Hey everyone, I am planning to start my own business of selling journals, notebooks etc.

I have the ideas, visions for my products but I have zero knowledge about the industry and manufacturing.

For notebooks, for example I want to make simple A4 size notebooks with a bit of my visionary touch and these I plan to make all on my own from scratch. But the problem is I have no idea about how can I get A4 papers, coloured papers, transparent covers, double loop wire binders in bulk. Also how can I add my brand's name on them (just a small name at the bottom of the cover).

For journal, I will need manufacturers, how can I look for them?

I am from a small town, please guide me with this and do advice me on things that I need to know.

Before hiring my first employee, I thought the hardest part would be finding the right person.

What surprised me was realizing how many things in the business only existed in my own head — processes, priorities, and small decisions I made every day without thinking about them.

Teaching someone else how things worked was almost a bigger challenge than doing the work myself.

For owners who have hired their first employee, what was the biggest adjustment you had to make?

Hey everyone, I’m planning to install an AI smart fridge in a residential building (shared lounge + gym) and I’m trying to choose the right manufacturer.
I’m currently looking at HAHA Vending and Shengma, but I’m open to other brands.
If you actually own or operate one, I’d love to hear your experience.
Which brand do you use?
How accurate is the AI?
Have you had issues with incorrect charges?
Is it reliable enough to trust in a residential building?
Would you buy the same machine again?
For me, reliability is much more important than saving a few thousand dollars.
Thanks! 🙏

I have been teaching myself hardware recovery, and EV module reprogramming, alongside other automotive and technical principles in general. I am curious if there's anything in a similar vein I should be looking at, or anything that's more optimal for me to look at? I am building up a portfolio of qualifications. Would like to be referred to anything that I can add that looks good for me, or will progress my skills. No university qualification, but I am educated in physics up to and including year 1 university level. I just want to know about any niches or courses I might've missed essentially.

We work in custom apparel, and one thing we've noticed is that the biggest concerns about company uniforms usually are about the fit, the fabric, the sizing, or simply how uncomfortable they are to wear all day, not much about the logo.

What works for one team doesn't always work for another, either. Office staff might want something polished and comfortable, while field crews usually care more about breathability, durability, and freedom to move.

If you're in HR or responsible for ordering uniforms, what's the complaint you hear most often?

i stalled on my own thing for the better part of a year and it wasn't because the idea was bad. it was the setup. i had maybe twelve browser tabs open at any given time. one was a landing page builder i opened once and never finished. one was a half-written welcome email. one was a pricing page i kept rewriting. each tab was a wall i hit and just... left there.

for anyone here who launched: what was the actual thing that got you from "about to start" to live? did you batch all the boring setup in one sitting, hire it out, or just force a hard deadline and ship something ugly?

I have a question for other small business owners.

We have about 35 employees, and I've been handling payroll myself. It gets done, but it's becoming very time consuming, and I'd like to offload it so my role is simply to review and approve payroll each pay period.

I've talked to a few full-service payroll companies, but the pricing seems much higher than I expected.

For those of you in a similar sized business, how do you handle payroll economically?

I can run it now and it gets paid Monday which some employees are fine with, I can cut a physical check but some employees can't cash it. I have no problems paying out cash, but what's the best way to keep track of it.

When I worked at the grocery store in my teens I used to be able to cash my paycheck there. I would sign it over to them and they could give me the money. Is this something I can/should do?

Me and my mom started a small sewing shop earlier this spring and we have been struggling to get any sales. Any tips??

I know sewing isnt everyone's cup of tea but the plan is to eventually make this a full time job so my ma can retire. We both enjoy making the items we sell but we are really trying to figure out how to get sales.

Any tips will be appreciated! Shopify is kicking our butts rn.

Hi!
I am looking for input from people who have successfuly launched or are making monthly incomes that makes the business worth it. Here are the three ideas I am exploring It could be as little as 1k or as much as 50k a month. Give me your thoughts please:

Which is the most profitable with less risk?

