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.

Brian Paek

I would say the biggest challenge is getting people through the door and buying pre-sale tickets. I’m not sure why, but Atlanta does not buy pre-sale tickets unless there is a big artist/DJ they want to see. This makes it hard for local event planners to throw events as there is no way to know how many guests to expect. When I first started doing InvAsian, it was always such a huge worry wondering how many people would actually come to the event and if we had to cancel because there was not enough pre-sales. Thankfully, most of our audience buys tickets the week of the event so we never had to cancel a show and hope we never have to So please support all your local event planners by buying pre-sale tickets!! It is the only way for us to compete with the big event coordinators !! Read more>>

Matt Morriss

There was a time not long ago when craft breweries were popping up like mushrooms, and people were flocking to them all. If it was “craft” and “local”, it would sell. But as more and more brewery options arose, quality started becoming a bigger issue– it wasn’t enough just to be local, now you also had to be good– and you had to have enough marketing budget to attract attention over all the competition. But while market saturation has made operating profitably more difficult, a new challenge is emerging which may prove to be a threat to even well-established and well-regarded breweries, and that is relevance. The whims and desires of the public can shift in a heartbeat, and breweries that fail to innovate or evolve to meet changing demands will inevitably see their sales start to fall. Are craft breweries still relevant to an audience who has begun to favor other beverages besides beer? It’s our job to prove that we still can be. Read more>>

Amber Garcia

Time! Most people do not realize the time it takes to complete a custom order of cookies from beginning to end. From receiving the order request, corresponding with the client about their vision to mixing, rolling, cutting and baking the dough to mixing icing and decorating for hours to photographing and packaging the final product. When it’s all said and done you are looking at at least 2-3 days of work. Additionally, the time it takes to complete each order definitely puts limitations on the amount of orders you can accept each week as a small business with only one or two employees. It is so important to pay yourself what your time is worth while still keeping your prices reasonable enough for clients to pay for your services.  Read more>>

Kazeem Lawal

The biggest challenge to profitability in the short-term rental business? Hands down, it’s the balancing act between overhead cost and revenue. Take the property itself—maintenance, utilities, insurance—they all stack up fast. And then there’s taxes, which can really cut into margins. We maintain a consistent 90% occupancy every month, but getting there requires a serious upfront investment, followed by ongoing monthly expenses to keep everything in tip-top shape. After Hurricane Beryl rolled through the city of Houston, two of my properties suffered damage, and while insurance covered some, I still had to foot the bill for part of the repairs. It was a reminder that no matter how well you plan, unexpected challenges can hit your bottom line. Read more>>

Kayos

I believe one of the biggest challenges with the current music industry especially for independent artists has to be the lack of probability from streaming services. Coming from an Independent Artist it’s definitely frustrating and challenging to be successful because you will almost need a million streams just to make a few thousand dollars, that would probably only cover the expenses of creating a project. I definitely hope that Congress with the help of Music Executives can somehow figure out a better way for artists to achieve some level of personal financial success when dealing with streaming. Read more>>

Indiana Madrid

One of the biggest challenges to profitability in the beauty and wellness industry is managing overhead costs while maintaining high-quality service and products. Rent, utilities, equipment, and product expenses can quickly add up, especially for small, independently owned spas like M Spa. Additionally, demand for beauty treatments can fluctuate, as they are often seen as a luxury, leading to inconsistent revenue streams. For example, at M Spa, construction delays significantly impacted profitability. The longer-than-expected buildout postponed our grand opening, preventing us from generating revenue while still incurring operational costs like marketing and staffing. Offering top-tier products like Advanced Rejuvenating Concepts and Allergen requires upfront investment, but it’s essential for brand integrity and client satisfaction. Read more>>

Lisa I. Perez

Appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken. Uprooting my family to move from Orlando to Oklahoma felt like a huge risk. At the time, I was a single-mother in my mid-twenties and knew I needed to keep climbing the corporate ladder to provide the life I wanted for my children. So, after graduating college, I accepted the promotion that would move me away from my support system and halfway across the country. I’ll never forget packing our things or the flight there. I was so nervous about making such a huge move on my own with my kids in tow. As risky as it felt at times, I knew it was a step forward for us and an opportunity I had to take.  Read more>>

Lynh Macias

One of the biggest challenges to profitability is the ability to be taken seriously. As a fiber artist (crochet) I find myself constantly having to defend the thought process behind pricing my work. Crochet is as skill that is seen as a hobby and people tend to feel entitled to your craft. When I go to events I find people that can’t afford my items to downplay what I create by telling me how they know at least five people that also crochet. What people don’t understand, just like other products scaled from luxury to affordable the manufacture has to account for all cost that go into making the products for me one of the most important machines that I must maintain in order to do my craft for the foreseeable future are my hands. Just like any machine hands have a limited life span and unlike machines I can’t show up to a parts store to get replacements. For most people that look at crochet they might just look at it as a toy or a piece of clothing, but for the individual working on it its hours of their lives and health. Read more>>

Aarti Bhatnagar

A problem I most commonly see in the coaching world is making this career sustainable for many years. Coaching is deeply needed in the world and unfortunately, even the best coaches end up shutting down their services OR supplementing their offerings by getting full-time jobs to make ends meet. The business of coaching is not emphasized nearly enough in this industry. Read more>>

Heath Rackham

I found in my time doing real estate photography, which is my primary money maker for my business, that when the market is moving and booming money tends to roll in quite easily. The demand is high and there is always new homes to shoot. As long as the quality of your work and service is high you have a steady stream of clients and jobs. However, the biggest challenge, is when the housing market stalls or slows down. In recent years with the housing markets adjustments, interest rates going up, and prices still sky high, the market has ground to a snail’s pace. I’ve watched as many of my clients (realtors) have moved away from real estate and gone into or returned to other sectors of work. Read more>>