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.

Tiera Turner

The world will always need graphic designers, but only to a certain ability. That’s the biggest challenge for freelance designers now days, if you ask me. There are so many cookie cutter design sites where one could easily “brand themselves”. The new generation knows the basics of graphic design, so for them to indulge in actually paying for a service it has to be showcased as an experience. We’ve shifted from being service providers to being experience creators. Read more>>

Angela Ramirez

The biggest challenge to profitability in being a professional pet sitter right now is dependent on the current economy. Professional pet sitting is a luxury service, meaning that pet owners are willing to pay someone to live in their home and care for their pets. Rather than asking a friend, family member, or neighbor to check in on their pet’s my clients are willing to pay for a premium service. With inflation being at its highest right now, everyone is looking at ways to stretch their money, understandably so. This may mean that some are not taking as many vacations as they would or are finding ways to take their pet’s with them. Read more>>

Hannah Smith

One thing I love in photography is that the entry point is low; often, with as little as a few hundred dollars, someone can purchase a camera and have the foundational components of a business. I believe this is a business that creates opportunity for historically disenfranchised identities, such as women and BIPOC. The challenge I see with this (and experienced myself, when I first started my business) is that as the market is flooded with lots of photographers who have not been afforded access to business education, Read more>>

Benny Domino

The Savou brand has evolved tremendously over the years. When I began designing, I would shop fabric stores to choose material & patterns and construct garments myself. The profit margin was greater but the reach and inventory was limited. Now, the brand is largely hinged on the drop shipping model; relieving me of inventory limits and offers the freedom to design things I never could before like shoes and duffle bags. Read more>>

Cydney Gladney

I would say one of the biggest challenges of profitability in this industry is the idea that you have to suffer before you succeed. Unfortunately it hasn’t always been easy for everyone in the industry to make a living doing hair full time and it is still a struggle. The idea with a lot of the generation above me in the hair world is that you have to work extra hours, work weekends, sacrifice time with your family, and do things for free for a few years before you start seeing profit and building clientele. Read more>>

Larissa Palos

The biggest challenge to profitability in this business is keeping up with the cost of ingredients. Everything is going up including flower, sugar, cocoa powder, butter, eggs, etc. Butter in particular has increased by double the price! Having to raise your price is already hard let alone trying to make a profit since the main ingredient is butter in most recipes. I will never sacrifice the quality over cost. I am very thankful that most of my clients understand where I am coming from when ordering and know I’m not just raising the prices just because. Read more>>

Steven Moore

The hardest challenge of finding profitability as a handyman is figuring out the middle ground of self-value when comparing skill level, speed, and quality of work; all while not wasting other peoples’ time or money. As your skill level increases, your proficiency will increase and generally speeds up the process of most jobs. This equates to increased prices and profitability. Read more>>

Miazza Walker

The biggest challenge I face with profitability is getting people from the outside looking in to understand why I charge what I charge. I’ve noticed that a lot of people do not understand how much time it takes to create just one garment as well as how expensive the yarn can be. Read more>>

Kareem Lamb

Now that the 2nd amendment has been approved there has been a great infestation of Firearms instructors who really lack the training and knowledge to instruct and certified people to carry arms. They are just taking a 5 hour class and becoming state instructors. In my opinion the training therefore is watered down when you have non qualified instructors who lack real knowledge to train Read more>>

Bethany Meyers

Being seen does not always equal sales. In my world of small business owners we are expected to produce social media, website and in person content for our company’s. We not only create our products which in themselves require alot of time and money but then we have to advertise. I’ve learned the hard way that you can post on every apps you have, pay for their ads, pay to have your Etsy appear on the top of everyone’s pages and still not see a huge amount of sales. Read more>>

Amy Parker-Tunnell

The largest problem with growing in this business, is the amount paid to company’s to provide trustworthy, reliable, home care. It does not provide a way to profit as the funds required to pay and receive the proper care is way too low. I pay a good rate to caregivers, and after that, I am able to pay bills. I am grateful that I can pay bills, but it makes it very hard to grow. The job market is extremely competitive, and being a small company, I have limitations that larger companies don’t have. Read more>>

Tim and Jewell Winn

The hospitality industry suffered greatly during the pandemic and is still struggling to come back. For a small disadvantaged business, we got hit the hardest. Staffing has been our biggest challenge. It is very difficult to get qualified staff and when we do hire them, they don’t stay long. We’ve been in this business since 1997 and never experienced this level of instability. We have had to keep raising salaries to keep up with larger competitors and that eats into tone profits. Customers expectations sometimes exceed our capacity but we push forward in excellence. We have a motto that says “it’s always better on the lake”. We have to go over and above to prove that it’s true. Read more>>

Audra Allen

The biggest challenge to profitability in the dance industry is the ‘starving artist’ mentality. It boils down to mindset. From the first years in dance class, the message is always along the lines of “yes, you can pursue dance for your career, but don’t expect to make a lot of money”. Similar messages include “be grateful for whatever dance opportunities you get because there aren’t many are you are replaceable”. Read more>>

Nicole Thomas

As a self published author profitability is a huge issue. Money makes the world go round as they say, and for those of who are independently published it is a source of great stress. Without the backing of a traditional publishing company, we are in charge of marketing, advertising, publicity and so much more. Every sale and dollar we make is that much more appreciated because we have to work so much harder for it. I constantly remind myself that it only takes one person, the right person, to see my work, make a purchase and change my life. Read more>>