I’m a solo game dev working on my first large scale mobile game, and I’m at a bit of a crossroads. I’ve heard two very different takes on getting publishers:

1.	If you release your game on the App Store without a publisher, you’re basically shooting yourself in the foot because publishers usually want unreleased projects.

2.	Publishers don’t really take chances on solo devs unless you’ve already got a crazy-good track record (which I don’t).

So, I’m nearing the finish line with my iOS game, but I’m trying to figure out if it’s even worth the effort to try and get a publisher. Should I just launch it on my own and do whatever I need to do to gain traction, or is it worth taking a shot at finding someone to back me?

If anyone here has gone through this, or has experience in the industry - what’s the real deal? Do publishers ever take solo devs seriously? How do you even approach them? Or should I just focus on doing the best self-published launch I can?

Any advice, insights, or personal stories would be super helpful. Thanks!

Hey all!

I’ve [M28] decided to throw in the towel with my Australian business running a film camera e-commerce store. Unfortunately, I am a bit stuck trying to figure out what roles and skill sets, as well as expectations for salary/position level I could apply for with full-time work?

My previous experiences were 1.5 years doing food photography, social media marketing and a bit of events for a food company. I then worked for 2 years doing digital marketing for a fitness company. Here I was solely in charge of a $450k yearly paid budget for FB (where I spent 95% of my time) and on Google (did basic search ads but mostly branded keywords) and made around $3m back in revenue. Also did a bit of email marketing mostly for lead generation.

During that period, I’d burnt out from the toxic work culture and quietly was working on a business idea which after a year, I left to start my own film camera e-commerce store which has been my bread and butter for 4 years. Things were going great, and I managed to become the biggest e-store in the country. Over the period, I had amassed over $1.5m in sales, spent over $70k in ad spend averaging a 7 ROAS, ran multiple camera events and walks, and ran the largest film-focused photo competitions with esteemed judges. During this period, most of my competition went out of business and cited that my brand was responsible for stealing their customers.

Unfortunately business has plummeted late last year due to rising living costs, the explosive rise in film cost and development, and the margins have become razor thin. For example, I would average around $50-60k a month in revenue. Now I’m sitting at around $10-16k per month. As a result, I’ve decided to go back to full-time work and end the e-commerce store.

However, I am a bit clueless as to what my skill set would qualify me for? My background has been marketing and I’ve always been a fan of creating and running marketing campaigns.

I was considering applying for mid-level marketing specialist jobs but I’m also paranoid that I don’t have a corporate or an established ‘brand’ behind me for the last few years. Unsure if this is just imposter syndrome kicking in hahaha but I definitely feel inadequate as I don’t know what skill depth companies are looking for. As well, at the moment I’ve started a bedding brand in the background which will need money and time to be poured in to scale, so this has further motivated my decision to go back and find full-time work to help support this project!

Thank you!

There was a time when I thought I’d lost it all. Now, I’m here to tell you that even in the darkest moments, there’s a way forward.

I never imagined that leaving my stable job would lead me to one of the hardest periods of my life. Back in 2014, I decided to work in an automobile manufacturing company, not because I loved it but because I wanted to learn how businesses worked. I spent five years there, gaining experience and dreaming of building something on my own.

In 2018, I took my first leap into the world of online business. I started blogging with hopes of creating a consistent income stream. It worked for a while, and I tasted my first successes. But as the competition grew and Google’s updates became harsher, my traffic disappeared. I felt the foundation I’d built crumble beneath me.

https://preview.redd.it/zhxu3qlkum4e1.jpg?width=3120&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a4b18a82f33cb3771ea27c525915242121ec2b5b

I didn’t stop there. I ventured into affiliate marketing, purchasing courses and pouring my savings into ad campaigns. Everyone promised results, but all I found was disappointment. Months turned into years, and I was stuck—spending more money than I was making.

💔 I hit rock bottom.

I felt ashamed. I couldn’t tell my family about the struggles I was facing. I couldn’t explain why the dream I had been chasing felt so far away. There were nights I cried, wondering if I’d ever recover, and mornings when I questioned why I should even try.

But deep inside, I knew one thing—I couldn’t give up.

The Turning Point

It wasn’t an overnight epiphany or a sudden stroke of luck. The turning point came when I decided to shift my mindset. Instead of focusing on quick results, I committed to learning skills that would last.

