Have you ever had a friend look at a business and randomly throw out numbers that made it seem like that business owner must be making serious bank? We’ve experienced that many times, and know from conversations with operators and owners in those industries that their real profitability is often far, far less. The reason is often that there are unique challenges to profitability in almost every industry and so we wanted to create a space for entrepreneurs from across industries and markets to discuss the challenges to profitability in their industries.

Cyndie Patri

I think the biggest challenge is fellow photographers not charging enough for their talent and time. There is this notion that taking pictures is just clicking a button and a lot of photographers starting up don’t feel comfortable asking for a livable wage. A lot of these emerging photographers charge as little as possible, and then sadly cannot sustain their business for long. I would love for all of us to take into account all the work that is running a photography business; and instead of trying to charge very little to get customers, focus on service. The better service we give, the happier our clients will be. Read more>>

Eduardo Rutilo Barrita

We officially launched in November 2019, three months before the pandemic started so from there we had a hard start. Our plan was to participate in pop-up shows and art fairs, but everything started to cancel at that time. We shifted our focus to online, which also had challenges, when buying clothes and accessories a lot of people like to do it in person, so they can try on the garments and see how they look on them. Read more>>

KaSandra Mitchell

I’m a full-time commercial photographer that has served small businesses for nearly five years. With photo gear becoming more accessible to more people and an increasing demand for strong visuals in an increasingly hyper-connected world, photographers are in no short supply. Most of them just have no idea how to price their services for profit. Read more>>

Macey Haley

I think one of the biggest challenges to profitability in the handmade goods industry is that people are accustomed to paying for cheap and undervalued labor. People are used to businesses trying to get them the best deal on a product, rather than paying employees fairly and using overseas labor to cut production costs. This makes it extremely difficult to produce quality goods at a price people are willing to pay. Read more>>

Karen Kaiser

Wow where you even begin here. Photographers and other business owners are starting to see their businesses be taken over by social media algorithms which is so difficult. Social media is the biggest way to get your work seen but now you have to follow all these tricky algorithms and make reels instead of post your art in order to be seen. You have to use the right hashtags, the most trending audios, it’s so time consuming. And honestly it can be quite disheartening. Read more>>

cassandra boryszak

I believe the biggest challenge to profitability in my industry is often the mindset of the creative business owner. Many either feel guilty about charging for something they enjoy doing, or don’t ever run their numbers to see what it costs them to perform the services they offer and actually pay themselves a salary. I know, because I did it for many years. Read more>>

Natalie Whitaker

In general— service pricing. I come from a small town where most people very salon has the same pricing. Sounds good, but in hindsight I never realized that that isn’t the exact or right thing to be doing. While you need to be competitive, you also need to figure out the formula as to what make sense for yourself, your business and what your mission is. One size does not fit all (and never will). When I moved away, I slowly have realized that there is a science to profitability and learning about numbers is so important. It will make or break you, your business, etc. Read more>>

Rhea Johnson

It would definitely be the market sky rocketing the way it is. The higher interest rates are, the less clientele we see coming through the door. If people don’t have the money to buy houses then we don’t have as many closings. Our base is African Americans even though we open our doors to serve all. The real estate industry is heavily segregated. In most instances we only see Black realtors and home buyers coming through the door. Read more>>

Chelsea Whittington

As Public Relations professionals, it is critical that we continue to build our network and reach in order to best serve our clients. One of the most innovative things I’ve done thus far is to transform my list of contacts from previously held positions and social media connections into a massive database for email marketing. It’s amazing how many people we connect with via email, social media, networking events, etc. I began corralling my contacts into one central location several years ago. What started as a database of 6,000 people has ballooned to almost 40,000 and still growing. Read more>>

Sam Saideman

During the pandemic our backs were against the wall. Management clients weren’t touring and our Project management division was dealing with marketing clients needing to pause campaigns to make sure they could handle their bills, etc. I promised my team that no matter what jobs were safe and we’d figure it out. This created a team like we’d never seen it. A team of dreamers collectively trying to figure it out. Through some personal experiences, we had seen the low-level work coming out of the creator economy and knew we could apply our art first mentality to working in the space. Read more>>

Brittany Curry

Three highly innovative ways graphics have been used: In the fall of 2016 a woman in Louisville, Kentucky was having a hard time getting her disability care coordinators to hear her voice and honor her wishes to live in her own apartment in a location close to her brother. Her day service provider invited me to come conduct a visioning session centered around questions like “What would a good home look like? What would a good week look like?” Read more>>

Natasha Carter

The most innovative thing I have done in my career is to create a women’s support group for post-partum women that meets at my photography studio twice a month. I began to notice a need for new mothers who came in for the newborn portraits to have a need to connect to other new mothers. I created a group and I bring in therapists, specialists and other guest speakers who can talk to these women. Read more>>

