Profits differ from net income, and no where is there clearer than for small business owner-operators, artists, and creatives. Just because you have a certain amount of money left over after covering expenses doesn’t mean you’ve made profits. Why? Because you have to factor in the cost of your labor and the risk you took and so after factoring that in, millions of small businesses and artists and creatives are operating with little to no profit. However, it doesn’t have to be this way and so we wanted to create a space where sharp entrepreneurs and creatives could come together and discuss the challenges to profitability and potential solutions. If you have something valuable to add to this conversation that can help others achieve profitability, please reach out to us as we want to get your ideas in front of our readers.

Wes Bales

The truth is that commission painting for tabletop miniatures is not profitable. Not for most people, anyway. Maybe you’re lucky enough to work for one of the major studios that have cropped up in recent years. Maybe you’re a high-powered individual with the spoons to maintain a social media network across multiple apps, committed to regular and frequent content creation, and you’ve gained a dedicated following over years of hard work. Read more>>

Donna Jackson-Woodard

The fashion jewelry industry faces challenges such as fast-changing trends, intense competition, such as SHEIN or Temu, production costs, and the impact of economic downturns on consumer spending habits. Staying innovative and managing inventory effectively are crucial in navigating these challenges. Read more>>

Ricardo Alejandro Corona

The fact that it has become so diverse has resulted in vast material to browse through, making it difficult to distribute efficiently. I firmly believe that in order to establish yourself it`s imperative that you have a very capable marketing team or strategy behind your project. Also, I`ve understood that investing both time and money is an important factor that will determine growth within the industry. Read more>>

Kim Alexis

Profitability in the Headshot world is difficult since it’s extremely competitive. It’s really important to stay current with SEO, marketing, being active on social media while also making yourself stand out from your competition. My personal biggest challenge has been staying active with my social media platforms. Read more>>

India Hall

I would say that my biggest challenge is having conference in myself in knowing I can do it but doubt does creep in, sometimes I would let what I have heard get to me or what I think folks would say like oh, you want get this far because you don’t have this degree in this or that field or you are a girl and women can’t do much or fulfill like men can. I would say starting from the ground up it is very difficult, because you have to showcase who you are to the world and send out the right message. Read more>>

Brandy Berlinski

It is extremely easy to think “wow she’s selling a cookie for $5-$8/each she must be making huge profit for just a cookie!” Read more>>

Joshua Green

The biggest issue is managing your regular life and life as an artist. Managing consistency to be able to expand upon the needed areas to gain more exposure. Read more>>

Anthony Salina

In the collectibles market you have several challenges to profitability. The first is a high cost of entry. Running a collectibles shop requires inventory of collectibles that are high in demand. This high demand makes sourcing items at a reasonable/low cost difficult because you have to ensure you can make a profit after factoring in item cost, shipping cost, taxes, and other business expenses. Read more>>