I run a small local service business, and we have always relied mostly on referrals. Our Google Business Profile is out of date, the photos are old, and the only other place people can find us is Facebook. If someone searches for the service nearby, we barely appear. I can only afford one small improvement right now. Would you put it into a basic website, better reviews and photos, or cleaning up the local listings first?

I’ve been thinking of the best content to display on my tv to keep my customers engaged when they visit, since I started earning from the TV, I was hoping to make the most use of it. I’m open to advice, whats the best content you usually show on your tv

Hello!

I’m a business major focusing on entrepreneurship and I was wondering if any entrepreneurs in the group have a little time to answer 5 questions for a class assignment? I estimate it will take about 5-10 minutes of your time. The only requirement is that the person is an entrepreneur and employs at least 2 people.

I unfortunately did not realize the entrepreneur can’t be anyone that I know so I have put myself slightly behind on the project and I’m hoping by reaching out here I can still accomplish the mission.

If you’re interested I could message or email you the questions or even post them here, whatever is best for you.

Thank you in advance!

Lesson learned as a starting small business owner.

Never again pitching our services to an HOA or people we personally know without clear agreements.

We submitted a proposal, waited two weeks, and kept following up just to get a clear answer. We even started preparing designs and other materials.

At some point, it felt like we were begging for an opportunity instead of simply offering a service.

I understand that miscommunication happens, but our time and effort matter too.

Not every opportunity is worth chasing. Sometimes, walking away is the better business decision.

Lesson learned.

Hello everyone!

Do I understand it right that when I hire through upwork, I don't need invoices from freelancers (upwork handles everything) nor do I need to issue 1099s to them?

We run a micro business and would like to start paying large invoices ($15k minimum) on credit card to rack up points. No cash flow problems, don't care about the cc fee, just looking to take advantage of the money we're spending. Wanted to use Wise but they have a $2k limit for cc transactions. What third-party apps are you all using to pay invoices via credit card?

I'm a small-business owner, and I recently had an experience that's left me incredibly frustrated.

I spent a lot of time researching, developing products, finding suppliers, and building a business around something I genuinely love.

Two people I knew personally became familiar with the business and the knowledge I'd shared. They eventually started their own company selling the same type of products.

I understand that nobody owns an entire product category and competition is part of business. But when it's people you trusted, it feels so much more personal.

I've also had a previous business where competitors copied my creative ideas, so this situation brought back a lot of those feelings.

I'm trying to move forward and focus on growing my own business, but I'd be lying if I said the thought of them becoming more successful than me didn't bother me.

Has anyone experienced something similar? How did you stop letting it get under your skin?

I am in a new environment where working in the workplace and picking back up my small business seems scary because of the local ability to accept criticism and work with others who think differently. The thing about criticism is remaining professional and truthful in your critiques, the problem is that I am not critiquing or confronting anyone or anything. My current environment can't handle the smallest arrangement or my own encouragement of them because anything I say even if it is nice isn't what they are used to. So we end up in arguments only to find out later I was encouraging them the whole time and we are in agreement.

