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.

Arie Kirsch

We’ve been running Brighter Days Coffee truck since December of 2019 and at the time we were the only full-service coffee truck in our city. In the last year or two we have seen a massive increase in the “trendy” coffee truck concept and our city now has at least 8-10 new coffee trucks on the scene. I think one of the major misconceptions that we hear quite often is that this is a cute, trendy and highly profitable business model with an easy start up, when that is simply not the case. Read more>>

Rebecca Otis

I think the biggest profitability challenge I face as a content creator and social media manager is constantly having to prove how important a great social media presence and great marketing, more generally, are. You’d think in 2024 most people would understand that social media is more than just selfies and silly dances; it’s, in fact, a tool that you can use FOR FREE to reach and connect with new customers and clients. You’d think, but I’ve run into more than a few who just don’t understand the importance. Read more>>

Marcelino Rose

The industry is gear towards celebrity and status is it profitable yes! but, you have to find different ways and different motives to the game to achieve and profit. Is it challenging? yes! but anything worth having is challenging! The biggest challenge to profitable margin. In the industry is Building relationships in a game that’s made to chew you up and spit you out. My personal story of it being challenging is the start up. You gotta find what your motive is to doing what you do! and stay consistent, in doing what you set out to do. Read more>>

Meng Li

There are several challenges to profitability for the ecommerce industry, but I think the rising costs of user acquisition is the biggest driver of profitability concerns. Advertising costs on online platforms like Meta and Google have gotten more expensive over the past few years. With the changes that Apple has made to iOS, it’s gotten more challenging to target the right potential customers. On top of that, it’s an election year, which makes digital advertising costs even more expensive, because of the extra amount of spend that political campaigns are spending. Read more>>

Adalgisa Mullano Fernández

The marketing industry is facing a significant profitability challenge, mainly because companies and brands often prioritize low costs over experience, natural skills, and deep industry knowledge. In the pursuit of saving money, businesses sometimes undervalue the expertise that marketing professionals bring to the table, compromising the work’s quality and impact. This trend is further exacerbated by the proliferation of tools—especially AI. The widespread availability of these tools gives the illusion that professional marketing services are easily replicable or can be done faster and cheaper. It’s common to hear the argument that paying a fair price to an agency or individual is no longer necessary because “AI can do the job.” Read more>>