My business has failed. small business |
- My business has failed.
- Would you compare your businesses financials to another similar business who is performing really well?
- Backing out of a business idea, too many competitors.
- I'm launching a web browser game. Any tips while I'm at it?
- Best Online Platforms for Freelancers?
- Potential Mentor Says "Bring All You Got" - What Should I Got?
- For people who own a CBD business: how do you target people (especially on FB).
- Reading Will Give You The Unfair Advantage Now & In The Future
- Wouldn't you invest in a project that promotes small businesses absolutely commission-free?
- Small (Etsy) Business Tax Questions
- How to deal with "I could get it done for free elsewhere"
- I need some advice on starting a potential non-profit
- Questions about starting a retail store.
- New Vehicle Tax Deductions
- Facebook Business Page NEED HELP! UNABLE TO LOCATE ON MAPS!
- Any payroll systems faster than Square Pay for direct deposit?
- What do you think of this pitch deck resource?
- How do I decide on markup for my product?
- What tools give you an unfair advantage?
- EIN help?
- How do nearby vacant storefronts affect your business?
- Opportunity to Purchase a Small Business
- Looking for an accountant based on Chicago that can handle international (Canadian) returns as well. My biz partner is based in Canada, I’m here in the states. Need help!
| Posted: 07 Dec 2018 07:29 AM PST We see a lot of positives stories but sometimes it's good to see the failed stories too. I had to stop pursuing my business. I had to stop because it was costing me more to gain a client than I was being paid. I also had troubling getting referrals and having repeat clients. I'll never forget the feeling of making my first sale. This was a great learning experience and I hope to start another journey when the time is right. For any that may wonder we provided leads to home service companies such as: Window washing, roofing, lawn maintenance, tiling, hardwood flooring, power washing etc... Edit: Getting a lot of comments from home service providers here. To be clear we are not like Angie's List. We provided a list of leads for $50. We took 0% of the profits you made in that job. We had hardwood floor companies make tens of thousands from our leads and we made 0% from their jobs. We only made $50 from the list of leads. great discussion and support from you all. Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Dec 2018 10:47 AM PST I am working on a project for my company and I was curious how many business owners would find what I am working on interesting or useful. My company Betterfin has a platform for business owners to manage debt, and some of the interesting data we have allows to take a type of business maybe by industry or market and clearly see who is 'winning' in that space. Maybe they are making more money, growing faster, expanding, probably all 3. We have been piloting allowing business owners to take their business and compare it to a 'winning' business and see how they are different. The idea is simple, maybe things they do are causal to success, and maybe things they don't do are causal for not failing. We did this for Digital Agencies, companies who provide services for digital design, UX, and graphic arts for businesses. The kinds of things we were able to show is what 'winning' digital agencies look like. How much do they spend, on what things? What vendors do they use? What are their expenses, how do they optimize them? How do they grow? Do they use debt, what kind? We also got qualitative feedback from the actual owners, such as important advice to owners starting or trying to grow. In that space we have found a lot of deep interest, in helping business owners think outside their day-to-day by showing them proven results. Here is that example we did for a cohort of Digital Agencies in New York: As an Industry Three type of businesses
New York is the 3rd biggest market, and the only large market in decline due to over saturation 41k Digital Agencies in Custom Web Design and Computer Services As a business 70% of Digital Agencies payroll less than 5 people, in New York that number is closer to 80%. New York has seen an uncharacteristic hurdle in these types of businesses growing large. What also makes new york Unique is over 60% of Digital Agencies are corporations, where in other markets such as florida, and Texas, sole proprietorship are more popular, across all revenue sizes. Active and successful Agency in NY is making 2.3MM per year, and paying employees roughly 87k in annual salaries and benefits. This is less than agencies make in the biggest market California, where they also pay employees less. The best and upcoming market for Digital Agenciesis Virginia where they service a market the same size as New York, with cheaper human capital. The Keys to Growth 60% of revenue goes to Human Capital more than that makes the margins difficult Overhead is less than 15% of revenue Working capital loans to fatten the wallet makes the uncertainty of the business a controlled risk Owners have high FICOs: Average is 692, median is 688 Financing happens early, heavy reliance on FICO, most use personal debt such as credit cards very early on Commons vendors that predict success Zendesk, and strong billing service like Apex Billing. Dont take a risk with your loan it is already a risk, simply scale with it. This business is so front heavy with cost, don't burden the business with paying yourself upfront, if that is needed stick to Sole Prop until the right time. Here are some charts we showed along with it. This is from actual data of some of the top Digital Agencies in New York: https://imgur.com/a/sG3DX8r The story is simple, they grow by hiring people, and getting the most of those people. Winning agencies raise debt to hire, they keep overhead low. Would anyone out there find this interesting for their business? [link] [comments]  |
