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.

Subra Doyle

Being a working musician and recording artist in 2025 requires a tremendous amount of creativity, determination and innovation to keep going. In a world where many don’t buy physical music and streaming pays fractions of pennies, it takes a lot of adaptability to progress. Read more>>

Dawn Spicer & Mandi Ballard

Absolutely — from the outside, running an antique shop like MD Exchange in Macon, Georgia might seem like a dream business: beautiful vintage goods, curated displays, loyal customers, and the charm of working with one-of-a-kind finds. But profitability in this industry comes with unique and persistent challenges. Read more>>

Donna Johnson

The first factor that makes profitability for my small business challenging is that the market is saturated with my products. When I first started the business, it was the opposite. When Covid came to town working from home or being unemployed sparked a fire under so many to start finding crafts they could make, master and sell. A popular app millions of people watched enabled them an opportunity to sell their products. Read more>>

Rain Carrington

There have been many challenges as a romance writer in the MM community. The latest and most worrying, however, is AI.  Read more>>

Kristin Steinke

Yes, there are a lot of assumptions about profitability when it comes to a creative, freelance career.

As a new surface design artist, one of the biggest challenges is the constant chicken-or-egg game: companies often want to see a massive social media following before they’ll consider licensing your work — but building that kind of following organically is nearly impossible without already having licensed work out in the world. It’s maddening. Read more>>

Lynn Berry

Having a steady clientele any where is a challenge, but especially in Las Vegas because it is such a transient place. In the last year and a half I have had 12 clients move to other states. That has definitely slowed business down. The state of our economy hasn’t helped either. I have had clients loose jobs had cuts in hours or pay and in turn they are on a tighter budget and aren’t spending money on luxury services. It is a challenge to find the balance between maintaining a profitable business and offering affordable services for all my clients. Read more>>