Im working on a small marketplaace where customers pay through my platform and sellers get their share of each sale. Thoughtt this part would be easy lol but now Im trying to figure out how payouts work especiially when someon asks for a refund or theres more than one seller involved.

Have to say that dont wanna be sending money to every seller myself once things start growing..

I’m trying to start my first service business, focusing on cleaning companies. Before deciding what to offer, I want to understand how they actually work and where I might be useful.

I’ve emailed a small group asking for a short conversation. I’ve had a few replies, including a referral, but no proper conversation about their work yet. I’ve also tried asking more specific questions based on things operators have shared publicly. Honestly, the frustrating part has been being ignored and feeling like I haven’t earned their trust. I understand why a busy owner might hesitate. They don’t know me, I don’t have a track record, and I’m asking for their time. I’m interested in using AI and other tools to build practical solutions, but I haven’t established what these businesses need or whether I could deliver something they would value. That’s what I’m trying to learn through these conversations.

If you were starting again with tools and a willingness to do the work, but no industry connections or reputation, how would you get those first real conversations? I’d appreciate an example from your own experience: who did you approach, what did you ask, and what helped you earn their time? I’m also open to hearing what you think I’m getting wrong.

We hired two more preparers this season and prepared returns went up but completed returns barely moved because manager review was the bottleneck. we just filled the queue faster more work sitting on fewer desks. have you hit this? what was the fix?

The biggest mistake i made when picking a 3pl was treating it like a pure logistics decision instead of a reporting one. my catalog grew from 80 to over 300 skus as we expanded across different sales channels, and i just assumed every warehouse would give me the data i needed to manage that scale. they don't.

When u scale fast, your catalog balloons. some items sell weekly, others sit untouched for a year. those storage costs on slow movers compound silently until u do an annual review and realize half your inventory is dead weight.

I looked at all the big name providers and local operators. the massive ones usually just give u basic inventory snapshots without much historical data, and the smaller regional ones completely lack configurability once u pass a few dozen skus.

What u actually need to filter for is deep sku-level velocity reporting specifically tools that flag slow movers per category instead of just using one global threshold. a heavy item moving 40 units a month is very different from a small accessory moving 40 units. finding a 3pl with that kind of reporting is what actually keeps your inventory economics clean in the long run

I built a community platform for condo owners and HOAs. But there isn’t exactly a database with board member emails (that I know of)…

You may think just reach out to property managers for adoption but this isn’t relevant for them and often times are already good with the tools they have.

So how do I get to such a niche market. Any advice? I don’t want to get marked as spam so I’ll drop the link if anyone asks about it.

What I’ve tried
- Calling condos on Google: met with security people
- Ads on Reddit. Barely traction
- Facebook groups: posts are often blocked for self promotion
- Property Managers: No responses

We have a few customers which is great but there is so much more potential.

I own a bookkeeping firm that specializes in diagnostic bookkeeping and cleanup. I've been in bookkeeping for 10 years and I've managed a small firm on the east coast for three years. I really thoroughly love bookkeeping and I feel that it's my calling. The issue is I don't know how to differentiate myself from the off-shore $4 per hour providers who destroy business owner's books and the people who really did just decide they were good at organizing so they'd get rich bookkeeping and again, destroy a business owner's books. How can I stand out as a reputable provider who knows her stuff? I've been posting short how-to videos but I'm not sure that's enough. It also doesn't help that I'm currently living in a town of 500 so networking is really difficult. My services sell themselves when I'm in front of the business owner. I just dont know how to rise to the top to get in front of those business owners. Any thoughts?

Head of strategy at a 2k person tech company here. were setting up our first real innovation program and ive been demoing software for weeks. got it down to a shortlist but feel like i'm forgetting something major. We need a tool that does way more than just idea collection needs to track the full lifecycle to actual implementation and results. gotta support 5 different business units with totally different review processes too. and it has to be low maintenance since we dont have a dedicated admin team. what questions should i be throwing at these reps during demos? what do u regret not checking before u bought yours?

A customer messages you.

You answer.

They seem interested.

Then the day gets busy and nobody follows up.

I'm building CierraFlow around that exact problem.

The workflow is intentionally simple:

Customer → Opportunity → Next Action → Payment

No giant system. The goal is knowing who needs attention and what needs to happen next.

https://www.cierraflow.online

There's a 7-day free trial without a credit card.

