Have you ever had a friend look at a business and randomly throw out numbers that made it seem like that business owner must be making serious bank? We’ve experienced that many times, and know from conversations with operators and owners in those industries that their real profitability is often far, far less. The reason is often that there are unique challenges to profitability in almost every industry and so we wanted to create a space for entrepreneurs from across industries and markets to discuss the challenges to profitability in their industries.

Vivi Allende

The biggest challenges to profitability in the UK events industry due to the current financial situation include rising costs, decreased demand for in-person events, and budget constraints.
These factors are exacerbated by economic uncertainty and the lingering effects of the pandemic.  Read more>>

Jorden Swain

People understanding your value is the biggest challenge to profitability in my industry. Giving quality results in the makeup industry typically requires high quality (and priced) makeup products. Setting your prices for the service is setting yourself up for, hopefully, a profit so that you’re not coming out of pocket too much when purchasing the necessities. Read more>>

Maya Ferrer

The arts are widely regarded to be the least profitable industry to pursue, but I believe that when people think about the design industry, there’s a tendency to hold a very narrow view of what it means to be a designer.
Wherever you are as you read this, take a moment to take in the world around you. What do you see? Posters? Books? Magazines? Album covers? Whatever it may be, there is an artist somewhere who made that for you. Graphic designers and artists are a deeply integral part of our daily lives, so why is our society dead set on disinvesting from the arts? WHY do we consider art to be “not a real job?” Read more>>

Michael Franz

I believe the food industry has more challenges than any industry people can get into business for. Even further, a food truck has more challenges than anything restaurant for multiple reasons. Although restaurants and food trucks share similar challenges such as brand recognition and how to become more recognizable, the ecomony, and food costs; food trucks also have to deal with weather challenges, other cost variables such as event cost or other type os rent, and supply challenges. Out here in Arizona, our summers are BRUTAL. Combine the summer heat with the likes of having to use a a flat top griddle, fryers, and a stove/oven; it gets pretty bad. For example, our first year, we were serving from a hospital parking lot.  Read more>>

Deandra McInnis

One of the biggest challenges to profitability in the custom creations industry is balancing time and labor with pricing. Because each item—whether it’s apparel, drinkware, or party favors—is personalized, it takes significant time to design, produce, and ensure quality for every order. Unlike mass production, there’s no “one size fits all,” and the attention to detail can’t be rushed. Read more>>

Naomi Nelson

One of the biggest challenges to profitability in fashion—especially for a brand focused on upcycling—is finding a way to stay financially sustainable without compromising ethics. Fast fashion profits from cutting corners, producing in bulk, and prioritizing speed over responsibility, but when each piece is hand-painted, costs naturally rise. There’s a constant pressure to scale or simplify the process in ways that go against the values behind the work. Profitability becomes a balancing act: trying to survive in a system designed for disposability while staying committed to a slower, more intentional way of creating. Read more>>

Abby Hubert

Almost every photographer in my area has a second job to support themselves. There are only so many weddings and family photo shoots that happen in smaller rural areas like the town I live in, and there are about twelve part-time photographers competing for them. I started watching the photography industry about ten years ago and I noticed a pattern of photographers starting out and building their business for a few years, just as they become very talented they often disappear all of the sudden. I wanted to really understand the industry challenges as I prepared to pursue professional photography. Read more>>

Ben

The biggest challenge I’ve faced is putting together a feature film. A project I’ve been working on since 2019 is a movie titled Van Dragonsing. What took me so long to figure out what the story was going to be was finding the right story and script, and there was some red tape here. There were some crazy experiences of mine I went through during those five years plus we had the COVID19 pandemic, and once Retro Podcast grew I was able to come back to my project I started and find the story that was the right fit. Read more>>