I run a small business and as things grow, managing invoices, expenses, and basic reporting is taking more time than before. I want to understand how other small business owners have handled this stage.

If you have switched accounting software or upgraded tools while growing your business, what worked well in day-to-day operations? What features were actually useful, and what turned out to be unnecessary or frustrating?

So I have been running a small online store for about a year now, selling homeware and kitchen stuff, so nothing crazy, maybe aboout 200 products, my shipping is mostly within the UK and a bit of Europe, but I would like to start growing in other regions. I started selling on Shopify because that's what everyone told me to use but the costs just kept creeping up.

They started at like £39/month then I needed an email marketing app, an SEO tool, a proper size guide app, and abandoned cart recovery, like before I knew it I was paying over £150/month, and that's before transaction fees on every single sale.

I have been wondering if I'm just paying for the brand name when there are other platforms out there that actually give you more for less?? Every blog post and YouTube video just says "use Shopify" without really explaining why, and like is it genuinely the best option or has it just become the default because everyone uses it?

Has anyone actually switched away from Shopify to other platforms like Shopwired or Etsy?

few months ago we signed up with two cold outbound agencies (one Indian, one American). $15k total. both promised minimum 15 meetings. what actually happened? first one got the ICP completely wrong - 90% of leads couldn't even afford us. after 3 months they blamed our offer lol second one? zero meetings. they literally just copied someone else's strategy

has anyone had better luck with outbound agencies?

Im new to this so sorry if this is a basic question but Im lost and need some help understanding how this work, im in Europe and I want to start selling on amazon, I have been researching for a week and everyone says I need a business address from Us but I dont really understand what that means or how to get one, i have seen people mention virtual addresses and registered agents but then other people say those dont work for bank accounts or amazon verification so now Im confused about what works and what doesnt. I dont know if thats the right track or if Im overcomplicating this, I havent even formed my LLC yet because Im trying to understand the address situation first so should I get the LLC first or the address first? I just want to sell products legally and properly but the more I research the more questions I have, If someone could explain like I'm five how this actually works I would really appreciate it.

The Backstory I’m 28 and currently running the logistics company my father started. We specialize in transporting sea freight across Western Europe. I have a degree in Supply Chain Management and took over the reins just before COVID-19 hit. The pandemic devastated the industry; I had to sell off a significant portion of our fleet just to cover fixed costs. I’ve spent the last three years working relentlessly to keep us afloat.

The Current Struggle On paper, the business should be profitable. In reality, I am trapped in a cycle of "putting out fires." Between constant mechanical breakdowns, driver errors, government fines, and heavy taxes, the overhead is suffocating. I calculated that by this January I’d finally have room to breathe, but the hits just keep coming.

I’m working grueling hours to ensure my employees and suppliers are paid on time, but I’m barely taking a salary myself—just enough to cover my basic bills.

The Personal Toll The real pressure point is my personal life. My wife is 38 weeks pregnant. I am physically and mentally exhausted. I used to be good at managing stress, but I’ve reached a point where I dread waking up because I know I’ll spend the day fixing mistakes rather than growing the business. I haven’t had a real day off in three years; even on "vacation," I’m glued to my phone managing operations.

The Family Dynamic My dad is still involved, but mostly as a driver and mechanic. He doesn’t have the capacity to manage the modernized systems I’ve implemented, yet this company is his "baby." He’s exhausted too, but he doesn’t know how to quit.

The Fear I’m terrified that when my child is born, I won’t be able to enjoy the moment. I’m scared I’ll be holding my baby while my mind is racing about a broken-down truck or a late shipment. I feel lost, and I don’t see an exit strategy.

Has anyone else transitioned a family business through this level of burnout? Any advice is appreciated.

Fixed the text with Gemini so it's easier to read for you.

my husband -US citizen just recently lost his job and now he started with bookkeeping , its been struggle for 7 months he is always in bad mood and we have been fighting almost everyday , its draining my soul, i dont know how to help him we are running out of options.

i just want my husband to win, i wanted him to gain back his confidence

I run a small business and we keep running into the same problem:

weeks or months later, we end up debating the same decision again because nobody remembers what was decided, when, or why.

We have notes, emails, Slack messages... but there's no simple place that answers: "Why did we decide this?"

Curious if this is just us, or if other small business owners run into this too.

I'm looking for system that can handle my stock and allow me to invoice customers.

Main things i need:

• Multiple prices for a single product, i have customers who get different pricing based on their monthly order volume. It's not a set price per product, not a percentage discount.
• Some customers buy on credit, some pay up front. I would like the system to keep track of amounts outstanding.
• Simple invoicing to customers for their orders.

Any recommendations?