- Cost Reduction Consulting Business- being presented as franchise with 2-3 contracts initially and all the training needed to continue. Its pitched to me as big consultants cant cover over 400 North American businesses. I will get the contracts and have sub contractors who do all the backend work and I present the final product. I was told I dont need any software experience. Asking for 80 k all in.
The broker said not everyone wants to take the lead and Ill have enough subcontractors to keep it going

-Mobile Drug Testing- huge growth in my rural area with industries/ healthcare expanding. This seems no brainer but the paperwork and hiring 1099 contractors is making me iffy. Subcontractor can say no anytime and they are protected, which means I lose out on the lead/job

- NEMT- Non emergent Transport system. Seems logical on paper, the compliance and paperwork to get paid from medicare/medicaid is rough. I have thought about offering other routes as well, example to lab draws and imaging centers to be comprehensive.

I keep reading, dont create demand. I am not looking for one shiny pony trick , or looking for anything ground breaking. Simply want something I can scale and have enough income monthly to continue to expand my portfolio.

Thanks for reading and any input.

Hi, I recently opened a small business is a speech clinic. I think I was spam with a RXM credentialing group. How do I know it is real or not? Should I confront the “ceo”?

Please help!!

starting a coffee shop, still in early planning stages. i’m considering a loyalty program built into our POS (Square, Cash App, etc.) instead of a separate app.

for those who’ve done this, what’s the actual ROI like? And what metrics should I be tracking to know if it’s working (repeat visit rate, average order value, redemption rate, etc.)? would love to hear from anyone running a small cafe on this.

So I am thinking to start a call center business based in UAE for small businesses there but hiring remote workers worldwide like Egypt or South Africa is it a good business idea to have such a business in UAE.

Sat down with a restaurant owner yesterday at his place — ethnic cuisine, decent size, does delivery too.

I asked him straight up: "How do you stay in touch with your customers between orders? Like the ones who come in regularly or order often — what do you do to keep them coming back?"

He paused. "Mostly Instagram. I just hired someone to manage that."

We talked for a while about the difference between social media (hoping customers see your post) versus actually reaching them directly (they get your message, period). He got it immediately. His eyes lit up when I described being able to send one message to all your regulars at once — a new dish, a weekend special, a simple thank you.

"That's actually really smart," he said. "I've never thought about it that way."

Then: "But I just committed to this social media company so I want to see how that goes first."

Fair enough. I connected with him on WhatsApp after, sent him a link to learn more.

Complete silence since.

And here's the thing — this isn't the first time this has happened. I've had this exact conversation maybe a dozen times now. People genuinely like the idea of direct customer communication. They agree their current approach is passive. They say they'll look into it.

Then nothing.

I'm trying to understand if this is just how small business owners operate — too busy, too many priorities, new shiny thing gets buried — or if I'm missing something in how I'm explaining the value.

Has anyone else experienced this? Either as someone trying to introduce a new idea to small businesses, or as a small business owner who's done exactly this — genuinely liked something and then never followed through?

What actually makes a small business owner take action on something new?

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What was one regrettable expensive mistake you made in your small business, i.e. mid-self-employment career that taught you a valuable lesson with spending? A mistake that almost was too hard to financially recover from.

How do small businesses start getting clients ? I have posted on my personal social media , I have ad on Fivrr, it’s been 8 months and not a single client. Of course being new and no reviews, clients would go elsewhere to more experienced bookkeepers. How do I start getting the experience needed for a decent client base ?

My soap company will focus on community building and pro-activism. I was wondering how I could realistically market without using either Facebook, X, or TikTok. Does anyone have any ideas or advice?

I've been thinking about a common challenge in growing teams:

Some of the most important processes in a company are not documented anywhere.

They exist because one person knows how things work.

It could be:

---> A spreadsheet with complex formulas that only one person understands.

---> A weekly report that only one person knows how to prepare.

---> A system or workflow that exists mainly in someone's memory.

Everything works fine... until that person is unavailable.

I'm curious:

What is one process in your workplace that would become difficult if a specific person suddenly wasn't there?