I discovered organic marketing—a way to connect with people authentically on social media and make sales without spending on ads. At first, it felt daunting. I had no traffic, no leads, and no idea where to start. But I showed up every day, trying, failing, and trying again.

https://preview.redd.it/bnaz7ewlum4e1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=126a757fd56ae7fd5e7e696d168ef79f0f4042e8

After months of effort, I finally made my first sale organically. It wasn’t much, but it reignited my hope. It reminded me that success isn’t about flashy numbers but about progress.

Now, I’ve built a steady stream of income using organic marketing. I no longer wake up fearing the future. Instead, I feel motivated to grow and help others find their way, just as I did.

What I Learned Along the Way

1️⃣ Failure is part of the process. It doesn’t mean you’re not capable—it just means you’re learning.
2️⃣ Consistency is everything. Show up, even on the days when it feels impossible.
3️⃣ Your story matters. The struggles you’re facing now will become the lessons you share tomorrow.

For Anyone Who Feels Stuck Right Now

If you’re struggling, I want you to know that you’re not alone. I’ve been there, and I understand how overwhelming it can feel. But I promise—there’s a way out. Stay consistent, keep learning, and trust the process.

Your breakthrough is closer than you think.

Your lack of sales may be due to targeting the wrong people, and reaching the right people can make all the difference.

I want to help out you identify your target market for free.

Drop your link, current target, and unique selling points

Hey entrepreneurs,

My team and I recently launched a business that provides advanced physiotherapy equipment to clinics and healthcare providers. We're focusing on making high end rehab technology more accessible to smaller clinics through competitive pricing and all inclusive packages. We've just launched and are doing direct sales outreach, but I'm thinking about when to start investing in paid advertising. My main questions:

1. At what stage of a b2b business should I start investing in google/meta ads?

2. What's a reasonable starting budget for testing these platforms?

3. For anyone else in medical/healthcare equipment- which platform worked best for you?

We have a solid product, competitive pricing, and are getting good feedback from initial customers. Im just trying to figure out the best timing and approach for scaling our marketing efforts.

I appreciate any insights or experiences :)

I have an AutoCAD membership but I am done with my work so I want to sell it less than the original price so that the person that needs it can actually use it. It was a one year membership plan given by my institution but I no longer need it so it would be better to be used by someone who needs it. Is there any way to sell it?

A big part of going the entrepreneur route was the value and impact that I could provide people.

I want to make my product affordable and free but that means finding an alternative way to fund it.

I’m banking on traffic to the site, ads on the site, people paying for premium content, and sale of merch.

The majority is me banking on site traffic and ads. Do you think this is sustainable?

It’s cheap to operate since I don’t sell a physical product. It’s just digital. How much traffic would I need for this to make sense?

I started selling a product a few months ago and have an order for 7000 items. It would cost approximately $175,000 to fulfill all of these orders which i do not currently have the capital to spend. I have roughly $50,000 i can use. What would you suggest i do in a situation like this

Hi everyone,

One month ago I launched Loopple AI Website Builder which helps you create websites from a single prompt (soon you will be able to create your website also from documents). I am keen to find out what you guys think and how can I improve it. Thank you!

Hi, I run a digital marketing agency. Back in June I signed a huge fashion company and things are going well and we’re creating content for them. Their followers are around 320 K and it’s still growing.

The only issue that I’m having is with the owners. They are very rude and at times it makes it hard to communicate with them our needs. Are there any effective ways that you will learn to communicate with clients so that both of you feel seen and heard?

Recently, I approached a relatively new school to propose a partnership for their tutoring program. The school already has a tutoring program in place, but it goes beyond traditional tutoring by incorporating club activities and other services. However, as a new institution, the school doesn’t yet offer a wide variety of activities.

I suggested that I take over their tutoring program entirely, freeing them to focus on developing other aspects of their extracurricular offerings, such as creating new clubs. My proposal included using their facilities for tutoring in exchange for sharing a percentage of the revenue generated. Their current program charges $50 per student, whereas my program would be more affordable at $20 per student. Now, they have expressed interest in formalizing the partnership through a contract. Any advice if I should make a contract with them and if so what should the contract say.

Creating an avatar means you imagine what your target audience is like and try to feel into them. This could look like:

• male, 30 years old
• plays golf
• reads the financial times
• is a lot on social media
• ...