| Backing out of a business idea, too many competitors. Posted: 08 Dec 2018 12:40 AM PST So I have wanted to start my own business for a while now and I have been researching ideas on what I could do. I have a background with software development so I figured out a website that may help others. However when I went to research my market I notice that there was a lot of competitors. One even had 250million dollars of revenue a year and the others were in the millions. I am starting to feel like backing out of this idea now because all these businesses are so established and have virtually the same idea I had. My question is: Do you guys have any advice on how I can up my much larger competitors. When is there too many competitors? I would also like some general advice to ease my mind. Thankyou [link] [comments]  |
| I'm launching a web browser game. Any tips while I'm at it? Posted: 08 Dec 2018 03:58 AM PST I'm launching a web browser game that will hopefully become a source of income. Any tips while I'm at it? I have been developing this game for quite some time and there will be things for people to buy with real money. I'm very excited because I think it's something everyone will enjoy and will support because my game will also be helping small businesses. (I don't want to give too much away.) I'm stoked. If anyone has launched a digital business of sorts, please, I'd like any words of advice, (dis/en)couragement, and whatever else! Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
| Best Online Platforms for Freelancers? Posted: 07 Dec 2018 08:08 PM PST There seem to be a lot of sites designed to connect customers with people providing services. I'm curious which are the least sketchy, and which attract people willing to pay more for quality. I'm a very small-scale calligrapher. I'm mostly looking for relatively small projects, (ex: 1,000 envelopes for a wedding would be my limit). I'm currently on Thumbtack, but think there's probably a better venue, so I'm just looking for other options, especially anything that would take a percentage so that I could accept smaller jobs. I'm just looking for online options at the moment, and not yet interested in starting a website. TD;LR: Looking for recommendations for matchmaking platforms for small-scale freelancer for weddings and gifts. [link] [comments]  |
| Potential Mentor Says "Bring All You Got" - What Should I Got? Posted: 07 Dec 2018 10:12 PM PST I'm in the early stages of starting my own Managed Service Provider company(outsourced IT department for SMB's for those not familiar). I recently started networking with a local business development organization, not too different than something like SCORE. I produced a business plan, and went over it with someone from this organization. He had a few questions regarding specific terminology, and suggested I revamp the format of my financial forecasts, but other than that commented multiple times about how far ahead I was of the people who normally come in. He set me up with a local business owner while we were at a local networking function who owns about 4-5 businesses, employing several dozen people in the area. His exact words were something like, "He's a little bit of a butterfly, hoping around from one person to the next because he's almost a local celebrity in this crowd, but if you can tie him down to a meeting it will be incredibly valuable for you." I tied him down for a meeting next Wednesday, and he said, "Bring everything you've got, and we'll go from there". My business plan contains my goals, fundamentals of the business, summaries of the specific companies that are going to be my primary competition, a plan for the first year, and month-to-month summaries of the worst/goal/best case scenarios of growth for the first two years. There's quite a bit of technical stuff that is relevant to the business, but maybe not at a business level summary, that is not in the plan. Should this be added? Is there anything else that I should prepare? [link] [comments]  |
| For people who own a CBD business: how do you target people (especially on FB). Posted: 08 Dec 2018 01:49 AM PST Hello, Before I start, my ecommerce shop is located in The Netherlands. I've started up a CBD company and finished everything. I'm buying directly from the farmer, that means I can sell my CBD oil 2x cheaper than what people are selling it for. The problem I've is that you can not target people on FB who like CBD oil. Most FB / Insta pages in my country who talk about CBD oil already sell CBD themselves so thats not a solution either. Does someone has a solution for a marketing strategy? Ty [link] [comments]  |
