Tariffs between Canada and the US now directly affecting my business. small business |
- Tariffs between Canada and the US now directly affecting my business.
- Town is doing pipe work and re-paving our parking lot. Estimated time for project is 3 1/2 weeks. Insurance doesn't cover loss of business. How do I deal with landlord?
- Other than staffing, what have you been frugal on, only for it to bite you down the road?
- Cheapest essentials for a business
- We're a bootstrapping SaaS startup - it's really hard
- What is the best Payroll/internal human resource company software to use for my business? What do you use?
- How do I deal with a client who keeps dodging my questions about payments and delays it repeatedly?
- What scheduling app or software to you use to have people book appointments with you?
- I formed and LLC and obtained an EIN, will I need a business licence to sell apps on the app store?
- For those making skincare products, do you have business liability insurance? If so, any tips recommendations?
- Floridian Baker, what to do?
- Moving website from GoDaddy
- iPad Management?
- Is there anything wrong with paying contractors with petty cash?
- Business Bank Account
- A marketplace for private sellers?
- Leasing a retail space questions
- Do most of you who have businesses/products run your own Instagram account or hire someone to do it?
- Any auto repair shops here?
- Multiple merchant services?
- I had to fire someone today that didn't deserve to be fired, it was not my decision, but unfortunately i am the one that had to and will continually have to relay the message. How do you handle a situation like this?
- Fastest way to get invoice paid (online via CC) to Canadian bank account?
- consultants + business advisers, how often do you hire outside help?
- Looking for some advice
| Tariffs between Canada and the US now directly affecting my business. Posted: 25 Sep 2018 03:56 PM PDT I run a tiny chocolate company. When I say tiny, it's literally just my wife and I. Anyway, we've been making some great inroads exporting our chocolate bars from the US to Canada. But today, one of our biggest wholesale accounts said they couldn't carry us anymore because Canada instituted a 10% tariff on chocolate in retaliation for the new tariffs on Canadian steel. I know this isn't a political sub, and I'm not here to gripe about politics, but reading the language behind the decision to add tariffs to chocolate was based on specifically hurting Hershey's. But this just hurts the little guy. The vendor asked if there was anything we could do to work with them. I don't know if I can reduce the price 10%, but maybe 5% and then have the vendor add 5% to the final price? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Sep 2018 08:45 AM PDT |
| Other than staffing, what have you been frugal on, only for it to bite you down the road? Posted: 26 Sep 2018 12:00 AM PDT |
| Cheapest essentials for a business Posted: 26 Sep 2018 03:09 AM PDT Hi all! I want to try and run a small business or two on the side for some extra cash. Obviously I want to keep costs down as much as possible and try and set up everything myself, even though I'm not particularly tech savvy. I would like to know the cheapest services for: - web domain and hosting. I want to make a wordpress website and would like a hosting service that's mostly very reliable. - mailing list. Is mailchimp the way to go? - e-mail. I want an e-mail address with the website domain. Also are there wordpress themes that are free to use for businesses? What kind of licence should I look out for? [link] [comments]  |
| We're a bootstrapping SaaS startup - it's really hard Posted: 26 Sep 2018 02:13 AM PDT We don't have any institutional investors, no flood of VC money. We've got to where we are today by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps, our wits and the support of our users. We've been growing really well and we're really excited for the future - we're a little more relaxed now but it wasn't always the case. It was hard, really really hard. When we initially got off the ground, RealtimeCRM only existed in our heads and we didn't have any source of revenue to pay the bills so the lights would stay on. So we started the consultancy side of the business to do just that. There was no office and it was as lean as you could get - we started getting clients in and building software for them, as the revenue from that went up we began to convert some of that surplus into turning RealtimeCRM from a dream into a reality. Paying the bills but losing sight of the real goalThis was the first real hurdle. RealtimeCRM was still in early stage development and nowhere near being a viable product. Meanwhile we still needed money to come in to again keep the lights on. We made some bad deals on the consulting side of the business that hurt us just to help our cash flow. These projects ate up more and more of our time and we suffered significantly from scope creep meanwhile RealtimeCRM, the reason for everything stagnated. We had to make big changes and fast, on the bad deals we'd agreed to we had to cut the bleeding of time fast, renegotiate where we could and completely change the way we wrote up our agreements to stop this from happening in the future. These changes were born of hard lessons. At the same time, we had all these big and great ideas of what RealtimeCRM could be. We couldn't do that anymore, we didn't have the luxury of time and with clients on our case from the consulting side of the business we had to get serious. What was RealtimeCRM? What feature should go in and how would it help our users either make money or run their business more efficiently? In the end we got a simpler but more focussed