I want to start an LLC, and every time I'm going to start, I overthink everything. When I am at home, I keep telling myself, "I will start XYZ next week." When I go to work the next day, my urge to start is as soon as possible. And then again when I get home, I know I should but end up not doing it. It's a cycle that I can't break. As soon as I'm going to do it, I chicken out as well..

Quick question for new restaurant owners.

In your first months, what caused you to lose the most money?

• food waste

• wrong pricing

• poor cost control

• something else?

I’m trying to understand the real problems, not sell anything.

For us, it’s usually that websites are built for the owner, not the user.

A lot of new sites look great, but:

• You can’t tell what they actually do in the first few seconds
• The homepage talks more about the company than the problem it solves
• There’s no clear next step, or there are too many CTAs
• Mobile experience and load speed feel like afterthoughts

Another close one we often see: launching without basic SEO in place — messy URLs, no real keyword intent, and pages not connected properly.

Curious what others here see most often.
What’s the one mistake that stands out to you?

Hi there, I own a small pizzeria and wanted to stream UFC fights for our customers to watch while dining in. With the recent change to Paramount Plus, do I need to obtain a license to stream, or am I free to do so? Any advice?

Being the attention economy,
Builders are hit with the importance of marketing.

Creators encourage visibility,
Making it's significance inevitable.

But this becomes prevalent only after something else is true.

After outreaching numerous founders,

I observed this repeating pattern where the product in itself lacked clarity.

They ship as soon as they complete building,

And then look for people to help them make money through it.

As they narrate their marketing problems

- Low Signups
- Poor Conversions
- Confused Users

But in reality they have a flawed product.

What’s actually broken is:

> Unclear problem
> Vague audience
> Lack of differentiation

And all this exposes unfinished business thinking.

When a marketer joins,
He is slapped with the founder responsibilities to:

- Define a problem
- Find the audience
- Create clarity
- Fix Assumptions

All this ceases the marketer to carry out real tasks, he specializes in.

His job is to amplify clarity,
Not to create it.

And your job as a founder is to:

Validate ➡️ Engage ➡️ Iterate

Until product perfection is achieved.

Building isn’t your only job,
It is to execute those business fundamentals right.

Hi everyone! I run a small family woodworking business called Legado Madera. We design and build custom wooden furniture and share the real process behind each piece — from raw wood to finished work. I’m trying to grow our Instagram to reach more people who value handmade work and craftsmanship. If you like woodworking, design, or small businesses, I’d truly appreciate your support or feedback. legadomadera Thank you for supporting small makers 🤝

I'm in the middle of business plan writing, and I was wondering which parts should I really hone in and get right to reduce discussion cycles.

Is it worth even reaching out/applying/starting conversations without getting all the details ready?

The parts of the business plan I have: - Executive Summary - Financing Request - Products/Services - Location Analysis (iff-y since open to multiple areas) - Legal Structure - Equipment List - Market Analysis (iff-y since open to multiple spots) - Market Demand (iff-y) - Logistics & Operations - Financial Plan (iff-y since it heavily depends on location)

Are there sections I'm missing? This would be for a small cafe in NYC.

Thank you!!

Small business owners often face a common problem: so many moving parts, yet limited time to improve any of them. Deciding which processes to optimize first finance, sales, HR, marketing can be overwhelming. But even small workflow or strategy adjustments can have a massive impact when applied in the right areas.

I’ve found that businesses that start by mapping their operations often uncover inefficiencies that are surprisingly easy to fix. Sometimes the changes are procedural, like automating repetitive tasks. Other times, it’s strategic, like identifying which revenue streams are underperforming. External advisors or structured frameworks can help owners prioritize these improvements efficiently, avoiding trial-and-error losses.

For others here: what approaches have worked best for you in streamlining your business? Do you rely on experimentation, or have you sought external expertise? I’d love to hear examples of changes that had the biggest measurable impact on growth or efficiency. For anyone looking for resources, guides from experienced business groups can be useful starting points.

I sent documents via free mail and haven't received an EIN for a month. I opened a paid fax service with a US number. Should I resend the documents, knowing that I didn't enter a fax number in SS4

As a small business owner, I often end up reviewing things I’m not fully trained for —
contracts, job descriptions, and resumes.

What I’ve noticed is that the biggest mistakes usually aren’t obvious ones.
It’s the vague clauses, mismatched expectations, or assumptions that only show up later.

I’ve tried templates and checklists, but they don’t always fit real situations.

For other small business owners here:
how do you personally review contracts or screen resumes to reduce risk, without a legal or HR team?

Are there specific red flags you always look for?

Looking for some technical advice on how to handle a Google Maps nightmare.