| Reading Will Give You The Unfair Advantage Now & In The Future Posted: 08 Dec 2018 01:05 AM PST Reading is the single most important step in creating a business. Wouldn't you agree? Reading not only broadens your outlook on future game winning opportunities but also shapes your mind and brain into the very source thats needed to make that game winning opportunity a reality. When humasns read amazing things happen. For the better. Again, not only now.. But, also in the future. Hate reading? Readings not for you? That's the mindset that can't make that game winning opportunity a life changing reality. We're talking about a small, enjoyable, self-helping routine that could possibly change your life forever in the business world later in the future, possibly a week from now, and it's 100% free - and achievable by anyonw, but still so many don't. With millions of genre's and even more titles you will find something out there that even YOU cant put down - and that very genre or titlw may be the reason you're sharp and keen enough, in the future ahead to put your competition behind you, one day! Read the preview of 10 books I'll bet that you find one that will overtake your mind with curiosity and allow you to easily pass by each page as if you have to finish the novel in order to carry on with your life. If you are intersted, reach out to me, I would love to recommend a few books that took me from a 35 year old construction worker of 15 miserable years - to a current four time six figure producing companies that now happily employs 73 hard working, and extremely smart employees in four states across the country. Grab a 📖 - Conquer the 🌎 Thanks. Adam M. [link] [comments]  |
| Wouldn't you invest in a project that promotes small businesses absolutely commission-free? Posted: 08 Dec 2018 12:33 AM PST Don't you think the advertising agencies and marketing companies that exist exploit their power and voice to charge businesses a lot of money in order to run ad campaigns for them and promote them online and offline? Their prices are more affordable for the big brands that are already using their services to grow bigger and bigger and by that, taking away the market share of small businesses who are already debilitated by the lack of financial resources and are taking their last breaths in this rat race. In such an ecosystem, the survival rate of small businesses approaches gradually and inevitably to zero if no one takes action. But no one, not even the owners of the giant service providers, would want to live in a world where small, local friendly shops stop existing and all we are left with are enormous soul-less chain-stores. We thought about it and found a solution that is win-win for both small businesses and the users who interact with them, a solution on the blockchain platform and that way, restore the power of local life in a global ecosystem. You can read more about our project in our website (weriz.app) and our Medium blog. [link] [comments]  |
| Small (Etsy) Business Tax Questions Posted: 07 Dec 2018 10:52 PM PST I have a small Etsy shop for selling vintage and secondhand items. I just started this summer and am trying to wrap my head around the tax requirements. For the record, this is mostly something I do for fun, and I'm not too concerned with making a profit since this is a side thing on top of my full-time job. It's a great creative outlet for me. However, I know that this is considered by the IRS as a small business and not just a hobby. My total sales are less than $500, and with expenses accounted for, my net is around $200. So I understand that when I file my taxes, I will need to file a Schedule C. If my net is under $400, am I required to also pay self-employment tax? My understanding is that I only need to pay self-employment tax if my net (total sales minus shipping and supplies costs) over $400. Is that true? In that case, I would only need to file a Schedule C. Also, I'm doing some research on quarterly taxes and seeing that you must pay quarterly taxes if you owe more than $1,000 a year in taxes. But what if you're way below that threshold? Are quarterly taxes not necessary in that case? Would I only worry about my April 15th taxes? Thank you! I'm still new to this and don't want to have to give up this fun (but not super lucrative) side-gig just because taxes are a pain and confusing. [link] [comments]  |
| How to deal with "I could get it done for free elsewhere" Posted: 07 Dec 2018 03:43 PM PST Hey guys, first time poster long time lurker. Set up a digital marketing agency with my best friend about 6 months ago. Between us we have almost a decades worth of work in the film, TV, sales and marketing industries. Anyway, we've racked up a few incredible clients but not enough to properly sustain us. One of our colleagues in our office complex had recommended us to someone, and after a few meetings we had it all sorted minus the signing. As a new business we do rely on pricing ourselves quite low until we have built up trust and as such for this project (video content marketing) we are roughly 80% cheaper than a larger agency in the area. Client has come back and wanted the pricing half the price that we had quoted anyway. His rebuttal is "well I can get it done for free elsewhere, I'm taking a chance on you." Our response is, there's no chance to be taken, here is our body of work and recommendations etc. But annoyingly this isn't the only person to have said this, we've actually had the past 3 of 5 potential almost closed clients say this. Is this a common occurrence? If so, how do you handle it? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| I need some advice on starting a potential non-profit Posted: 07 Dec 2018 08:49 PM PST I'm a third year business accounting student and I'm thinking of starting a non-profit after I graduate, and I'm planning on taking some non-profit courses at the university. I'm looking forward to helping the homeless and help them rehabilitate and get back on their feet, but I'm not going to go on too much detail. What I want to know is that is this a career that people can make a living off of? I'm not in it for the money, but I do want to know will I be able to support myself, eventually, after a few years when the origination has been established? I think I might need to have a regular job and do this project on the side, but I'll be more than happy and willing to do it full time if it will provide me with a decent income.How does a non-profit actually make money to compensate the employees and the managers? One thing I wanted to point out is that, I have a brother who is a Dr, and so is his wife. They also have huge circles of friends who also happen to be Drs. I have spoken to most of them and they are willing to make continuous donations to this organization. With that being said, is this realistic? Can I successfully start and run this non-profit with the help of my brother and his friends, and be able to support myself financially? Any advice would be helpful. Thank you [link] [comments]  |
| Questions about starting a retail store. Posted: 07 Dec 2018 08:20 PM PST Hello, I'm a college student graduating next semester. I want to start a business selling crafts supplies because it's something that I and my mother knows. The store will be mainly about yarn and the associated supplies. I've done the math and the capital for initial + 6 months is 105k which seems pretty high for me. Most websites say the average capital requirement for a retail store is 30-50k. I believe the main reason why it's so high is inventory costs. I'm budgeting 30k for initial inventory. 1st question I have is should I open the store with limited inventory at first? 2nd what was your experience with getting funding? Is it possible with no credit? 3rd should I run the store at first with just me as an employee? 4th how long did it take to get approved for loans, grants, and etc? 5th how much did it cost you to open your store? Provide a break down if you can. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Dec 2018 06:30 PM PST I have been reading all day about vehicle tax deductions and my head is spinning a bit, so I'm hoping someone can help me confirm or clarify. Sorry if this is too many questions in one, I can break it up if that's better, they're just all related. Backstory: I have a part time sole proprietorship in the mobile app business. This year I started doing some gig work on the side, courier and hauling services. I use an old pickup for this that gets terrible terrible mileage, is not very comfortable, and is not suited to some courier work, so I want to get a new car. My plan is to buy a new electric vehicle, which will be in the $30-40k range, financed, and take delivery before the end of the year. This would be used 100% for business for the remainder of 2018, and 60-100% business in 2019. So questions...
edit: fwiw, also posted to r/tax [link] [comments]  |
| Facebook Business Page NEED HELP! UNABLE TO LOCATE ON MAPS! Posted: 07 Dec 2018 06:29 PM PST Aloha, my business page is not pulling up when I search my profession on Facebook. Also when I search for my profession nearby. I drag the map over my business and search the area, and it doesn't show up. Does anyone have any experience with this happening? Instagram and Facebook are not wanting to show our location/office on Maps and even when being Tagged on IG. I feel everything is just not syncing correctly, any help would be very much appreciated. Also looking for someone who is familiar with SEO and all of this stuff in general. Facebook Guru please. Haha. TIA! [link] [comments]  |
| Any payroll systems faster than Square Pay for direct deposit? Posted: 07 Dec 2018 06:03 PM PST Hey Everybody! So, I'm currently using Square Payroll to pay my contractors, but it takes 4-5 biz days to reach them. Do any payroll systems exist that pay people faster? Appreciate the help! [link] [comments]  |
| What do you think of this pitch deck resource? Posted: 07 Dec 2018 04:03 PM PST I know a lot of people struggle with making a pitch deck and it's a core part of my business so I thought I'd help with this: I've never made a resource like this so I'd appreciate feedback from you guys. The contents and design are not final! It's a first draft. [link] [comments]  |