We own Club West Chiropractic, an established chiropractic clinic in Blaine, Minnesota, and we’re stuck in a never-ending Google Business Profile verification loop.
Our established business: Club West Chiropractic
Google Maps:
https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=Club+West+Chiropractic+Blaine+MN
Separate practitioner listing: Dr. Daniel Bielefeld
Google Maps:
https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=Dr.+Daniel+Bielefeld+10950+Club+W+Pkwy+NE+Blaine+MN
Here’s exactly what happened:
We recently hired Dr. Daniel Bielefeld and attempted to create and verify a separate Google Business Profile for him at our existing clinic location.
When verifying Dr. Bielefeld’s new Google Business Profile, we used the exact same phone number that was already associated with our established and verified Club West Chiropractic Google Business Profile.
I strongly suspect this is where the wires got crossed in Google’s verification system.
Shortly after attempting to verify Dr. Bielefeld’s profile using that shared phone number, Club West Chiropractic unexpectedly lost its verified status.
We subsequently deleted Dr. Bielefeld’s Business Profile from our Google account, hoping this would resolve the issue. However, we have since discovered that his separate listing remains publicly visible on Google Maps, showing Club West Chiropractic’s address, phone number, and website.
The verification loop:
On October 22, 2026, we completed a live video verification with an actual Google representative.
The representative explicitly confirmed that Club West Chiropractic was approved and verified.
Approximately 20 minutes later, our established business profile reverted to requiring verification AGAIN.
We have completed multiple verification attempts, contacted Google support repeatedly, and have an existing case escalated to their specialized technical team.
Our original Club West Chiropractic listing remains publicly visible with all 203 Google reviews, but Google continues to require us to verify ownership.
My questions:
Has anyone experienced an established Google Business Profile losing verification after using its associated phone number to verify a separate practitioner’s profile?
Could using the same phone number for both verification processes have triggered an internal conflict between the two profiles?
Could Dr. Bielefeld’s remaining public Google Maps listing still be associated with our business internally, even though we deleted his profile from our account?
Why would Google approve a live video verification and then reverse it approximately 20 minutes later?
Has anyone successfully resolved this exact problem? What steps actually worked?
We are not looking to create another business listing, lose our existing reviews, or repeat verification indefinitely.
We need Google to identify and correct whatever is preventing our established business’s verification from remaining approved.
If anyone has experienced something similar, especially with multiple Google Business Profiles sharing a verification phone number, I would greatly appreciate your advice.
Thank you!

My husband and I have been entertaining the idea of eventually purchasing an established gift shop or boutique in a coastal tourist town. We’re still in the early research stages, but the idea of owning a small business in a destination we genuinely enjoy has become super appealing.

Ideally, we’d purchase an existing business with a customer base, established operations, and a history of profitability rather than start completely from scratch.

Long-term, we’d love to split our time between two locations, so having a reliable team to manage day-to-day operations would eventually be important.

I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who’ve actually owned or acquired businesses in tourist-heavy areas:

• How much did you initially invest?
• What does profitability realistically look like after expenses, payroll, and seasonal fluctuations?
• How difficult is it to find dependable employees, and is semi-absentee ownership realistic for a business like this?

Most importantly: With knowing what you know now, would you do it again?

I’m definitely not expecting passive income or an effortless business, just trying to understand the realities before seriously pursuing this. Thanks!

I run a youth travel baseball organization and pay several coaches at different rates.

Right now, coaches report their time and I pay them through Zelle. I'm looking for a simpler way to manage everything.

Ideally, coaches could submit their hours from their phones, the system would calculate what they're owed, and I'd receive a notification to review and approve each payment.

For those managing a small team of contractors, what software are you using? Does it handle approvals and payments, or do you use separate tools?

I'm looking for firsthand recommendations, especially affordable options. Thanks!

I am looking to sell some pet portraits but fb marketplace isn’t really getting any buyers, any tips?

Im testing a small side service: flat-price hot tub water changes, meaning drain, clean, refill and balance, for homeowners and BnB hosts who don't want to do it themselves. It's not repairs or sales.

Firstly, I'm trying to learn whether people actually need it

On a second note and a bit of background, i live in a relatively decent sized North American town, couple hot tub stores in the area. I worked in a neighbouring city pool and hot tub store for 2 summers but was mostly doing water chemistry testing and selling above ground pools and chemicals, not really servicing hot tubs or pools. I’m actually a water engineer by proffesion so I know a decent amount about water chemistry.

Wondering if anyone has any advice for me, my biggest doubt is that I lack hot tubs experience and no one is willing to bring me on to shadow. I’m thinking about just trying to hire someone who knows a bit about electrical and plumbing. Half of me is telling me do it and the other half is telling me not to. Appreciate the advice.

How do I grow my RUO business aside from word of mouth. Or just in general how to grow a business.