I've often read and seen people using avatars for their marketing strategy. I undestand that bringing your target audience 'into live' is nice to get a better feeling of what they are like and ultimately how to get in touch with them. But from my understanding most of the characteristics is based on pure speculation and assumptions. Let's take my example with the 30 year old male. I assume he reads the financial times so it seems like a good idea to tailor an ad campaign to his needs and show it in the financial times. If I base my whole campaign on my speculation it can go badly wrong if hes not reading the assumed magazine.

I am pretty sure I miss something here, in this entire create an avatar concept.

Do you create an avatar for your marketing strategy? If yes, how does it help you exactly?

Hey everyone,

I’m getting started with dropshipping and came across Zendrop as a platform option. It seems to offer some great features like Shopify integration, automated fulfillment, and faster shipping times compared to AliExpress.

I’d love to hear from entrepreneurs who have used Zendrop before:

1. How reliable are their suppliers and shipping times?
2. Is Zendrop Plus worth the subscription fee?
   • Does it provide real value, like the custom branding and automation features?
3. Any tips for maximizing Zendrop’s potential, especially for someone new to dropshipping?

I’m looking for honest feedback,.. pros, cons, and anything you’ve learned along the way. Thanks in advance!

I've seen crazy start-ups quickly becoming stable companies like Youhodler, Aeternity, Biconomy and few others. I'm curious, how did the initial kickstart happened? Any thoughts?

I worked for a big medical billing company back in 2020-21 and a lot my colleagues got into this business like they closed 2-3 doctors and they are generating good income as in Pakistan the billers don't cost much. Any suggestions if I should get into this business or if someone here wants to become a partner?

Please use this thread to post any Jobs that you're looking to fill (including interns), or services you're looking to render to other members.

We do this to not overflow the main subreddit with personal offerings (such logo design, SEO, etc) so please try to limit the offerings to this weekly thread.

Since this thread can fill up quickly, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts.

Hi everyone,

Have you just built the landing page for your product or service? I'd love to review it and share my feedback!

Goal: Help you increase conversions and boost revenue.

Drop the link to your website in the comments, and I'll reply with my feedback later today.

Hey fellow entrepreneurs,

I wanted to share something a bit personal, hoping it resonates with some of you who may be walking the same tightrope I once did. Running a business is no small feat, and for many of us, it often comes at the expense of our personal life, especially (personal / romantic) relationships. I’ve been there—working tirelessly, traveling constantly, and prioritizing my startup above all else.

Back in 2015, I left a stable career at Google to pursue my entrepreneurial dreams. Since then, I’ve built a successful tech company, raised substantial funding, and traveled extensively for work as we expand across four continents. But all this came with a price—several failed relationships. Let’s face it, dating as an entrepreneur is tough. The demands of our work often clash with the needs of a partner who’s equally focused on their own career.

Five years ago, my life changed when I met my wife. She’s incredibly beautiful, smart (a lawyer by training), kind, and above all, loyal. What made our relationship work wasn’t just her qualities—it was her understanding of my lifestyle and the sacrifices that come with it. She chose to be a stay-at-home wife, a role she embraced with pride, while still maintaining her independence and strength. She didn’t need constant reassurance, nor did she sit idly waiting for handouts. She’s my rock, my safe haven amidst the chaos of my professional life, and she’s made me a better entrepreneur by bringing stability to my personal life. We are now expecting and I couldn't be happier.

Now, I’m here because my sister-in-law (also a lawyer) is looking for a partner, and I see in her the same qualities that make my wife such an incredible life partner. She’s 38, slim, 1.63m tall, very beautiful, funny, super kind and honest. She loves to travel, goes the gym daily and is generally active and open to explore new things. She is born in Georgia, but raised in Russia. She holds a Russian passport and is open to dating internationally for the right person (she has a Shengen visa).

Her kind, loyal, independent characteristics and deep desire and commitment to build a strong family make her an absolute catch. She’s really looking forward to start a family with someone who can take care of her both financially and emotionally. In return, she will be like my wife the most supportive wife in the world—a partner who understands the sacrifices of entrepreneurship and will stand by you every step of the way. She truly is a catch :)

If you’re an entrepreneur who’s struggled to find a partner that fits into your demanding lifestyle and are looking for someone who will bring balance and fulfillment to your life, feel free to send me a DM.

Of course, I’m only looking to connect her with respectful, decent individuals. This isn’t a dating service, and it’s definitely not an escort ad. I just know how much finding the right partner has transformed my life, and I hope to help another fellow entrepreneur find the same happiness.

If this resonates with you, let’s chat. Who knows—this could be the start of something incredible.

Photos available on request.

