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.
Heather Harris
Printing a planner isn’t as easy as you’d think, especially when you want to include all of the bells & whistles the most popular planners of today include — tabbed pages, pockets on the inside of the covers, and the perfect color gold coil, one that’s not too yellow or too brassy, but a beautiful true gold. Read More>>
Matthew Tyciak
The biggest challenge in the music industry is gate keeping. Most artist that have the sauce try to turn that sauce into profit without just sharing knowledge that could help other artist be successful like them. It’s crazy how competitive an industry that doesn’t really need competition is, there are too many people in this world and too many ways to get money for people to be gate keeping. Everyone knows that knowledge is power and bigger artist like to use that as leverage. Read More>>
Ben Irving
The biggest challenge to profitability in the photography industry is a combination of factors. Here are some that in my opinion are the most significant. Market saturation and competition. Almost anyone with a decent camera and some basic skills can call themselves a photographer. This leads to a highly competitive market especially in popular genres such as weddings and portraits. Read More>>
Caitlin Mccarthy
Two of the biggest internal factors that affect profitability is that the luxury slumber party industry is very time and inventory intensive. It takes a great deal of time to source inventory, test it for quality, maintain it, sanitize it, and keep track of all of the moving pieces/items. I have tens of thousands of items in my inventory at any given time to meet the demands of over 40 slumber party themes and all of our add on services. Read More>>
Nadja Cox
The biggest challenge in the photography industry when it comes to becoming profitable is that people often overlook small businesses with fewer followers or a smaller social presence. Instead, they pay more for someone based on their name or brand. While this approach works in some entrepreneurial fields, photography should be more about talent and finding the right person to bring a vision to life, rather than focusing on follower count or notoriety. Read More>>
Sheryland Neal
The biggest challenge to profitability in my industry is accessibility to quality teachers. there are so many talented dancers in the world but not all have access to thousands of dollars in flights, accommodations, and time away from work or school to train with masters where they live. And if these experts are teaching on tour, not all of the dancers have the ability to travel to a local workshop where they are. Its really a shame. A little guidance can go a long way toward building as a professional artist. Read More>>
Jay Melone
Service businesses, especially expert-led consultancies, coaching practices, and agencies, often struggle because their revenue is tied directly to their time. They take on highly customized projects that require deep expertise and hands-on involvement, which limits how much they can grow. It’s easy to assume that a successful consultancy is highly profitable because of its high-ticket services, but behind the scenes, there are bottlenecks—client acquisition is unpredictable, sales cycles are long, and margins can be razor-thin due to the labor-intensive nature of delivery. Read More>>