If you are not going to be constructive don’t even respond thank you

I apologize in advance if my thoughts seem a bit scattered. Currently, I am a 14-year-old student, and my parents are divorced. My relationship with my mother is complicated, and we argue a lot over minor things because I view myself as an adult, and sometimes she sees me that way too. However, she yells at me for minor and often groundless reasons, which causes frequent conflicts between us. Financially, she is doing well for Russia, as she owns a decent apartment and a car.

My father, on the other hand, is struggling with debts. He has child support obligations and accumulated debts because of them. Due to various circumstances, he cannot get a regular job right now. He is fighting hard to fix this, but as a father, he is perfect to me. He does not have the means to live with me, but we see each other almost every day. Despite his age, he is in great physical shape and used to be a top student in the past. Now he decided to pursue a university degree through distance learning, and he is also working on various side projects since he has a lot of connections. He is a strong, masculine man, and he raised me the same way.

Honestly, I used to be very shy and always avoided conflicts, and I was even bullied back in primary school. But now, I am 183 cm tall, weigh between 80 and 90 kg, and I am in good shape. I look decent, have enough experience with girls, and my vocabulary is much better than that of my peers. For the past two years, I have noticed that I think and realize things way beyond my age. Many people say this about themselves, but looking at it from my perspective, I feel like I am more mature. Now I can easily stand up for myself because I do martial arts, which made me more confident in life, and I am making good progress at the gym too. I ran into some health issues recently, but I think they will be resolved within six months, so for now, I had to prioritize one thing.

Here is my main problem: unfortunately, I am doing poorly in school, and my knowledge of Russian, algebra, and other subjects is basically at zero. However, many successful people around my father say that a university degree is important because it connects you with a different class of society. Is this really true? Starting next year, I plan to work with tutors, with a budget of about 300,000 rubles (roughly 3,000 USD) spread over three years until graduation.

I want to open my own business in the future, whether it is a car repair shop or a nail salon, and I am aware of the risks and the time commitment involved. To be honest, I would be ready to study with AI tools right now, but I burn out very quickly. After just 3 or 4 days, I lose the drive to study on my own because I do not see immediate results. Working with a traditional tutor feels easier because when you see good reviews, you know they will actually teach you.

We run a software development company with around 40 people, mostly working on large enterprise projects. Something I’ve been wondering about lately. When a big client is choosing between a smaller specialized company and a firm with 500+ employees, how much does size actually matter?
We might have people who’ve spent years working with the exact technology a client needs. But the bigger company has a recognizable name, a huge team, and probably looks like the safer choice on paper. I get why that matters. If I were spending that kind of money, I’d be careful too.
But I’m curious how people on the other side see it. Would you hesitate to give a major project to a 40-person company, even if they had the right experience?

It's time to switch from a dedicated land line.
It's a retail business that has calls coming in all day long, but I really only need one line.
Very basic is all I need.
What's the best available option & rough pricing?

I currently work a full time b2b sales job and as great as it is I hate working a corporate job. Im interviewing to get a promotion to go from SDR to Account Executive. I graduated from a state university and concentrated in entrepreneurship. I've wanted to have a business in the food industry forever. I’ve worked at a highly rated, award-winning fast paced diner before. I don't want a restaurant, I want a food truck. I want to go to events and help people celebrate a little bit better. I want to connect with my community through this and have a direct positive impact on my local community. Plus I love cooking and food.

I'm just so contused on where to start even though I studied entrepreneurship. Food trucks are expensive! I only have 2k in the bank right now (unrealistic to start a food truck with this money but maybe something more small scale is feasible like a food cart or selling on fb marketplace first). I have almost no expenses right now. I'm living with family, don't have to pay a phone bill or insurance, which I feel is the perfect time to attempt a startup and if it fails I can fall back on my degree and go back into sales, or try again.

Everyone I know that has their own business isn't really helpful. Am I crazy for all this lol

I run a small but profitable online vintage shop and have recently started considering selling it, but I'm honestly not sure where to begin or whether there's much of a market for a business like mine.