Hey everyone, you seem to all have some great cash flow ideas.

I have a service based business (sewing alterations) and in the summer we're really slow.

Any ideas how to mitigate the lower cash flow? Atm it's really just cutting staff hours. But maybe there's something else I can work on that can generate enough revenue to carry us through the quiet?

I've built an e-commerce store but haven't figured out what to do to drive sales to it. Not what to put in it besides veils.

I'm planning on starting a blog for my business site to increase seo and I've just started a newsletter.

I have social media.

But I want to grow the business, and also figure out how to get through quiet time without burning out in busy season

Hi Entrepreneurs! 👋

I’m curious to learn from this amazing community about the real challenges business owners are facing today. Whether it’s scaling, finding the right talent, managing cash flow, marketing struggles, or anything else, I’d love to hear about it.

Also, if you’re working on solutions or have strategies that have worked for you, please share! Your insights could be incredibly valuable to others, including myself, who are eager to learn.

Looking forward to your responses! 🚀

I have lost so much money and time recruiting bad resource plus it take long time to recruit someone since we have to wait for their notice period and interview process also takes so much time How do you made recruitement decision and eliminate the risk? Is there any YC course on hiring ?

For those of you who frequent the founder circles on X and the likes, it shouldn’t come as a surprise how powerful and widely adopted free tools have become.

Most folks in the SaaS space create those free tools (e.g., “blog description generator” or “mp3 to m4a converter” as a means to attract search traffic and trying to convert those users.

I’ve actually done something similar for my first SaaS. Built around 70 free tools, which got me 250 or so clicks from search every day. Unfortunately, they didn’t convert as well as I thought they would (probably because not really related to my SaaS offering).

However, founders like Dan Kulkov (@DanKulkov on X) or Tim Bennetto (@Timb03) seem to have figured out the formula (at least judging by their tweet history).

And it was actually Tim who then sparked an idea in my head after he shared the crazy traffic stats behind one of his free tools called ColorMagic, which he acquired as a means to funnel traffic to his main SaaS.

What if free tools are the actual product?

Now, for some (or many) of you this may not be a revelation but it certainly was to me: the online tools space is freaking massive.

Check what’s ranking in the top 5 for any high-volume query and there’s probably a massive site behind this.

Don’t believe me? Here are a few examples (based on SimilarWeb data):

-          Ilovepdf[dot]com: 248m monthly visitors

-          Timeanddate[dot]com: 49.9m

-          freeconvert[dot]com: 21.6m

-          piliapp[dot]com: 20.8m

-          cloudconvert[dot]com: 17.3m

-          omnicalculator[dot]com: 16.8m

-          lingojam[dot]com: 9m

-          thecalculatorsite[dot]com: 5.6m

-          convertcase[dot]net: 2.8m

-          fsymbols[dot]com: 2.5m

-          capitalizemytitle[dot]com: 3.5m

-          codebeautify[dot]org: 2.2m

-          miniwebtool[dot]com: 1.85m

-          pdftoimage[dot]com: 1m

Assuming a very conservative RPM of $10, they’re likely raking in at least $10k every month. Some of these sites even have their own ad sales teams, so RPMs are likely much higher.

That said, these are also very well-established sites with some absolutely savage SEO operators.

Omni Calculator in particular just know their sh*t. They offer tool embeds, ratings, have experts reviewing tools and detailed author profiles, stick to their topical theme, etc etc.

This revelation also inspired me to give this a go. Two weeks ago, I launched a site called terrific tools.

The goal, as you may have guessed, is to drive traffic via search and then monetize with display ads.

I used to be a full-time blogger before moving into SaaS and my blogs, which I’ve stopped working on, are still monetized with display ads (using two ad networks called Mediavine and Raptive).

With AI coding, you can whip out new tools in a fairly short time, so the plan is just to add onto the site when I don’t feel like working on my other SaaS projects.

However, this will still probably take years to generate any meaningful returns given that a) my site doesn’t focus on one specific tool category, b) catching up to the authority of other sites will be tough and c) new competitors, especially well-established SaaS companies, are constantly entering the online tools space.

1 Month of Launching Vizio 🚀

• 10+ content teams and 70+ creators are using Vizio daily.
• One customer utilized 200 GB of storage and shared feedback on 80+ video drafts with their team.
• We've hit a milestone: 1,000 videos reviewed on Vizio!