Ami Feller

We struggle in the construction industry to find laborers who are willing and able to do hands on work. While roofing has a very low barrier to entry compared to HVAC, plumbing and electrical contractors, we still struggle to find workers. Funny enough though, we automatically discount about 50% of our workforce – women. In the roofing industry, only .5% of all laborers are female! Read more>>

Afroja K

With a purely legal background, I’ve been trying to show the intersections of fashion, inclusion and human rights including climate justice. From this perspective, I’ve founded the first ever digital and web 3 modest fashion startup based in London, UK. As a pioneer brand, Fashion Cults has introduced the new and huge opportunities in digital and sustainable fashion, NFTs, Metaverse, blockchain, gaming and modest fashion. While I’m going to rebrand my company, I’ve already proved my work and values in my web 3 community. It’s quite a remarkable step in my entrepreneurship journey! Read more>>

Daniel Villarreal

Before I started my career as a photographer, I was hired at a local law firm. My position as a photographer and videographer (along with taking college courses) helped me build my skills to use in my projects. Some photographers start photographing their family members or friends to gain experience, but I chose to join a law firm. The legal world was far from what I am accustomed to, so I had to find a way to adjust to a professional setting while also getting as creative as I could. Read more>>

Maureen Seeba

I’ve worked extremely hard as an artist, but there are times when it totally pays off. One of the nicest things anyone ever did for me was just after I got my first website, I was contacted by a stranger from Australia, who said she found my work online. She told me she and her husband were in the process of building a large house on the Queensland coast, where the sunsets were spectacular from every room. She told me a couple of pieces she’d seen online and sent room sizes, photos of the house. Read more>>

Tynecia Estrada

The kindest thing someone has done for me is to come alongside me when my father went to prison and was sentenced to the death penalty. I had a village of family members and coaches that encouraged me, spoke life into me as well as spent intentional time with me. It’s important for a child that has experienced parental incarceration to have caring and supportive adults to make them feel that they are loved and valuable. This is why God lead me to create Girls Breaking Chains, Inc. We want every girl to know that God has a purpose and calling upon their life and they are fearfully and wonderfully made. Read more>>

Jacob Dsouza

In August of 2022, Chantal Kreviazuk pulled me on stage at Jackson Triggs winery in Niagara on the Lake to perform my original song “Nights in California”. She had seen the song on Facebook a year prior and reached out to let me know that she loved it. When I heard she was playing nearby, my manager Danny Lamb had the idea to reach out to Chantal to see if it’d be possible for me to share the stage with her for this one song. Read more>>

Violeta Witte

I have very kind customers that even drive far to meet or pick up their orders from my home, that means a lot to me, I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. I’m very grateful with each of them. Read more>>

Tom Letson

Well I’ve had a lot of kindness sent my way over the years, so it’s hard to narrow it down. However, since this interview is relating to my work as musician, and since my work as a musician started out as a hitchhiking, train hopping, busker, there’s one story that comes to mind. Let’s see if I can paint a little backstory to it… Read more>>

Nicole Savageau

This past March I broke my leg quite badly (my tibia was sticking out of my skin!). I am a single woman so when something like this happens you start to strategize about logistics and how you move forward on your own. I was completely blown away by the immense kindness of my family and friends. My parents both took turns flying into town to take care of me (I was not able to walk for 6 weeks), despite having busy jobs and lives themselves. My friends also surrounded me with so much love and support. They delivered meals almost every day, and kept me company. Read more>>

Akil Mccoy

When Megan Thee Stallion asked me to be her MUA. Without even touching her face. The first day I met her and she opened so many doors for me to continue to make money forever in the field I chose. Read more>>

Errica Snelling

Starting with any creative venture can feel intimidating — what if no one reads, listens, watches, etc. When I began blogging, I definitely felt that, but the response was incredible. People I hadn’t spoken to since high school (and that I wouldn’t have even called myself super close with back then) were reaching out to me to tell me how proud they were that I was putting myself out there. I think anyone taking the time out to send a message, screenshot and share my This or That Thursdays, or sharing my content with their friends is an amazing act of kindness. Read more>>

Sacred Amos

I recently gave birth to my third child. At the moment of writing this it has been 3 weeks since my delivery. The delivery itself was very complicated, scary, overwhelming and at the same time such a blessing. The baby and I almost didn’t make it, having that experience can be draining and shape your present perspective. My recovery has been tiresome, at times overwhelming and it has taken a lot of work on my part to get some rest, relax and heal. I couldn’t cook for two weeks. Read more>>

Carolina Torres

Being a custom cake maker and designer racing against big box stores and franchise bakeries it’s a whole challenge. The time I pour on every order will never be comparable with a mass produced cake. But the biggest challenge is how can you put price to your creativity and the time it takes? estimate the baking time it’s easy, but how to quote the time you dedicate to answer questions, consultings, research, think… Read more>>