If you run a small business, how are you handling this today: WhatsApp, spreadsheets, reminders, another tool, or mostly memory?

Hi,

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

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

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

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

________

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

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

__________

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

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

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

_____________

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

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

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

________

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

________

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

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

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

__________

The takeaway: 

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

I hope this helps. Good luck!

____________________________

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

__________________

Hi all,

I've worked in analytics for 6 years and saw that small brands and people starting with influencer marketing can't afford the subscriptions, even when they only need to check a few creators. So I started a small side business to review influencers for them. So far I've built a website, set up Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook pages, and started reaching out directly on Instagram and by email. I can't send mass outreach, even though I have a big list of people to contact.

I know it's early, but I don't want to just wait. How would you attract customers and promote the business with no budget? What worked for you in the first months?

Thanks!

Hi! I design lightweight contemporary jewelry in Colombia and would appreciate an outside perspective on my online store: dulcedesign.studio. I’ve been working on the product photos, descriptions and shopping experience, but I’m having trouble identifying what still needs improvement. Are the materials, sizes and shipping information clear? Do the photos give you enough information to understand what you would receive? I’d especially appreciate specific feedback on anything confusing or anything that could undermine trust in the store. Please note that prices are in Colombian pesos (COP), not US dollars (USD). I’m trying to identify the most useful improvements before spending more on advertising. Thank you for your time!

for those with a physical shop, what actually got your regulars to leave reviews? asking at the till feels awkward to me and i keep hearing the qr card on the counter barely gets scanned

does the follow up text or email thing work better or does it just annoy people. not looking for any tools, just what worked for you

Hey, I am Prince mandoriya founder of Finexai agency that delivers growth to online coaches.

This whole year i figured out new ways to grow online coaching businesses, that would help coaches stay out of competition and grow their business.

These are the key takeaways and i want some real thoughts on it:

1. Every single coach now focusing on visual content which is quite captivating but every coach doesn't do same in this field so what i figured out that written content is being ignored buy almost all of them specifically the platforms like X, Threads and Linkdin.

2. They really think that managing everything by themselves will make their business look more efficient but honestly in the age of ai, they should start automating stuffs that can be automate as well as that does not effect the productivity of the business.

3. This is the most important that opened my eyes and here it is most online coaches think that one on one consultation is all they can offer to their clients, but as i suggest to my clients they should have different offers for different level of the leads they are having example Community, Digital products and more.

So this is what took me almost 1 year to realize now i want real thoughts from coaches here or any business owner that might be interested in sharing their honest thoughts.

Everyone talks about MRR and total signups, but what are some metrics that hide underlying problems, like high churn or low activation rates?

Hey everyone!

I'm building an IT services startup with a focus on AI-powered solutions and custom software development.

We have the technical side covered, but finding our first paying clients and building a consistent sales pipeline has been a challenge.

I'd love to hear from people who've been through this stage before.

A few things I'd appreciate advice on:

\- How did you land your first 3–5 paying clients?

\- Which channels actually worked for you: cold emails, LinkedIn, Reddit, referrals, or partnerships?

\- How did you build trust when your company didn't have many clients or case studies?

\- Did you focus on a specific industry or offer, or take whatever projects came your way initially?

\- Are there any mistakes you'd recommend avoiding when starting out?

I'm also interested in connecting with people experienced in B2B sales, lead generation, or finding software development projects for IT service companies.

I'm not looking for shortcuts or overnight success. I'd genuinely appreciate practical advice from people who've done this themselves.

Thanks in advance!

I run Gilded Gate on my own. It’s a site for people planning a trip to Japan. For 112 places, I compare the official Japanese website with what English guides say and write down where they differ, like old prices, closing days nobody mentions and booking rules that have changed.

25 places are free to read. The rest are $4.99 each, with your first one free, or a trip pass from $19.99 for every place in the cities on your route. It costs me about $15 a month to run.

It went live a few days ago and nobody has paid yet. My goal is $500 in sales, which is roughly 25 trip passes.

The big travel subreddits don’t allow self-promotion, so I’m planning short videos on TikTok and Reels and answering questions where I can. I’m also thinking about giving each free place its own page so it can show up in Google searches.

https://www.thegildedgate.com

I’d love feedback on two things: does that plan make sense for a travel product with no budget, and is there a channel I’m missing?