Question for all you smart business owners who provide services.

I have a business that provides aviation maintenance services. I have a client that wants to contract through me 4 maintainers for approximately 5 months this upcoming summer. I won’t be hiring these people, but rather paying them a fixed daily rate as a 1099 contractor.

My question is…what is a realistic percentage of what I charge my client that I keep for the company as opposed to what I pay the maintainer? I know what I will be charging my client per guy, per day, how much of that “should” I pay my contractors and how much of that should I keep. Like is there a rule of thumb percentage?

Any and All business expenses are paid by the client or reimbursed to my company on a bi-weekly invoice…so, basically, I’m not “out” any money, so for this arrangement/contract my company is solely making money of the backs of my contractors.

Thanks and cheers

Hi everyone! I currently own an online boutique in Fl. I just bought a bounce house to get a friend out of a tight spot financially and am looking for kind of a start up guide. For reference I have my boutique LLC, Fl resellers permit, business license & sales tax Id. What would I need to change legally to be able to rent this through my business? Also a good insurance agency for liability?

I got a cold outreach from someone a couple of weeks ago asking to send me their resume. They were working for a competitor but looking to make a change.

Wasn't really looking for anyone, but it was worth talking to them.

After an interview and a lunch meeting, an employment offer was made.

The employment offer was tenatively accepted via e-mail... but also there was a request for an advance on their first paycheck.

I've been doing this a long time, hired and fired a lot of people. Have paid a lot of paycheck advances and made loans to employees before. None of that is new to me... but this one definitely was.

I know what I'm going to do, I think. It definitely does not include an advance on a paycheck on day 1... but I'm trying hard not to read too much into it.

It's such a bizarre request IMO that I'm catching myself jumping to conclusions about how someone ends up even asking it.

Are they just broke? Do they have an addiction problem or something? Are they trying to scam me for a paycheck to a job they don't intend to take?

Everyone I've talked to about it has basically said the same thing - that's crazy and I'd never do that, ever.

So the fact that it was done... does it speak to a character flaw I didn't pick up on during the interview?

IDK, any feedback welcome

This post welcomes and is dedicated to:

• Your business successes
• Small business anecdotes
• Lessons learned
• Unfortunate events
• Unofficial AMAs
• Links to outstanding educational materials (with explanations and/or an extract of the content)

In this post, share your small business experience, successes, failures, AMAs, and lessons learned. Week of December 9, 2019 /r/smallbusiness is one of a very few subs where people can ask questions about operating their small business. To let that happen the main sub is dedicated to answering questions about subscriber's own small businesses.

Many people also want to talk about things which are not specific questions about their own business. We don't want to disappoint those subscribers and provide this post as a place to share that content without overwhelming specific and often less popular simple questions.

This isn't a license to spam the thread. Business promotion and free giveaways are welcome only in the Promote Your Business thread. Thinly-veiled website or video promoting posts will be removed as blogspam.

Discussion of this policy and the purpose of the sub is welcome at https://www.reddit.com/r/smallbusiness/comments/ana6hg/psa_welcome_to_rsmallbusiness_we_are_dedicated_to/

Post business promotion messages here including special offers especially if you cater to small business.

Be considerate. Make your message concise.

Note: To prevent your messages from being flagged by the autofilter, don't use shortened URLs.

I have an idea for a service business, and I'm already done with the website and everything. Now, I just need to get customers. However, I feel like this is way easier said than done. I first thought of just cold calling everyone in my neighborhood, but I'm pretty sure that's ineffective and somewhat illegal? I also thought of knocking doors, but I've done it before and it is really annoying, not just to get sales, but also to travel to different neighborhoods every day(I will do it as a last resort though). I also looked at leadsgorilla but I don't really have the budget for it and I'm not sure it's what I'm looking for. I also have heard that you should take all your phone contacts and social media contacts, but I don't have social media and I honestly don't have that many friends I can contact. I feel like the most plausible thing right now is to just use google adwords to try to get people to my landing page so I can get leads from there?

I recently started an LLC and trying to get a loan around $20k. I have 720+ credit score and no profit history for business.

IF I can pay off loan amount within 1.4 year, which loan might be better option? (I already got approved by Sofi)

Hey everyone,

I run a small creative studio with my partner, where we offer high-quality art prints and a mentorship program for veterans and civilians in creative industries. Currently, we sell our products on Gumroad and collaborate with a LinkedIn partner who helps us with cross-promotion to a larger audience. Despite our consistent marketing efforts, we’re struggling with low sales and slow follower growth. We're looking for some advice and feedback:

1. Are there better online platforms to host our products? Gumroad has been convenient, but we’re wondering if other platforms might yield better results for art prints and services. (we're not looking to run our store on Etsy or Redbubble because it doesn't work for the company brand)
2. What strategies have worked for you to boost followers and engagement? We’re actively campaigning but finding it challenging to grow our audience.

