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.

Bretta Thompson

One of the biggest challenges to profitability in the wedding industry is the misconception that what we do is simple or the same for everyone. Many people see the final result, a beautiful wedding day, and assume it was easy to make happen. What they do not see are the hours of planning, communication, travel, writing, and emotional energy that go into each event. Read more>>

Mikki Auld

While owning a salon can be extremely profitable, it takes a lot of strategy to get there. The overheads in running a hair salon business are huge – from rent, insurances, to product costs, staff wages, salon software, client amenities and ongoing education, the list really is endless. I think many underestimate how quickly things add up behind the scenes when running a business and many in my industry go into salon ownership before having a clear understanding of what it is they’re signing up for. Read more>>

Daniel Smith-O’Donnell

We are very new to the 3D printing business, one of the things that I noticed right away how hard it was to balance the cost of making products and the price of them on our websites. We’ve taken inspiration from some of the bigger online retailers and offer free shipping on most of our products. This helps us a lot because it stands out more to potential customers as well as helps us keep a competitive pricing. It also can be challenging because the most popular 3D printed items that people like to buy are very over saturated especially in the online space. We’ve taken more of an outside the box approach and sell more niche items that you usually wouldn’t find on the front page of Etsy or Shopify.  Read more>>

Faith Wheat

As an artist, my profit grows from my ability to be creative. I’m constantly trying to sketch and learn different art techniques, so I can turn around and create new and better art prints, stickers, bookmarks and merch for my shop. Sometimes, I hit a creative block though. It might be that I just don’t want to do art, or it could be that I’m just not feeling inspired. Before I was a business owner, art block didn’t really affect me. If I didn’t want to create, I just didn’t. Now that I have a business that rides on my creativity, it’s a lot more scary having art block. Read more>>

Benny Blue

As a stand up comedian, the economics of the industry have largely remained unchanged for decades. Pay rates for hosting, featuring, and in some cases headlining comedians have stayed stagnant and often times, traveling comedians will lose money or break even at best. Read more>>

Chelsea Singh

Now for instance the times we’re living in, families are spending less money on their hair and more money on experiences or saving etc. As pricing goes up around us people cut costs and what’s the first thing to go? Luxury services. As a business owner I have single handedly seen the fluctuations where people are spreading their finances a little thinner than they were a year ago and therefore spending less in the salons. They’ll push their hair color an extra month or two, go with a haircut or a polish change or even go without the hair all together. Unfortunately politics have played such a huge role in our industry that it’s currently facing many challenges that will make the future of our industry more difficult to profit from. Read more>>

Bunny Hedaya

There are some influencers that have millions of followers but don’t make any money on social media and then there’s influencers who have 100,000 followers and make over $1 million a year. The difference is the way that you market yourself and the type of content that you post. If a brand can’t see how their content would fit in your every day ✨Style then they’re much less likely to reach out to you. At the end of the day, controversial or more shocking things gets views but it’s similar to a work environment that if you don’t post professional content, don’t expect a professional salary. Read more>>

Erin Alexander Keefer

The absolute largest challenge is the misinformation about how much it costs to purchase wedding invitations. Couples look online and see photos of these gorgeous wedding suites with all of the trimmings within an article that says invitations cost a few hundred dollars. Can they? Yes, but you’re not going to get that from a professional, even Minted can’t get you in that price range. Read more>>