product that we could finally take to market. The first users started rolling in but it wasn't a cascade and it still wasn't going to be able to cover all of our costs The consultancy sideWe changed the way we worked. We no longer low balled projects because we had built a solid client list and built a strong reputation through countless hours of hard work and doing the best for our clients. We could be more selective, we got a real office and most importantly we made a decision to not go over our expenses line. The consultancy side of the business helped us break even every month as RealtimeCRM developed and grew but we didn't go further than that. We had made the mistake earlier of losing sight of the initial goal and we weren't going to do that again. This meant that we all had to make sacrifices as we were still a lean outfit but now out of choice, but it also meant more time for RealtimeCRM and making sure the small flame that it was at the time did not go out. https://realtimecrm.co.uk/img/marketing/gcp-tweet.png Simplify, beautify and be helpfulUp until this point our focus had been on the product and substantive features. We hadn't really focussed at all on marketing. Our marketing site was a confused mess that didn't explain who we are or what RealtimeCRM is. Even basic things like how to sign up were not obvious and took longer to complete than was necessary. We didn't have giant marketing budget to throw at this so we did it ourselves and went back to basics. If we were looking for a CRM what would we want to know? What problems are we facing and then how do we sign up to it? We worked from those premises and rebuilt our site from the ground up which you can read about here. We saw our conversion rate increase and our monthly site visitors go up too. So we'd increased the size of top of the funnel as well as becoming more efficient at converting visitors. The other low cost tact we took was blogging, in particular levaraging the audiences of others by guest posting to bring in more eyeballs on to RealtimeCRM. Our blog used to be a desolate place in which we posted maybe every few months some generic piece and we never guest posted. This was a huge mistake that we made in promoting RealtimeCRM. We really didn't know how powerful it could be until we took Groove's content marketing mastery course of which you can learn about our experience here, but it's extremely powerful especially guest posting. We joked about getting noticed in silicon valley and getting our name amongst the cool new startups so we fired off an email at Google. Without expecting much, we got a response back and we got to guest post on their Google Cloud blog which they tweeted out to their 730,000 twitter followers. It didn't cost us anything other than some time and effort. A huge marketing coup for us that we probably wouldn't have gotten if we had a bigger marketing budget that probably meant we would have taken a more traditional approach. Lastly, we're super helpful. When you don't have a huge budget your best advocates are your users. They're our best sales people by far and again it doesn't require a huge budget. Just try to understand them, take the personal approach and do the best you can for them. Even if you can't be perfect people appreciate when you go above and beyond for them, and beyond that you really don't want a high churn rate as a SaaS company. We're pretty proud that our churn rate is under 2%. Soon RealtimeCRM started to gain a momentum of its own and we've been dabbling in paid marketing such as sponsored InMail on Linkedin: https://realtimecrm.co.uk/img/marketing/linkedin-sponsored-email2.png With whatever avenue we choose we always start small and if we get a good response we boost the resources to that avenue and in this way we make calculated risks and don't throw good money after bad. You can't afford to make lots of really big mistakes when you're a lean outfit. It's not just money but lost time too. Final thoughtsWhen you're bootstrapping time not just money is a very precious resource that you have to dole out carefully. You have to be able to focus in on clear and concise goals that are possible not pie in the sky stuff that you'd like. And lastly, start small and then grow more complex in everything as you see more success. That means don't throw good money after bad particularly when trying to promote your product and also don't try to do too much at once, you'll end up swamped, running out of money and then out of time and you won't have a company anymore. In our case there hasn't been one silver bullet that has helped us, it's been constant effort and pushing on multiple fronts to raise our profile and bring in new users. Bootstrapping is hard, really really hard but if you survive the lessons you'll learn will make you lean, mean and tough. You need patience and you need to play the long game but it can be done, we are proof of this. Source:https://realtimecrm.co.uk/posts/were-a-bootstrapping-saas-startup---its-really-hard/[link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Sep 2018 05:37 AM PDT |
