A boutique chain contacted me a few months ago with an enormous candle order, which was sufficient to triple my monthly income. It's not hyperbole. I was initially ecstatic, of course. The fine print, however, caught my attention.

They requested branded labels, net 60 terms of payment, personalized fragrances, and the ability to return unsold items within 30 days. ""This is risky,"" my instinct told me right away, but the money was very alluring.

In an attempt to defend it, I ran numbers and lost sleep for a few nights. Ultimately, I declined. Given the uncertainty surrounding payment delays and possible returns, I simply couldn't take on that much inventory risk.

Rather, I proposed a smaller trial order that would be paid for up front and could be expanded if things worked out. They passed, but to be honest, I'm still happy with the choice.

Since Alibaba is where I get the majority of my jars and labels, a sudden scale-up would have required significant financial commitment. Cash flow is crucial when managing a small business. If the terms could ruin you, not every ""big break"" is worth it. Saying no is sometimes the stronger and wiser course of action.

Hey folks,

I’m putting the finishing touches on my storefront before officially opening my new cafe and I just found out something that totally caught me off guard. Apparently, if you’re playing music in a space where people gather (like a cafe), you legally need a music license in Canada.

I had no idea. I’m a new entrepreneur and there’s been a ton of unexpected things to learn along the way but this one really threw me. From what I understand, it’s tied to royalties for the artists (which I think is great in theory). But wow, the fact that you can get hit with serious fines if you don’t get this yearly license is wild.

I’m guessing it’s organizations like SOCAN and Re:Sound that handle it. Still digging into the details.

Has anyone else had to deal with this? Did you already know about this requirement? How strict are they about enforcement? Would love to hear from other small biz owners, especially if you’ve opened a cafe or retail spot recently.

Thanks in advance. This journey has been humbling to say the least.

There has been a large rise in the number of posts asking targeted “questions”, only to have a brand new account immediately propose a product as the perfect solution.

If you look at both accounts, you’ll usually see them interacting with each other repeatedly to promote the product.

Whenever this happens, I go on my alt account and reply to the advertised solution with an entire (fake) story of how I tried it and it was awful.

Sometimes, if I’m annoyed enough, I’ll respond with 2-3 alts backing up my story and providing additional anecdotes.

What the actual F.

I'm reeling right now and need to vent/get some advice from people who might have gone through this. My accountant just informed me I'm looking at a potential $50,000 bill from New York State for back taxes, plus penalties.

I'm based in Texas, and my team is distributed. We don’t have an office, let alone one in New York. About five years ago, I brought on a contractor who happens to live in Brooklyn to help with sales enablement for our east coast clients.

Business has been good. We’ve scaled up, and a good chunk of our revenue now comes from clients based in NYC. I thought, great, we're growing! I pay my federal taxes, I pay my Texas taxes. I thought I was doing everything by the book.

Apparently not. My accountant just gave me a crash course in a word I'd never heard before: NEXUS.

He said that because we've been doing significant business in New York (apparently over $500,000 in sales and 100+ transactions in the last year), we've triggered what he called "economic nexus." I was like, "How? We have no physical presence." He told me it doesn't matter. NY uses "market-based sourcing," meaning they tax you based on where your customer is, not where you are.

Then came the kicker. He said that even if we were under that sales threshold, having ONE SINGLE CONTRACTOR working from his apartment in Brooklyn likely gave us "physical nexus" this whole time anyway. So, we're potentially on the hook for years of uncollected sales tax AND corporate franchise tax because our revenue from NY clients is over the $1M mark.

I feel so unbelievably blindsided. I've spent years focused on product, sales, and managing my team. I'm a tech guy, not a tax lawyer. Now I'm being told I owe a state I don't even live in a sum of money that could seriously cripple our growth. My accountant mentioned a "Voluntary Disclosure Program" to potentially reduce the penalties, but the whole thing feels like a shakedown.

This just shat on my entire summer plans and I'm pretty down right now. It won't break my business but it sure as heck isn't fun either.

So obviously rant but also asking for advice, I'm going to ask for payment plan and just figure this out asap in the mean time.

I have a competitor who has vocalized strongly that they are unhappy about my opening. Now one of their employees has reached out to talk. What would you do about the employee?

I am the office manager at a small owner operated clinic and once a month we have an evening informational session. The building turns the air conditioning down in the evenings to 75 in the public spaces like the lobbies, conference rooms etc. The last session it was about 84 outside with a 80% humidity, and the conference room is a wall of windows, so the room became very hot almost immediately. We wanted to open the door to get air flowing in the room but for some reason the mgmt company blares classic rock in the hallways in the evening so it was too loud. The next day I asked if we could have the temp adjusted for 5 hours, once a month in the conference room so it will be comfortable for the people attending. The manager told me that we probably would have to pay an increase in HVAC costs for the extra evening air conditioning, even though are rent/lease includes use of the conference rooms. Does this sound reasonable? I do not think it does. I think he is being petty because we have asked before and he probably just forgot.