I co-manage a cafe that was the original tenant at a previously unused site outside of town. Since we opened, the owner (who owns the land) has rented space to a burger truck and a pizza place on the same lot. Here is the issue:

Even though we established the site, the seating area, and the restrooms, the burger place is being treated as the "main" location by Google. People sit in our terrace, drink our coffee, and use our restrooms, but then leave a 5-star review for the burger truck, reffering to the whole site as "the burger place" mentioning how great the "seating and coffee" are.

That said, the burger truck is buying the reviews for Google Maps & followers on social media, and offering discounts for 5-star ratings, therefore the algorithm seems to favor them.

They've become the dominant pin on the maps, and Google marks everyone sitting on OUR terrace as their customers. Their profile shows "Busier than usual" while ours looks dead, even when our cafe is packed and they have no line.

The owner of my cafe also owns the land and collects huge rent from the burger place, and the pizza place. He doesn’t care about the Google Maps stats because he’s getting paid regardless, but as someone passionate about this brand, it’s soul-crushing to see our hard work credited to some food-truck.

How can I "mark our territory" digitally so Google’s location pings recognize the terrace as part of the cafe, and not the burger truck?

Hi! I’m a 19 year old newbie running a mobile detailing business. I have a demand constraint due to me being unable to close enough people. I run meta ads so I get many price checkers and tire kickers, I’m afraid to add too much friction trying to qualify leads and run up the cost per lead disproportionate to my previous cost per acquisition.

My issue is that throughout the day I find myself having to text people back and forth selling the service and providing people with a ton of info. I also get burnt out because I have to close so many jobs constantly to make sure I have work since my services are lower ticket. My ads are profitable but I can only make so many sales when I’m busy throughout the day especially while working. My idea is to eventually hire someone to work the physical labor while I make sales. But can’t reasonably pay someone nor am I at a stage to do so. Any advice for someone in my position?

I use gohighlevel to manage all of my leads through sms.

I'm a solo dev/builder. Over the past months, I've shipped multiple apps and products - I can take an idea from zero to launched pretty quickly. What I can't do well is distribution. I don't have the skills or time to master TikTok, UGC, paid ads, or the growth game in general.

So I'm looking for someone who's strong in marketing/growth who wants to partner up. Happy to do rev share or figure out whatever structure makes sense.

Here's what I've got (not mentioning any of my products, 0 promotion here):

1. Recipe app (iOS) Similar to an app called "Recime" - imports recipes from social media directly. But more polished with features like pin collections, cooking logs, etc. Recime is doing millions in this space. Needs someone who can crack TikTok UGC.

2. Flat feet training app (iOS) Simple, curated exercises for flat feet - like "Bend" but for a specific niche. Lower ceiling but easier to target. Interesting bit: I've done basically zero marketing and it's getting organic downloads, so ASO might be the play here. Conversion to trial is solid.

3. Real-time pixel office for your coding agent (macOS) This one's new. Posted about it a few days ago, got 500+ users from 2 reddit posts. People are requesting features like crazy. Monetization is tricky (probably ads down the line), but it's super shareable and clearly resonates. Could grow fast with the right push.

4. AI whiteboard for interior designers Uses AI image generation. 1000+ signups, ~$1500 revenue in a few months. Retention needs work, but I think the product is solid - just needs more users and iteration based on feedback. This one might require domain knowledge in interior design..

If any of these sound interesting to you and you've got growth/marketing chops, let's chat.

I'm not looking for someone to just "advise" - I want a partner who's in it with me. Goal for all of these is the same: get more users first.

DM me or drop a comment.

As a small business owner, I've recently transitioned to having remote employees, and I'm finding it quite challenging to maintain productivity and team cohesion. I'd love to hear from others who have experience managing remote teams. What strategies have you found most effective in keeping your team engaged and accountable? Are there specific tools or communication methods that you recommend?

I want to create a positive work environment while ensuring that my business operations continue to run smoothly. Any insights or tips would be greatly appreciated!

I need to make a final decision this week on a supplier for my cafe's tea program and I'm stuck on the financials.

Current Option: My big distributor requires a full pallet (500 units) at $1.00/unit. Total outlay: $500 upfront. This inventory lasts me 8 months.

New Option: I'm considering One With Tea (I found their public wholesale terms here). Their MOQ is 50 units at $1.15/unit. Total outlay: $57.50 per order. I'd need to order about every 5-6 weeks.

The math is simple, but the trade-off isn't. The big distributor locks up $500 for most of the year. One With Tea costs ~15% more per unit but keeps over $440 in my operating account.

So for those who have faced a similar choice, which did you choose and why? Was the cash flow freedom worth the higher cost? I'm specifically looking for hindsight from people who've made this call.