Business Contents Archive

Is resilience the most important part of running a small business?

I've been running my small business for a couple of years now. It's been going pretty well - I've made more money than I've spent each year and it keeps growing. I have a tendency to feel like if one or two things go wrong, the whole thing is a failure and there's no way it's going to work and my entire life is a mess and on and on. I've thought about quitting more than a few times, but managed to keep it together and scrape by. Just this week I've starting thinking about it differently. Now I feel like the whole trick to running a small business is being able to find solutions and not get overwhelmed even when your bank balance is $50 and you have an overdue bill for $200. For me anyway. Do you agree that mindset and the ability to keep solving problems under pressure matters more than almost anything else, or do you think that if it's that difficult and you're constantly running into problems and cash flow issues you should shut it down and move on?

Authorize.net is a Scam!

Do not use to process your payments for websites! They will process your customers payments then hold the money and not give it to you. When you call to ask why you haven’t gotten any of the deposits. They reply, “We put a HOLD on all accounts until they process an “X” amount of money”. I responded, “what is the “X” amount I have to process to get my deposits that you already took from my customers accounts, for orders I have already shipped?” They reply, “I cannot release that information.” To sum it up: Your money is on hold until you reach an “X” (unknown) amount of transactions, then you have to pass a review before they will consider a deposit of YOUR money! Which I thought was completed when I opened the account. (My company had to be verified and bank verified before my account could process the payments in the first place). I use Square, PayPal & Stripe, NO issues! Beware of Authorize.net it’s a scam in my experience!

Would a midsized restaurant(30 employees) typically need a CPA?

So for a typical midsized restaurant in US, would they typically hire a CPA?? (assuming that they do all their bookkeeping on their own). If they do typically hire a CPA, do they usually need their CPA once a year for tax filings or all year because they typically need the CPA's help/insight every month of the year??

What not to ask a client

Hello, I plan on expanding my business to hot tub cleaning as I already clean pools. Many guides suggest that individuals turn the hot tubs pump off at the circuit breaker. Should I ask my clients to do this or must I go into their house and do it myself? I rarely enter a clients house and often go through the back as I am younger and do not trust others. What do you recommend?

GoDaddy email service

Does anyone I know have any experience with GoDaddy.com and their hosting services, including email? Can I setup emails for multiple people to use, or will all the emails feed into one account? Is it easy to setup for multiple users?

Did you listen to any podcasts that were actually helpful in starting and running a business?

Title.

SquareUp vs. Shopify vs. WooCommerce

I have a current Etsy shop, and I’m looking to expand to having my own website as well. I already drive some of my own traffic to Etsy via social media, so I figure I might as well drive it to my own website, and open the door to more customers. I’ve been researching e-commerce sites for a bit, but each one seems to have some decent disadvantages. People seem to really hate SquareUp, although it has no monthly fee, because of seemingly frequent account deactivation/ holding funds/ poor customer service. WooCommerce you have to deal with everything, including security it seems, which does worry me. It is a cheap option though depending on your host. Shopify is the most straightforward option, but is more expensive. So, personal opinions? If you do WooCommerce what’s you’re preferred host? For reference, I sell mainly stickers right now (branching out though) so I’m not swimming in cash and the higher Shopify cost per month isn’t ideal. TIA!

How bad is my website?

I have had issues driving sales to my new website. No conversions directly from it. Everything is from phone calls and messages that came from meta ads. Is my site terrible? Nanysaaesthetics.com

Advertising Question

If you had $500 to advertise and get your name out there for a new small business, where would you spend the money? Is the best way to start social media accounts? Google advertising? Anything else? I’m starting a guitar shop and eventually plan to build and ship custom guitars. Right now I plan on local setups and repairs. I appreciate any insight!

How do big stores get gaming merchandise on their shelves?

So I'm starting up a business and I wanted to have gaming merchandise available to buy, but I can't seem to find any solid ground on where to get the merchandise in the first place. I've checked a HOST of websites, sent out many emails, and done enough Googling that I've run around in circles now, but I haven't really found anything. What do big stores like Walmart, Gamestop, Target, etc. do to get their merchandise? Do they have direct connections to the companies whose merch they want to sell? And if so, how the hell do they get it? I'm trying to have a small selection of big-name products, like Pokemon and other Nintendo titles or League of Legends. Any ideas?

How do I get vendors to pay?

I am trying to build a south asian wedding planning website with more traditional vendors onboarded such as henna artists, specific cuisine caterers, priests etc. I have talked to some couples and most of them found their vendors through word of mouth. Most of the desi vendors already get good amount of bookings through this method so how will I convince them to join my website? There is def a demand and south asian couples do want a dedicated site to look for all these vendors but I am not sure how to monetize this starting off? Thanks for your help in advance :)

Help with business email

I just purchased a domain name from godaddy, I need a business email but google wants me to sign in to namecheap to prove I own the domain. Please help

(Question) Where's the best place for me to find someone to run mail and packages for my small business?

I need someone that is located in my physical area, to do things like run errands, deposit checks, and make returns. I tried to find someone on Thumbtack, but all the leads I got where not in my area. They said that they do "remote work." This is not something that can be done remotely. What is the best way for me to find someone that is actually in my area? Or the best way for me to manage deliveries to local areas?

General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the military vice-president better known as Hemeti who commands the RSF, said on Tuesday that he had agreed to a one-day armistice. ⁠ ⁠ Fighting has raged since Saturday between the president-backed Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces loyal to the country’s powerful vice-president.⁠ ⁠ At least 180 people have been killed and more than 1,800 wounded.⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in bio to stay up to date. ⁠

How to minimize tax burden for solo-401K?

Hi guys, could someone show me what salary I should claim as an employee to minimize my tax burden with regard to Self-Employment tax, etc.? I got 401K accounts for both parts employer's profit sharing and employee's deferred salary for my 1 person company, with gross income around $70K. Thank you.