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.

Will Shuff

The restaurant industry is very challenging and profit margins are thin in good times. The current economic climate and changes in consumer behavior post pandemic have created an almost impossible situation for small businesses not just restaurants. All of our costs have increased while volume is down. Food costs, labor, and maintenance/repair costs have skyrocketed with no relief in sight. Prices like to go up but not come down. Read more>>

Jamie Senn

Photography might seem like easy money, but there are hidden challenges that make profitability tough. The equipment is expensive to buy and maintain, and there are ongoing costs for editing software, maintaining a client closet, and the expense of driving to various locations. A lot of time also goes into planning sessions, editing photos, and managing the business behind the scenes. Work can be seasonal, with demand peaking around the holidays, making it hard to have steady income year-round. On top of that, many people don’t realize how much effort and skill goes into professional photography, so they compare it to cheaper options without understanding the value. Balancing these costs, educating clients, and delivering high-quality results are some of the biggest challenges. Read more>>

Sarah Mcconnell Mcconnell

When you work in the wedding world as a wedding vendor, it is easy to share the usefulness of the product you’re selling–you might offer a bride her dream attire, stock the premium linens that all the big venues prefer to use, or bake the most beautiful, tasty cake that melts in your mouth. However, being a wedding planner is a much harder role to sell, as you in a way are presenting yourself as the product, with no tangible evidence of what you are capable of prior to making bookings. I have found this to be true in my own experience, as I have worked hard to build my business organically, using social media as the propellent for getting my business in the mouths of the respected wedding vendors in my area. Read more>>

Anaya Roy

The fashion modeling industry can seem glamorous and lucrative from the outside, but profitability is often a significant challenge for several reasons:

1. The Prevalence of Unpaid or Underpaid Work

Many opportunities in the early stages of a modeling career are unpaid or compensated with “exposure.” For example, new models often participate in test shoots or fashion shows that don’t pay, hoping these gigs will lead to paid jobs. A personal experience: When I started, I traveled to multiple castings and worked long hours for free, only to be told, “This will look great in your portfolio.” Read more>>

Renata Moniz

When we think about profitability in the brazilian creator economy we have to remember that challenges may differ depending on social class. But I would certainly say that one of the main troubles – that surfaces any social class – is the fact that many creators lead a double journey at work. Read more>>

Alison Giese

I am an interior designer, and founded a boutique interior design firm ten years ago. Many people may assume that because interior design is a luxury service, that providing the service to a high-end clientele means it is a profitable business. I can emphatically say that is not the case! In my experience, the biggest challenge to profitability in the interior design industry is mindset. Every designer brings a money mindset or story to the table, and depending on that, they may find it difficult to price their services in a way that reflects the value of their time and expertise. Designers may doubt their skills, or have had clients push back on rates in the past, both of which can make them shy away from pricing their services in a way that is profitable. Read more>>

Krystal Hernandez

The biggest challenge to profitability in the photography industry is the highly competitive market and the difficulty of establishing a client base. Photography is often perceived as a lucrative business from the outside, but the reality is that success depends on much more than just taking beautiful images. It requires significant effort to build trust, form connections, and stand out among many other talented photographers. Read more>>

Amy Sems

The biggest challenge I face in profitability is working in an oversaturated market. There are a lot of extremely talented music creators out there, so the competition is fierce. It’s also an industry where “who you know” really does make a difference, so another key factor is building relationships that are authentic and mutually beneficial. Read more>>

Theresa Rorabaugh

One of the biggest challenges to owning a business in the animal industry is profitability. It is just an understood fact that running out of money is part of the journey. This is a career that you are successful in if you have a passion or gift to communicate & understand animals – how they think when it comes to keeping them from injuries, how they react to threatening situations, their physical needs and how that is connected to weather, stress and their environment, etc. You learn that it is more about listening to them and their needs rather than your own daily work plan. You have to be a humble person. Their needs come first. There has to be an extreme work ethic that comes passion – to go above and beyond their health & mental requiremements as well as keeping their owners happy. However, that passion can turn out to also be a negative trait as it will have you wanting to do your job whether you are getting paid enough or even for it at all. Read more>>

Melissa Herrera

I mostly used writing as an outlet in my youth. I didn’t take it seriously until I hit 40. As a SAHM of 3, writing for profit was out of the question. The 90s hid moms away with no forms of social media contacts like today. It felt like a lonely place to be. When I realized I could use social media to have more writing opportunities, the world opened up to me. I started a blog in the aughts and went on to column writing and eventually wrote two books. Read more>>

Zoilita Grant

The mindset for prosperity plays a crucial role in affecting profitability because it shapes how individuals perceive opportunities, make decisions, and respond to challenges. A prosperity mindset fosters a sense of abundance, creativity, and confidence, allowing individuals to see potential where others may see limitations. This outlook encourages innovation, strategic risk-taking, and resilience in the face of setbacks—key factors that drive profitability. Read more>>