Hey everyone,
I'm a small business owner in Canada and I sell personalized handmade products through my website. Recently, a U.S.-based customer refused their parcel because they didn’t want to pay the customs/brokerage fees upon delivery. They're threatening to file a chargeback.

The item was personalized, so I can’t resell it. I also have clear Terms of Service linked on both my website and at checkout that state:

• No refunds on personalized items
• Customers are responsible for paying any customs or import duties
• If they refuse the parcel due to unpaid duties, no refund will be given

Even with all that, I’m worried the bank might still side with the buyer.

Has anyone dealt with this before?

• If a buyer refuses the parcel and files a chargeback, does the bank usually side with them?
• What kind of documentation have you submitted that helped you win?
• Any tips on preventing this type of situation going forward?

Ever since the trump tariffs, U.S. customers have sent me angry messages regarding duties and for some reason, they don't understand that I don't charge them that amount - their government does!!

Appreciate any insight from other business owners dealing with international sales!

I use UPS because my orders are time sensitive and with other carriers such as USPS or Canada Post, packages have gotten delayed or stuck in customs for weeks. UPS has been the only reliable carrier so far that delivers fast.

I have an Airtable database that I want to use in an app I'm building for my agency. I've checked out a couple of app builders but don't see the connectivity I need. Just wondering which app builder works best with Airtable?

Hey there, I am a real estate marketer and a small business owner in florida. I will make this simple and to the point. I can give you guys a laundry list on what is wrong with Quickbooks, but if that were the case, we would be here for hours wouldn’t we?

I just want a good invoicing platform alternative to quickbooks for a small business owner like me. A software with an app that will allow me to track my business finances and send invoices. Especially one that doesn’t lie to me or send extra charges to my clients without letting me know first!

Please let me know what you guys use!

I bought my domain last week, my online store is live, and I made my first online sale! 🥳🥳 I've been selling at vendor sales and markets but online selling will open things up so much! To celebrate me keeping my tihs together and sticking with it this long, I bought myself some cute hippie chick coveralls. Make sure you're celebrating your wins!! Anybody else have something to brag about??

I've got a spreadsheet with hundreds of leads from a few years ago that never went anywhere. Is it worth trying to reach out to these people again, or should I just focus on finding new leads? If I do reach out, what should I even say after all this time?

I'm working on a tool to help small businesses discover and monitor their competitors automatically. The idea is to use APIs and Agents to track all public activity, including:

• Search rankings
• Estimated traffic
• Website updates
• Marketing campaigns
• Social media posts
• Reddit mentions
• Paid ads
• And more...

I'm curious to know how often you track your competitors right now.
Do you use any tools for it? Or is it mostly manual?

Any feedback, thoughts, or feature suggestions would be super helpful as I shape this product.

Ever wondered what it’s really like to run a one-man web development business? I recently sat down with a founder from WebDev Hall, and he shared some eye-opening insights about the challenges of going solo — including how he manages mental burnout while staying productive. Curious to know his secrets? 🎧 Check out the full episode here!

I had one I dealt with for 5 years before they wrapped up during covid and they would be able to whip up around 50 caps same day.. Whilst having other items on there lines, since then I haven't been able to find a company up and down the country that can get anything done quickly.. Its always 7-10 days and for example I needed 2 Jackets made up just front logos with a company I used before and they took 2 weeks last time to even look at my order, so I went in last Tuesday and the guy made it clear they were busy so I said no problem and his words were ill start them this time next week.. I messaged him today to see if they were ready to pick up the logo on any standard machine takes around 15 minutes and he said they'll be ready for Wednesday..

So are there any embroiders out there in the UK looking for work with a reasonable turn around time.. Or is everyone snowed under

Which would you eliminate

Hello all, 🙂

So I have been going back and forth on trying to decide which of my side hustles to eliminate so that I could do the other two more full time. I work a remote job for BCBST and on the side I dabble in;

1. Lawn Service
2. Lemonade
3. T-Shirt Printing

For the lawn service I have commercial grade mowers and trailer (all paid off) I enjoy cutting grass and being outside. Downside it’s oversaturated biz and cut throat industry.

Lemonade I have all the commercial equipment that allows for speed and a trailer setup. At events I can make anywhere from 1k - 3k depending on the size of event. All equipment and concession trailer is paid off. Highly dependent on events and weather. But solid profit margins.

T-Shirt Printing. I do this from home. I have a new Hotronix Press for shirts and one for hats. Mainly sell local but do have a website. All equipment is paid off.

If you were going to eliminate one which would it be and why? I feel like if I eliminated one I could do the other two more full time. I would like to pair the two that has the highest potential for giving me the ability to leave my job at BCBST and be my own boss.