What Worked for Us

• Personal Contacts & Referrals: Leveraged every possible connection and their extended networks.
• Reddit: Successfully reached users (even with some unconventional methods).
• WhatsApp Communities: Tapped into niche creator groups for organic outreach.

As the year is coming to an end, curious, What are some AI tools that helped you be more productive in 2024 as an entrepreneur? 

Hey, I'm turning 16 in a couple of weeks and will have had my PC for just under a year now. I can't help but think about how much it cost my parents, and I'd love to use it to make some extra money and even help support them, rather than just playing games. I'm getting good grades and will be taking computer science at A-level, along with maths and physics. [l live in the UK, if that makes any difference.]

So I started my web design studio three months back. Here is what all happened that led to this post.

1. After working for over 12 years, I’ve developed a solid understanding of how design and tech work together. So, I decided to quit my job (which I was planning to leave anyway) and start my own freelancing business.
2. I started with a few assumptions: I’m great at what I do, and if I create a stunning portfolio, showcase it on social media, offer my services at affordable prices, and run some ads, clients will come. Turns out, it didn’t work that way. I quickly realized the main part of running a business is actually bringing in business — and that’s where I feel I need training and more learning.
3. In three months, I’ve completed 4-5 projects, which, of course, isn’t enough to cover my expenses. While working on these projects, I constantly find myself worrying about where the next one will come from or if I’ll have to dip into my savings again to pay the bills.
4. As you can probably tell, I’m struggling a bit. Now, I’m at a crossroads: should I go back to a job and quit this business? The thing is, I don’t want to. I know business comes with a lot of hassle, but right now, that hassle is starting to overshadow everything else.

So, I’d love to hear some advice from the intelligent and experienced Redditors out there. What do you think I should do? Finances are becoming a real challenge, and I feel like relying on my savings isn’t sustainable in the long run.

Hello everyone!

I’m a video editor and motion designer from Peru, with experience creating visual content for food trucks, restaurants, and various businesses. I specialize in video editing, animated flyers, content scheduling, and supporting social media needs.

I've always had the desire to work with businesses and professionals in these sectors. I'm looking to collaborate with community managers, marketing professionals, or business owners who need a reliable and creative partner for their visual content creation. If you're looking for someone to handle the visual side of your projects, I’d love to discuss how we can work together. Just send me a private message, and I’ll be happy to share my portfolio.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and thanks to the admin for allowing my post!

Title.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking to start a women’s bag brand, specifically focusing on leather-made bags. I’m from India and want to create a personal brand, but I’m facing some challenges in terms of style, leather, and materials. I plan to do more research, but I need some guidance on the following points:

1. Leather Quality: I’m unsure if premium, high-quality leather is available in India or if there are reliable manufacturers for it.
2. Manufacturing: Initially, I thought I could design the bags in India, but now I’m considering working with leather manufacturers in France or Italy, as they have a reputation for crafting high-quality, pure leather bags.
3. Minimum Order Quantities: It would be great to find manufacturers that offer reasonable minimum order quantities at an affordable price.

My goal is to create a premium, no-compromise brand, with a focus on quality. I plan to target the Indian market first, and then expand to Europe.

If anyone has experience or can offer advice on how to get started, I would greatly appreciate it!

A little context, im a 16 yr old guy who is gotten himself into fashion. While being into fashion is fun and all sometimes i cant find clothes that i truly love and catch my heart. Sooo I came up with the idea to start a clothing brand. While yes money does play a part in the interest i also truly believe i can make clothes that others will enjoy as well (most people probably think this but yk.) I have already came up with a style, name, and the garments i want to launch with. I have a job right now that i make around $300 a week from, $100 of that a week goes to my dad until i finish paying off a car, and another $50 or so goes to gas. So from that i make around $150 a week that i can use to my disposal. I have decided i want to use a .shop domain and use shopify for my store because i am already used to it due to my past failed attempt at drop shipping (yes i know.) I am planning on using a sole proprietorship because a don't want to deal with the stuff that comes with a LLC and the steep price. I am also somewhat knowledgeable on shipping because i have made a few sales on depop.

Anywayy, I am looking for any advice people can give me to help me with this journey, i have a friend that is interested in joining me on this which would be nice to help with expenses but he doesn't really seem to be putting any effort into this so far so chances are its just going to be me on this. What i mostly need help on is finding a good manufacturer, building a community, gathering funds to make a large order for the garments, opinions on pre orders, etc. Any help or advice though would be useful. Thanks for any help and i hope this works out haha.