The shop is fully branded, has an established Shopify website, social media accounts with followers, a Pinterest presence, and existing sales channels. I've built everything from scratch over the past few years.

The main reason I'm considering selling is time. I'm currently only able to dedicate around 6 days a month to the business, and despite that, it's still profitable. I genuinely think it has a lot more potential with someone who has the time to focus on growing it.

Since it's a vintage business, the inventory is individually sourced rather than coming from a consistent supplier. I'm planning to sell the business with its existing inventory and would also share my sourcing methods, contacts, and processes to make the transition as smooth as possible for a new owner.

I also think there's a lot of potential to diversify into other vintage categories and expand the product range, which I simply haven't had the time to explore myself.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has experience buying or selling a small e-commerce business, particularly in fashion or vintage.

For a lot of owners, the hardest part of dealing with MCA debt isn't the math. It's the day they decide to ask for help. I work with Value Capital Funding (VCF), where we help business owners assess MCA debt-relief options, including refinancing and restructuring when appropriate, and one thing is consistent: most people reach out after things have already developed, not while it's still manageable. I wanted to write about that moment and what tends to come up around it. Happy to answer general questions in the comments.

What tends to come up, in general terms:

• Looking at the full picture is often a relief. Many owners have never added up every position, every payment, and the total, because it feels easier not to.
• There are usually more questions than answers at first, like whether to refinance, restructure, or do something else, and the answer depends on the numbers.
• The wish is usually about timing. Conventional financing tends to be most available when a business is stable and doesn't urgently need the money, not once the owner is already under pressure. That's not a criticism. It's just how the window works.

If you're thinking about reaching out to anyone, including us, it helps to have a few things ready:

• Your agreements for every position.
• Three to six months of business bank statements.
• A simple list of each position's payment amount, frequency, and remaining balance.

And a word of caution: be wary of anyone who guarantees a result or asks for a large fee before explaining what they'll actually do. Ask what's included, what it costs, and get it in writing.

Reaching out is taking control of the situation, not admitting defeat. If you'd like to talk it through, comment, and I'm glad to help.

I've been using quite a few AI tools, including the generative AI tools everyone is talking about, and I've noticed something. Unless a business owner is already well organized and has solid business processes in place, these tools can quickly become overwhelming and actually make things less efficient.

I'm curious, what's been your experience?

So i am trying to start my freelance business and things are not going really well. I help businesses automate admin work and simplify their workflow using digital tools. I already am working on a project with a potential customer but the deal is not yet closed. I'm looking into cold email outreach but i ran into a problem where i don't know how to find people struggling with this for me to contact.

Has anybody that ran into similar problem or am i approaching this the wrong way? I'd be interested in hearing what actually worked for you.

hi everyone! i’m a student at iu indianapolis and we’re doing a research project for our strategic management class to find out if small businesses trust banks, and if you don’t, what would make you learn to trust them.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfC5UVJULSQ-VwQvaEE7G9QU6BjwVCIirfTcbvf_Fd-KoTSZw/viewform?usp=dialog

the survey should only take a few minutes and it would be a huge help. thank you!

So pretty much the title
i've been providing clients digital services and now i'm at a stage where i can invest money on those for myself cause my clients been getting 30k euro of MRR from my services and i thought i would be getting same because obviously why not work on myself so I saved money to go in deep but the issue is the site i've built have my number and i'm from pakistan and I am planning to running seo and ads in UK and my contact being Pakistani is my main concern

Hello

So I run an psychology of investing website online. I am really proud of it and I think it has a lot of potential!

I have been considering the idea of brancing more into the b2b side of things. Maybe contacting financial companies or advisors and later providing resources, toolkits, or make content for them through my website.

So my question is, what should I know when considering working directly with businesses? Do you have any good suggestions on what kind of product or service I should focus on that would really help investing or financial specialists out with their work?

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Even some good stories of how you have been working directly with businesses would be great.

Thank you in advance!