We’re open to feedback and suggestions from anyone who’s been in a similar spot or has insights to share. Thank you so much for your time and advice!

Here's links to our LinkedIn, Instagram and Store.

Looking for very general advice.

Assumptions:

• buying an existing business with an SBA loan and 10% down.
• assuming a conservative 3x multiple on EBITDA
• just looking at the high end/low end ranges of a purchase
• trying to project net income after the loan payment
• APR is 6% (probably too low?)
• yes, this is oversimplified on purpose

Scenario 1 - $2 million acquisition

• 200k down
• 2 million acquisition via SBA
• 660k gross income
• 240k annual loan payment
• 420k net income

Scenario 2 - $1 million acquisition

• 100k down
• 1 million acquisition via SBA
• 330k gross income
• 120k annual loan payment
• 210k net income

In general, are these scenarios realistic?

3x multiple is conservative for most industries.

Hello all- I need some advice.

My partner informed he no longer wants to be an owner in our company, and is looking for a payout.

Here are the bullet points. 1- We own a catering company 50/50. About 9 years. 2- We have grown significantly and always paid ourselves equally based upon monthly profits. 3- 2020-2023 our revenue and profit increased ab 15% per year 4- each of us took home ballpark 50, 60, then 70k a year (plus a substantial amount of cash tips) 5- 2024- We recently expanded and purchased an existing venue business for 30k, and now lease the venue space, and rent it out for events. 6- rent for 2024 was 96k, 2025 is 120k, and 2026 is 144k 7- we have not paid ourselves much of anything (ab 12k each) this year as all of the profit is going to paying rent/ getting that new venture up and running. 8-next year we are losing our largest revenue stream for the catering business. The following year, we are losing another top 3 revenue stream. (Changes in ownership and they will no longer need our services) 9-2026 has a law in place that will greatly hinder that catering business. (Don't want to go into detail but it will potentially wipe out 80% of catering business) 10- we entered a lawsuit against the DOR to try to reverse this law.

Two days before Thanksgiving I am given news that he no longer wants to be partner. He wants out. Nothing in writing, nor any sort of plan of how he wants out. Besides the point, but this shows his unprofessionalism.

He is going to be giving me his proposal on what he is looking for, for a buy out.

I have a feeling this will be far more than he is realistically owed. Our company's "stock" has never been lower and we are facing a LOT of challenges, that are frankly being dropped on me.

Our partnership agreement states that we will see an independent buisness analyst if we can not come up w a purchase price.

What do I need to do here to protect myself? How do I begin to incorporate these future risks into an actual dollar amount? How do I go about finding someone who does this?

I am very overwhelmed, emotional, and stressed over this position I am now in.

Please friends, where do I start? Thank you

(This is a burner account as my real one is tied to my company)

Whats up everyone. I just opened a barbershop in CA, and I’m looking for a CRM system to help manage and grow my business efficiently. Need some recommendation willing to pay premium if it tackles most boxes.

Here’s what I’m looking for:

• Appointment Scheduling: A calendar to manually add and manage appointments.
• Sales Tracking/Payment Processing: Integrated payment options like Square or Stripe for smooth transactions.
• Reports & Analytics: A dashboard showing monthly sales, customer growth, new vs. returning customers, etc.
• Customer Rewards: Loyalty rewards, discounts, referral bonuses, and the ability to run campaigns.
• Email & SMS Marketing: Automated appointment reminders, promotions, and loyalty updates sent directly to customers.
• Online Booking: Let customers book directly through social media, your website, or a customer portal.
• Customer Management: Keep customer profiles with stats on visits and spending

Reviews & Feedback: Tools to request reviews

• Customer Portal: A place where customers can manage appointments, check rewards, and update their info easily.
• Product Sales: Ability to track products sold in addition to services.
• Zapier Integration: To automate repetitive tasks and connect with other tools.

If you’ve used something that checks most of these boxes, I’d love to hear about it. My goal is to create a seamless experience for customers while also going heavy on social media and marketing to increase traffic.

I would like to know from first hand experience if they have good UI and experience. Thanks in advanced.

At the moment Im looking at Vagaro and Square since I plan on getting a Square POS

I'm curious if this is a common practice for retail biz owners....