| How do I deal with a client who keeps dodging my questions about payments and delays it repeatedly? Posted: 25 Sep 2018 07:57 PM PDT I started a web development company. A friend of mine (or at least I thought he was my friend) told his company about me and I got a meeting with them and I agreed to build a website for their company. The terms were 20% advance, 60% upon approval of design and 20% after work completion. Because this came through someone I thought I can trust, I made the mistake of not having them sign a contract. Also, I have a feeling that my friend may have told them about my financial situation and let them gain leverage over me. They made it sound like the website is an urgent project due to pressure from their board and asked me if I can start work immediately and I agreed since the client came through someone I thought I can trust. The advance payment that they owed me was delayed by 2 weeks and every time I followed up on it, they kept dodging my question which made me really uneasy to keep having to ask every day. The payment of 20% finally came, and I continued the work. Then I completed their designs which they approved. We're 1 month past the approval and I still haven't been paid and I've already finished the whole site. Now that I finished the site, it seems the website isn't urgent for them anymore. Every time I ask about payment, they dodge the question and bring up some new issue with the website or ask for a change in design. I have accommodated all their requests and worked an additional 2 months. I don't want to argue with them to get more money and decided to stay at the original price we agreed upon. I just want to get this over with and move on. I raised the final invoices for the full amount and they told me it will be take another 5 days. I told them the designs were approved a month ago and the 60% payment has been long overdue. Yesterday I was told that the partial payment has been approved. I asked them why it's a partial payment and whether they can confirm how much is being sent. They said it might be the 60% that I requested and we'll know today. I had requested the full payment but now they make it sound like I asked for only 60. They always make it sound like it is my mistake and I'm fed up of dealing with this client and following up again and again while they keep dodging my question and make me do more work than what was originally agreed upon. I have hired additional resources for building their site, purchased software licenses, and I'm in an enormous about of debt because of this. Because the client hasn't paid the sales tax either, I'm having to pay fines on a daily basis to the government due to these delays. I'm frustrated beyond words and I don't know what to do. I don't know how to be assertive with people and my company partners are also getting fed up with me and want to quit and told me to go back to being a freelancer because I'm not fit to run a company. I don't know what to do. **UPDATE** I got a partial payment that is just $2K short but more than the 60% they said they approved so at least I no longer have any liabilities. I've learned a very expensive lesson about what can happen if I'm stupid and trusting. [link] [comments]  |
| What scheduling app or software to you use to have people book appointments with you? Posted: 25 Sep 2018 04:02 PM PDT I am looking for an inexpensive app,website, or software that I can use to schedule customer consultations and potential employee interview by sending them a link with multiple availabilities and they can pick one. Does anyone have any recommendations for this? [link] [comments]  |
| I formed and LLC and obtained an EIN, will I need a business licence to sell apps on the app store? Posted: 25 Sep 2018 05:36 PM PDT Hello, I think the title explains its self, I just formed an LLC and obtained an EIN and planning to open a small business bank account, In order to start selling apps and get revenue from ads, I'm wondering if i will need to apply for a business licence , and is there any risk if I proceed with out it? Any information,help or suggestions will be much appreciated Thank you [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Sep 2018 04:24 PM PDT |
| Posted: 25 Sep 2018 07:33 PM PDT So I'm currently a high school student who wants to do a side business bakery, you know to sell at like local farmers markets and stuff. But I don't want to get in trouble for food allergies knowing that I work with food products. Should I raise money to become an LLC despite me wanting to be a side business? Or... Should I just jump the gun and start producing and selling goods while risking the consequences? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Sep 2018 03:23 PM PDT Hello! Three years ago I bought a domain from GoDaddy. I built a website using GoDaddy's website builder and use their web-based email for my small business. My package is now up for renewal, at a cost much higher than what I initially paid. I have since changed the name of my business and plan to purchase a new domain and build a new website with the new name. I see lots of posts on here about how to do that - what a great resource! However, I need to keep my old website and email address active for at least a year in case any clients try to email me at my old email address. What's the cheapest way to do this? The easy thing would be to renew with GoDaddy, but I feel like there has to be a cheaper way to keep an email address and website active. Can I buy my domain and email address from GoDaddy using another provider? Any tips? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Sep 2018 05:46 PM PDT Hi everyone, The owner of a small residential electrical contracting company I work at recently ordered new iPads for our technicians. He's tasked me with setting them up and getting them ready for use. Only problem is, I need a way to limit what they can download from the App store (nothing, outside of our production software), what they can buy (again, nothing). So on and so forth. I know there's some sort of solution that Apple provides but I'm not exactly sure what the right play is here. If anyone has any experience, please let me know! Any help is appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Is there anything wrong with paying contractors with petty cash? Posted: 25 Sep 2018 04:50 PM PDT Say for really small jobs of $50-100 per contractor? Can we essentially just pay them cash and record that in our books? We are aware and file 1099s for those who make $600+ in a year. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Sep 2018 04:42 PM PDT I have formed an LLC, and I want to simply do things as efficient as possible. What bank should I use for a business account? US Bank? Or Chase? It will be 30-60 days before I can deposit more than 100$ in the account. Thanks in advance! [link] [comments]  |