| How do I decide on markup for my product? Posted: 07 Dec 2018 07:27 PM PST My product are "magic" pills (think focus/intelligence, weight loss, skin care). I've worked backwards to figure out a price for my pills. I've done research and selected a pill/price point in the middle of the market because the pills are going to be advertised by celebrities and Instagram models (a celebrity can't be taking cheap pills), but the pills are going to be advertised towards the average person (can't be expensive). I've informed the pill manufacturer at what price point I want the pills to cost. Naturally, the manufacturer wants to know the markup for the product to know how much I'm willing to pay to produce the pills. How do I figure this out? To figure out the markup, I need to know the costs. The future costs are difficult to figure out because I don't know how much packaging, storage, and shipping is going to cost. These costs can vary depending on many variables. Do I need to figure these out to select a markup and eventually final price? I don't want to choose the wrong markup and price, and end up losing money because I can't pay the costs and make a profit. My idea: ask the manufacturer for ingredients for each pill/price point, i.e. what ingredients are in a pill that costs $0.10, what ingredients are in a pill that costs $0.11, what ingredients are in a pill that costs $0.12? Select the smallest price point that still carries quality ingredients. Apply the maximum industry standard markup to the pill. Any suggestions would be appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| What tools give you an unfair advantage? Posted: 07 Dec 2018 03:12 PM PST |
| Posted: 07 Dec 2018 02:24 PM PST Hey reddit, when applying for an EIN, what category would a martial arts school fall under? (Step 4 of the process) I'm thinking it's probably "other", but then is it a service? An organization? Should I just select other -> other and type in "martial arts school"? [link] [comments]  |
| How do nearby vacant storefronts affect your business? Posted: 07 Dec 2018 01:52 PM PST |
| Opportunity to Purchase a Small Business Posted: 07 Dec 2018 01:47 PM PST Hello, I hope this is an appropriate place to post this! Sorry for the wall of text, there's lots of background info! I am a junior in college, and my lifelong hobby has been fish keeping, and creating aquariums. I am currently working at a single-person owned local fish store here in my college town. The store has been here for 25+ years and has been successful. As one of the only two workers (besides the owner), I have become close with the owner and he has started talking about selling the shop since he is getting older and wanting to retire. I would love to purchase the business from him, but I'm not totally sure how realistic that is. Throughout working here I have pieced together bits of information that might be helpful in determining what to do. I do know that he rents the building, and the rent is $1000/month. The electric bill is roughly $200/month for all the tanks that have to run and water. There are definitely other bills that I'm not 100% sure about, but those are two main ones. Years ago, the shop was netting around $200,000 yearly. Now that number is more close to $150,000. (Not sure what the gross would be). I think a lot of that has to do with the lack of maintenance and up keep in the store. The owner has seemed to have lost interest and motivation in keeping the store nice and well stocked. There is quite a bit of water damage to the floors, ceiling, walls, and wooden fixtures that hold the tanks. The plumbing for the tanks is a bit of a mess, but it definitely works. Also the back room is just kind of a clutter of old parts. It's operational, but definitely needs a big overhaul. Since the place is rented, I am concerned about what the landlord might think of all the damages in the past 25 years. Who would be responsible? If I were to purchase the business, he mentioned that he wanted to get around $10,000 for it. Since the place is rented, that's mainly for all of the equipment (well over $10,000), business relationships, name, and clients whose aquariums we maintain (around 6 commercial tanks making about $100 each per trip twice a month ($1,200/month passive income)). I definitely think that I could make the $10,000 back in a very short amount of time, it seems like a great opportunity! However, I am a college student with student debt accruing, and will end up with about $40,000 total debt. That being said, I won't have $10,000 laying around to make a one time purchase of a business. Is there any plausible way to get a loan for that money to buy the business, and the pay back that loan? Would that be a personal, or business loan? Is that even a possibility? Also, i would definitely look to move the shop to a nicer location after I become profitable. That being said, I am concerned that the landlord might be quite upset with the damages if the shop were to move out. Would I be responsible? I have never met nor talked to the landlord, but I assume that person is still around. They have never made an appearance, and I haven't heard of any conversations with the owner. I apologize for the wall of text. Let me know if I missed any important background info that might be useful. Thanks for any advice!! TLDR: Opportunity to buy my dream business for $10,000. Store seems quite capable of making that money back in a short amount of time. However, I am a college student and don't have $10,000 and won't for a long time. Is a loan possible? Also concerned about water damages in the store because it is a rented building. Will be looking to relocate the store as soon as the loan is paid/becomes profitable. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Dec 2018 12:22 PM PST |
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