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.
Hunter Saylor
For me, while the industry of design and video production are highly profitable and sought after, it can be extremely difficult for an individual to be profitable. In these industries, it’s so competitive and oversaturated that all editors and designers are playing this game of musical chairs (the chairs being the clients) where once the music stops, editors and designers have to scatter and snag a chair before they lose out. Problem is I’ve been seeing a lot more clients underpaying editors/designers where they’re not getting paid their worth. So there are a lot more chairs now where it’s not worth chasing when the music stops, which gets filled instead by someone who’s willing to undersell their services or might be overseas where $200 for an entire feature film edit is worth spending countless hours editing. Read more>>
Jordan Somani
Early in the career of freelance artists, it can be hard to balance the types of projects we work on to maintain financial stability while also building towards a long and fruitful career. My favorite projects to work on have been independently produced narrative films, which are artistically fulfilling as well as important for the portfolio as a film editor. Ideally I would only take on these projects, but there is usually little money behind them and living in Los Angeles is expensive. Therefore I also would work on projects like social media advertisements and YouTube content, which are crucial for my short-term profitability, but don’t really align with my long-term career goals. It is a frustrating cycle that I’m sure many can relate to, where the need to be secure in the present is preventing you from progressing toward a secure future. The balance has gotten easier to maintain as I have gained more experience, because I am able to take on more projects that are both profitable for me and advance my career trajectory. But it was a major struggle when I first started in the industry. Read more>>
Maryanne Rackl
The biggest hurdle to staying profitable in my business is Instagram’s wild algorithm! Since I rely on it to sell my vintage finds and promote my pop-up events, keeping up with the changes can feel like a full-time job. Even with 10,000 followers, only about 300-400 people actually see my stories on a good day. I’m always playing around with fun things like stickers, polls, and slider bars to get people engaged, but if I post too many stories, my visibility drops. People think having a big following equals instant success, but honestly, battling the algorithm to get my content and event promos seen makes a huge impact on my sales—whether online or at my pop-up events. Read more>>
Kelsey Converse
You’re absolutely right—every industry has its challenges to profitability, and for us in elopement photography, one of the biggest hurdles is outdated perceptions of elopements. Traditionally, eloping was seen as a cheap or spontaneous alternative to a “real” wedding, so photographers still carry this notion that couples choosing to elope aren’t willing to invest in their day. As a result, many photographers undercharge because they assume their clients are on a tighter budget. Oh, and that they are “easier” than big weddings. Read more>>
Linda Distefano
The biggest challenge to our industry is the lack of inventory. We have plenty of buyers with nothing to buy. The baby boomers are not selling their (too big for them) homes as they have nowhere to go. Many have their adult children with their families living with them too, because of lack of inventory and the high prices of housing. Read more>>
Brett Carlton
One of the significant challenges we encounter in the architecture and design industry regarding profitability revolves around three main factors: competition, time, and scale. As a service-based industry, we are surrounded by many talented creatives offering similar services. While this diversity is a strength, it also means that, unless a firm is among the most sought-after, many will compete for projects that prioritize budget over unique design approaches. This competition can lead to a decrease in the value of contracts for all but the top firms. Read more>>
Sequoyah Cleveland
What I think is the biggest challenge to profitability in the music industry is what monetization of social media has done to music. It seems like TikTok has now become the monster in driving artists and songs into positions of success just from a 15-30 second clip with no understanding of the record as a whole. 90% of the time when I listen to those songs when they come out, the rest of that record is pretty disappointing. It seems that artists are now looking for social media fame rather than making music for the listener, and if you don’t conform to the industry’s standard of uploading videos of yourself on this app you are subject to discrimination and will never get the attention deserved even when your song is marketable and very enjoyable. Read more>>
Devin Ammons
One of the biggest challenges to profitability in newspapers today is the rise of social media, which has drastically altered how people consume news. With platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram offering instant, often free, access to headlines and stories, traditional newspapers struggle to compete for readers’ attention. Social media’s ability to quickly disseminate information, often without the overhead costs of investigative journalism or print distribution, has led to a significant decline in newspaper subscriptions and advertising revenue. This shift has forced newspapers to rethink their business models, as they balance maintaining journalistic integrity with the need to generate income in a digital-first world. Read more>>
Sarah Bell
Profitability in this industry is difficult due to a couple of factors. The first is the emergence of AI. Smaller business owners who wanted to delegate their content marketing to agencies or freelancers now feel capable of doing it themselves with AI. While I think AI is a great tool, I don’t think it can or should genuinely replace a human or the expertise someone with years of experience and a Marketing degree has. AI can’t fact-check itself and sometimes writes false things. It also can’t mimic the personability a human writes with. Business owners should recognize AI as a tool for their marketing team to use, or for those that delegate out, see it as a tool for the agency/ freelancer to utilize rather than a replacement. Read more>>