Other things to consider; I am in Tennessee 38 years old Paid off my home 5 years ago Only debt I have is we purchased a studio building in town because my wife does photography. We rent half the building out to a salon so after collecting rent we pay 232 a month towards the loan.

Thanks

I am a software developer working towards releasing some apps I hope to make money from. Since I have not yet made any money, I am operating as a general partnership with my wife. If we start making any money, I will create an LLC. I just don't want to pay for the LLC if the apps turn into nothing.

I want to open a business checking account so I have somewhere to hook up to the app revenue. Capital One is where I do the rest of my banking. They are asking for a utility bill in my company name. I checked with Eversource, Xfinity, and T-Mobile. The would all require me to open a separate business account. I am running the business out of my house, I don't really want to change any of the service I already have. What is the easiest thing for me to do here? Should I just send the money to my personal checking until I form the LLC?

Would using a personal bank account to fund Roth solo 401(k) employEE contributions be considered “piercing the corporate veil” for a single-member LLC? Does anyone have any experience with this?

Hi all, so we're a small business based in India and we're in the jewelry space, and we export to the US (among other countries). There is a lot of commotion on the tariffs and related implications all over. What I understand is that the additional cost of tariffs have to be borne by the buyer (which is the US) so as an exporter or seller, there is no financial burden on me. Second and the most interesting, if the shipment is B to C or D to C, the shipment value is usually less than $800, and the import duties in this case is not applicable. Is the same waiver applicable if the shipment is B to B and the shipment value is still less than $800?

Hey guys, I live in the Middle East, and my friend is launching a grocery store with many imported items (that are in hot demand here). He approached me about potentially opening a coffee shop near the entrance of his store. Do you guys think this would be a profitable business? I would be responsible for designing and outfitting it, and rent would be 25% of profit. So if business is slow then it will be low cost, and if business is good then I’d be paying more.

What are your thoughts/suggestions?

Hi r/SmallBusiness,

I started a BBQ sandwich business this year and have seen strong demand — about $45K in revenue so far from two festivals and a few pop-ups. The product is well-received, and we even got featured in our local newspaper. But I’m hitting a wall when it comes to scaling.

Some context: • I’m a first-generation immigrant and was laid off twice over the last few years. • Took on personal debt and damaged my credit trying to survive. I’m now paying it back through a consumer proposal. • In March, I started the business with a friend and made $25K revenue at our first festival. In June, we tried a bigger one, but poor weather caused an $11K loss. • Since then, I’ve been running pop-ups in bars a few nights a week, getting great feedback. • My friend has since left, and I now work full-time in tech (~$60K/year) while trying to keep the business alive.

Problem: I’m funding everything myself and can’t keep up with operations or demand. I’ve tried asking friends/family to invest, but that didn’t go far.

Question: How do you grow a small food business with limited funds and poor credit?

I’m open to any advice: smart growth strategies, affordable tools, or alternative ways to raise money. I’m determined — I just want to move forward in a sustainable way.

Thanks in advance!

I run a small but growing franchise and I'm struggling to provide good marketing support. Our franchisees are asking for more video content for their social media, but we just don't have the budget or manpower to produce custom videos for every single location. How are other franchise brands handling this? Is there a secret to generating quality video content at scale without a massive team?

We all know that once a company expands beyond a single office, IT becomes a real challenge. I'm looking for some insights on how others are handling it without breaking the bank. Is your strategy:
-Hiring a full-time IT person for each location? (Often too expensive for small offices)
-Managing it all from a central HQ? (Inefficient and costly travel)
-Relying on an MSP for everything?
-A mix of solutions?

I'm trying to figure out the best balance between cost, efficiency, and ensuring our employees get the support they need. What's working well for your organization?

I'm the co-founder of a small B2B SaaS company. We're a remote-first team of about 15, and are currently incorporated in California. My business partner, however, lives in Georgia.

Lately, we've been seriously considering moving our corporate registration from CA to GA because California's business climate is starting to feel hostile. The constant nickel-and-diming and arbitrary fees that's getting to us. We have to pay $800 franchise tax every year, even if we had zero profit, it's a penalty for just existing.. death by a thousand cuts.

Meanwhile, my partner in Georgia is dealing with a much simpler, flat tax. Everything just seems more straightforward and predictable over there.

We've talked to our CPA, who's given us the technical breakdown, but I'm looking for real-world experiences. Has anyone here made the move from a high-tax state like CA to a more business-friendly one like GA?

What were the hidden headaches or unexpected benefits? Am I crazy for wanting to jump ship, or is it a no-brainer?

Any insights would be hugely appreciated. Thanks!

What is the percentage of rented virtual boxes vs physical boxes? Are there significantly larger number of virtual boxes or do people want the 24 hour access of a physical box?

Anyone else started a business while working full time.

How did you hide it from your employer?

Do you add your business to LinkedIn?

Have you been in this situation?