There's a company in TX that will perform a business survey to indication how much business a specific location will do. For example, you provide the exact location, goods or services you'll sell, sq ft and based on the neighborhood size, demographic, traffic flow, nearest competition, etc they'll give the potential revenue for the first 3 years.

This is specific to the convenient store + gas business. They're credible enough that banks will provide loans based on their report.

How do other businesses, like salons, coffee shops, restaurants, or any retail find confidence before committing to a long term lease?

Are there other methods or services -- specifically in TX -- who do this?

Hi. I’ve been looking for the right opportunity to buy a small business near Philadelphia, PA in order to leave the corporate ladder and venture into being an entrepreneur.

I am curious about types of business that are good to buy as turn key vs. building from the ground up. I’m torn between franchising or Main Street businesses that offer clear local value.

I don’t want to buy a new job. Rather find the opportunity to create jobs and value for ll those around me.

Thanks for ideas.

Small Business Owners: What’s Been Your Biggest App Development Challenge?

I’ve noticed many small businesses face hurdles when it comes to developing custom apps, whether it's finding the right developer, dealing with unexpected costs, or ensuring the final product actually meets their needs.

I’d love to hear from you:

Have you tried building an app for your business?

What challenges or surprises did you run into along the way?

I’ve worked on various projects and would be happy to share some insights or tips to help navigate the process.

Hi! I'm looking for a tool that can be used to do construction bids that integrates with Quickbooks. I tried the QuickBooks estimate template but couldn't remove the word "estimate" from the master template so am looking for a different tool. Thanks so much.

Just like the title says, i’m curious to learn more about the experiences of local business owners. Specifically, for businesses that don’t currently have a website or have minimal online presence, I’m wondering:

What does your business do?

What has stopped you from setting one up?

Have you tried creating one in the past? If so, what challenges did you face?

Do you feel a website would be beneficial for your business, or do other platforms like social media work well enough?

What would make the process of setting up and maintaining a website easier or more appealing to you?

Any other general comments about experiences (good or bad) with getting your businesses website setup welcome as well!

Hi all, general discussion topic, small business owner in construction, at a point where I'm refining smaller elements of my business so process's run smoother.

I'm currently looking at the array of software and services I use, which includes Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.

I feel the Google ecosystem is easy to use, while the Microsoft ecosystem is an absolute fragmented mess of services that keeps IT teams in business - but its supposedly what big businesses use. On the other hand, I have trialed and really like some individual services like:

• Fastmail (email)
• OnlyOffice (cloud/selfhosted office suite)
• Synology NAS (cloud storage, calendar, and contacts)
• TickTick or Asana (tasks)

In the process of documenting the core apps and services, I want to clean it up, I use to much, that has to much overlap.

• So I want some ideas on what you use?
• Do you go with one of the big 2 (Google or Microsoft)? Or do you use smaller individual services that better suit your needs, despite the fact they may not blend together in one ececosystem as well?
• What does your tech stack consist of and what do you feel works best for you?

Thanks all.

Knowing that the labor market is bad as of now, i want to create a business now, but really don’t know what business to create or how to start out.

To begin with, I’m in San Diego, California, with a BA in Economics from San Diego State University and currently doing a Master degree in International Economics at an European Online School.

I have been applying to more than 400 jobs since graduation and still can’t land a job. I’m fed up with this and now I want to create a small business.

Please help me with this, what type of business can I create with my skills in Economics and How can i Start and keep it going and grow the business?

I’m a young female with a small spiritual business, and I actively post content related to my business on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube. All of my Youtube content shows my face, and my content on other platforms is a mix.

I have been receiving messages from people through my website and business email that are making me feel extremely violated and uncomfortable. Last night, I got an email from a stranger telling me that they masturbated with a sex toy to one of my Youtube videos, and thanked me for their orgasm. The other day, I received an inquiry from someone telling me that they use masturbation and hardcore sex to relieve their anger, and wanted me to help them understand their fantasies.

I feel so disgusted by the harassment I’ve been receiving. I ultimately can’t block these people from seeing my content as long as it is public, which is pretty much necessary. I’ve taken down all of my Youtube videos and any other content that shows my face to try to prevent this from continuing. This is hindering my ability to connect with actual clients, and share content that is necessary for my business.

These creeps are using my content and services in ways I never intended for them to be used. I post content to help people, not to be objectified, or used for sexual pleasure. I’m disgusted thinking about all the people who have done similar things with my content, and never said anything. I’m sick to my stomach. There is nothing in my content that is sexually suggestive. It is literally just my face, or me talking.

