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.

Matt Hildreth

Let me start off by saying this is just my opinion. I could be wrong. But from what I observe and the interactions I’ve had with companies, I believe social media and the “influencer” world has made it more difficult to succeed in my industry. Read more>> 

Toni DeBiasi

Getting work out there and being seen by the right demographic. My work falls into a specific niche and so it requires extra marketing work which as an artist isn’t my strong point and I know many artists that have this same problem. Read more>>

Ericka Davis

As a wedding officiant I often here- oh I can get my brother/Aunt/Cousin to do or for travel- oh I can get look up prices myself. All of which are true however what they are both lacking is the true customer experience. Read more>>

Courtney Ramos

I feel as though there are many challenges to profitability in our industry, but the two main ones would be keeping up with rising costs of overhead/supplies, and also charging our worth. Read more>>

Briana Johnson

Let’s talk cake. When I started baking, I wasn’t making any money from my cakes. I was being told, “that’s expensive” or “I’ll find someone else who can make it cheaper”. Read more>>

Angela Valentino

I think the biggest challenge in the industry where I work is competition. My job is 100% competition. I strongly believe that New York, the city where I live, generally leads people to be competitive but because this is the reality New York is a competitive city. Each goal is competition. Read more>>