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.

Haley Vick

I think the biggest challenge to profitability in my industry is that the average price of private music lessons hasn’t increased with inflation over the past 50 or so years. In 1970 when minimum wage in Austin, TX was $1.60 per hour the average price of an hour long private music lesson was about $30 per hour. Fast forward to 2022 when minimum wage in Austin, TX is $15 per hour and the average price of an hour long private music lesson is $60 per hour. Minimum wage in Austin, TX went up 837.5% but the average cost of a private music lesson only increased by 100%. Read more>>

Elizabeth Ward

One of the biggest challenges to profitability in the music industry is that few people are willing to pay what a musician is really worth. The industry standard pay for a musician at your typical ‘cover gig’ establishment has been the same for decades. It seems that as long as we continue to settle for the typical pay – it will remain the same. Another issue that I tend to encounter is either musicians under charging themselves in fear of rejection of their price is too high, or clients not wanting to pay what a musician is actually worth when they do charge what they’re worth. Most professional musicians that I know can come to a venue fully equipped with a complete sound system and sometimes other musicians to accompany them. Read more>>

Mercedes Gavazzi

My biggest challenge is to sell my art. My own products. Is hard to be an artist and to share what you express. Sometimes is like open heart surgery and people are looking inside you. But I feel like as long as you are authentic and work hard to achieve your vision. Someone will see it. Read more>>

Christopher Mitchell

One of the hugest issues with profitability in the food service industry is people not being aware of food costs, labor, and tipping. Especially now going into what is basically a recession, everything is more expensive for instance the average grocery trip may cost you roughly four hundred and assume that’s for a family of three. Now multiply that by ten that’s thirty different mouths to fed its not cheap, It becomes a hassle because from the food cost alone a lot of clients assumes that part of your ay and truthfully its not it hasn’t even covered our labor yet. That’s why a lot of chefs in the food service market have things like a booking fee that fee is guaranteed income we know well receive regardless for lack of understanding from the outside in. Read more>>

Matt Hicks

There are many factors that challenge our profitibility as a company. Rising costs for materials and apparel, rising minimum wage, short staff, expensive rent, high taxes in California, and employee worker’s compensation have all eaten the profitability potential of small business. Materials are now double of what they were before Covid, and now t-shirts have gone up 20-40%. Add the minimum wage of at least 20 per hour per employee along with employee tax and we have a recipe for disaster. We are all for compensating our employees with most we can, but our hands get tied with all the high bills. Rent is outrageous in Southern California as well. Read more>>

Diana Gonzalez

One of the BIGGEST challenges I’ve encountered throughout the years I’ve been in business has been the competition. At first that made me feel like I didn’t had a chance to make it in the retail/fashion industry. However, I shook it off and focused on the end goal which was fullfiling my dreams and engaging with my ladies giving them the encouragement to get out of their comfort zone by dropping the latest fashionable jewelry trends. Read more>>