Is this just a part of being a female business owner? Do I just need to get over it? Should I just keep posting content with my face anyway? What can I do? I’m worried I’ll never truly feel safe posting content going forward. I feel so violated and disempowered by this. I don’t know what to do or who to talk to.

Where do I start?

HI everyone MY name is charlie and I am looking to buy an ebike from alibaba and i dont know if i should trust them because they have done lots of sales rev 170000 and are verified but the product i want to buy has nothing should i buy this bike ???

ps its the gt73 ridingtimes thanks!

Hi everyone, I own an electric company, and I need advice on how to handle a situation with one of my employees. They’ve been using a company work van on days when there’s no scheduled work, which was not authorized. I consider this a serious issue since the van is for work-related purposes only.

I want to address this calmly but firmly, ensuring they understand the seriousness of the situation without causing unnecessary conflict. How can I approach this conversation with authority while remaining respectful and fair? I’d also appreciate any tips on setting clearer boundaries to prevent this from happening again. Thanks in advance!

CONTEXT: Van was seen at Home Depot on Black Friday (day off). He lives out in the boonies like 30 min from this Home Depot. Also, him and I had an agreement before that I was fine with side work and him using our materials/van as long as he paid us for it. He’s paid me about $2,000 over the last couple years and has let me know that he’s using the van. But this last time he didn’t tell me anything.

I’m 34, single, with no kids, making around $110K. I currently pay $1K in rent living with my mom. I have two options:

1.	Stay at home, save money, and invest in a laundromat while working my full-time job. This could set me up for financial success and allow me to buy a home in the future.
2.	Move into my dream apartment now, enjoy my independence, and focus on the laundromat or other investments later.

I want to spread my wings and enjoy life now, but I know staying home could help me build a stronger financial foundation. What would you do—sacrifice now for future gains, or live in my dream apartment and build wealth later?

I’m looking for information on starting an indoor golf simulator business

With the new year coming, I want to promote my business of repairing boats. There are key people at every marina (sometimes several) and I want to get my business in front of them.

I thought a cool calendar with photos of amazing boats would be perfect. Of course my logo and contact info would be on all the pages (not super blatant) and I would drop them off to these folks very soon.

Does anyone have experience with doing this? Any good suggestions? Thanks!

Hi there,

I am looking to source a business mentor who can help me on my M&A journey. I checked a few of the recommendations here, but they're mostly geared toward US audiences. I'm also interested in chatting to people who've done similar.

I am working my way through Codi Sanchez's course (was £1,000 so not so bad) but don't want to spend £10,000 on other such courses.

I work for a leading global payment company but I want to learn how to buy and run my own business. I have managerial experience at PR companies and in fintech, and am not so bothered by the industry so long as there's recurring revenue and I can learn it.

In return, I can assist on all elements of content strategy, UX/UI and public relations. Many thanks.

I am looking at buying a business from a site like bizbuysell. Is there anyway to know how much of a loan I will qualify for? Like being prequalified for a mortgage before you go house shopping so you know what is in your price range.

Basically, I have two business ideas that I like a lot. One of them requires a bit of investment for supplies similar to massage businesses(probably like 5k), the other is a supply shop kind of business(Selling certain things outsourced)

The ideas came to me based on what I feel my small town needs and what I would like to work in. Problem is, I have no idea how to start a business, I dont have family members who have, or a great education background that helped guide my ideas. Im currently semi-unemployed (I do art, just dont make a lot of money)

So how do I start? How do I know if I need permits? How do I seek help? (Living in the USA)

What is good business idea with 30K usd in this time!

Hello.

I am a software developer with experience in several aspect of the field. I like coding a lot and it doesn't feel like work to me. I have a few open source projects on github that I spend time on as well but I don't make any money out of it. I have a job as a senior frontend developer with backend aspects too at a small company. Nothing fancy.

However, with the current tech scene, I don't see much growth for me on job fronts. I work in Europe and I have been living here for more than 2 years. I would like to start something of my own in software.

Why software? -- Because that's all I know. My interests and hobbies are not something I can make money of. I am interested only in softwares, paleoanthropology and more of History. Not sure if I can make money from it.

My current company binds me to not work at any other company which means I can't start / register a company unless I quit this job or get my contract amended which is not so likely. I am scared to quit my job in this market without a start in mind. I would like to start with something which I can move forward with and if there is scope of making money in it, I will quit my job and move forward.

I appreciate any advice on how should I go ahead or any industry where addition of software would make it better. I am too pessimistic as I can't seem to think of any industry where software has not creeped into.

P.S. I am drunk and therefore have the courage to write something like this here knowing full well you will make fun of me! 🙃