| A marketplace for private sellers? Posted: 25 Sep 2018 03:39 PM PDT Hi all, How do you find the idea of a markeplace built for private sellers? I think the big players like ebay have their services tailored for businesses and have become very expensive for the private seller. Appart from that, I bealieve there is a lot of room for improvement on both the user experience and provided services. I am really keen to hear your thoughts on building a modern and affordable, if not free to sell, markeplace for private sellers. Many thanks [link] [comments]  |
| Leasing a retail space questions Posted: 25 Sep 2018 07:53 AM PDT I am in the preliminary stages of looking into opening my own art gallery. I admit, I'm completely clueless when it comes to understanding what's all involved in leasing a retail location and I don't want to start talking with realtors until I can come off not totally clueless. Yesterday I found an available gallery location in the heart of my city's gallery district. It's a perfect location, but looking at the listing I realised I don't really know what I'm looking at and could use some help. This is for a location in Canada if that somehow makes a difference. It's roughly 2000 square feet of space, located in the ground floor of a 4 story office building. The listing mentions "Gross Rent: negotiable" and "Net Rent: negotiable" but the brochure says "Additional Rent $12.99 per sq. ft. / annum". I'm lost -- why are there 3 different types of rent listed? In addition, the brochure mentions: "Tenant Improvement Allowance Negotiable". I'm assuming this is some credit I may be eligible for in regards to the renovations I would have to make to the space? Anything else I need to look out for or ask the realtor about? Or other advice anyone has for me in regards to leasing a space? [link] [comments]  |
| Do most of you who have businesses/products run your own Instagram account or hire someone to do it? Posted: 25 Sep 2018 02:53 PM PDT Just curious what other small business owners are doing - do you find value in running it yourself or is it one of those things you are happy to pay someone to do? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Sep 2018 11:06 AM PDT I'm opening my first 3 bay shop next month in october. I've already have customers wanting service done. I really need to get an air compressor and setup a charge system for payment. Anyone have any insights for low cost? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Sep 2018 07:12 AM PDT I work in a small company and I don't like the terms that the owner signed with his merchant services provider. I think I can get a better rate but there is a contract with the current provider. Can I just open an entirely new merchant service account without defaulting on the current one? Edit: Nevermind there's an exclusivity clause that I had missed which answers my question. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Sep 2018 02:29 PM PDT It was incredibly uncomfortable, I've never had an issue doing it before because every other time there had been valid reasons. I'm not going to go into detail, but the employee did not deserve to be fired and I had to fire him because the big boss said so. This is unfortunately going to happen again, it is inevitable, and I'm hoping there are others who can give me some advice on how to handle it in the future. [link] [comments]  |
| Fastest way to get invoice paid (online via CC) to Canadian bank account? Posted: 25 Sep 2018 05:02 AM PDT I just set up a Freshbooks account but am wondering if there are quicker alternatives. Suggestions? [link] [comments]  |
| consultants + business advisers, how often do you hire outside help? Posted: 25 Sep 2018 09:54 AM PDT For the restaurant business I saw a video of a food consultant that would be hired by high end restaurants to adjust their menus. I am learning handmade shoemaking and would like to know about the people that could advise me on how to make the shoe better than I already have. Different manufacturing process to speed up. And things like outside designer input and general advisers for my business end of things. For your business how often if at all do you hire consultants or business advisers to give an outside look into your product and business? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Sep 2018 01:31 PM PDT I own a small car wash in my hometown. I opened around 4 years ago however it has only been recently that I have been able to afford a building to operate from. I have been the only one in the industry in the area up until about 4 days ago when a rival car wash opened up in a more prime location. Now I'm worried that the competition will dominate the market and all my hard work of building the business from scratch and spreading awareness of the industry being available in my hometown will have been for nothing short of making it easier for them to thrive. What I wanted to find out was if anyone has been in this position before and if they have; what happened? Did your business suffer or did things continue as normal? And what advice would you give to someone in this position? [link] [comments]  |
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