conscious that this is a trade where **experience, safety, and proper training matter**. I’m not looking to shortcut anything or compete unfairly — I want to learn the right way first. I’ve started reaching out to manufacturers and suppliers to ask about training and authorised installer pathways, but I’d really value hearing from those already in the field: • How did you get your initial training or experience? • Are manufacturer courses enough, or is working under an established installer the best path? • Any common mistakes you see beginners make that I should avoid? I’m open to advice, criticism, or suggestions and appreciate anyone taking the time to share their experience. Thanks in advance.
🧩 Problem
Seeking guidance on training for garage door installation.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
📝 Post
This might be a bit niche, but I'm wondering if anyone else is doing something like this and found a successful path to doing it. I own a music lessons business out of the home we rent and we've been lucky that the owner has been very okay with that. It helps that everything happens in the garage and a large room off the garage door on the base level of the town home. We became successful enough that, when an excellent location for an excellent rate became available, we jumped on opening a second location - our first commercial space. This year, we plan to open a third location, but wonder if our goal is achievable. Ideally, we want to move out of our current space and into a new one, keeping the current one going but living elsewhere (most of the time). However, we're not really sure if it's reliable to count on the idea of getting another sympathetic landlord. At the same time, commercial real estate prices are insane - and we could rent a $3k square for home for less than the price of a 1,500 square for commercial space. We also have a very hectic routine here that moving away and starting bookings elsewhere would give us some much needed peace and quiet for a while. If you've had any experience (or better yet, luck) doing this, I'm all ears. So, in short... **TLDR: is there a feasible strategy for reliably renting residential for a properly zoned business with a proven track record? Or are most landlords just never going to give you the time of day under any circumstance?**
🧩 Problem
Uncertainty about renting residential space for a business.
⚙️ Complexity: medium
📣 Popularity: medium
🧭 Solution Type: #consulting
---
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