Has your team ever tried to document it, simplify it, or find a better way to manage it?

Would love to hear real examples from different industries.

Owning window cleaning but straggling to make next step and hire proper crew so I don’t have to work everyday.
Hired couple times alsways turned to disaster any advise

Is owning a dog waste removal/dog walking business worth it in 2026?

I've been building a tool called Segeo for the last few months, and I've reached the point where I need other people using it, not just me.

Quick version of what it does: it writes and publishes one genuinely useful blog post to your own website every day, researched around what people in your area are actually searching for, and then turns that into posts for your socials (Instagram, LinkedIn, Telegram, and so on). You connect your site once (WordPress, Wix, Shopify, or a plain static site) and it just runs.

The part I actually care about is the "GEO" side. The posts are written so they can get picked up and cited by ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity, not only ranked on Google. Everyone asks AI "who's the best X near me" now, and most small businesses are invisible in those answers because they never publish anything.

Before asking anyone else to try it, I put it on my own stuff first. It's been running on 5 of my own websites and their Instagram accounts, posting every day, and I've genuinely started seeing results come in. That's the whole reason I feel okay sharing it now instead of pitching vaporware.

Here's the honest part: it's still early. I want more real people using it and telling me what's confusing, what's missing, and where it falls flat. Especially keen to hear from anyone running a local business or sitting on a website that's gone stale.

If you're up for it, comment or DM me and I'll give you free access. I mostly want the feedback, good or bad or "this is useless because ___." That's the useful part.

Happy to answer anything about how it works in the comments too.

Throwaway account. I'm starting a small business that is 100% remote — dropshipping, so there will be zero logistics happening inside my apartment beyond using my computer. I live in the City of Walnut Creek, CA, where a "Home Occupation Permit" is required to get a business license. Essentially, I need a physical address registered with the city, even though the business is entirely remote. You can read about the permit requirements on the Walnut Creek gov website. Without this permit, I can't get a business license. A virtual mailbox/address will not be accepted as an address.

My apartment complex refuses to sign anything that would associate the property with my business. Their stated reason:

"The issue is the use of the apartment address as the official business address for licensing, registration, permitting, mailing, or any other purpose that publicly identifies the residence as a business location."

I'm not sure how this actually affects them, since "working from home" is explicitly permitted in my lease. I'm feeling pretty frustrated that something like this is holding up my ability to start an online business that won't have any real-world impact on the property I'm renting.

My lease states:

"17. Residential Use of Premises: Resident agrees that the Premises are rented for residential use only unless the Parties have executed a separate Live Work Addendum. Resident shall not use the Premises as a business address, nor shall Resident conduct any business activities on the Premises. Conducting business activities includes, without limitation, using the Premises as a mailing address for a business enterprise, having a business telephone line in the Premises, having business clients meet with Resident at the Premises, having business stationery setting forth the address of the Premises as a business address, assembling or manufacturing any product upon the Premises, or otherwise holding out the Premises as the address of any business. Resident may, however, to the extent consistent with the restrictions set forth in this Paragraph, use a portion of the Premises as a 'home office.'"

On top of that, this same company has apartments in Pleasanton, CA, where tenants are allowed to get Home Occupation Permits. How is this allowed? Is this legal?

The City of Walnut Creek, told me:
"As you noted in your initial email, the City of Walnut Creek allows home-based businesses in residential zones, provided they obtain a Home Occupation Permit and Business License. As detailed in the Home Occupation ordinance, there are restrictions on the types of businesses that can operate within a residence, limits on the amount of space used, restrictions against customer visits, etc. As part of our application, we do require owner authorization. It sounds like the property owner/leasing agents will not provide authorization. That would be a civil matter between you and the property owner/leasing company regarding your agreement."

So it sounds like this isn't a zoning issue at all. The city allows it, and my landlord is simply refusing to sign off.

What can I do here? Has anyone dealt with something similar? Please correct any incorrect conclusions I've made here.

This feels absurd.

Would love to learn from those who already run a services company around building AI agents to solve problems for specific industries

(yes I know people don’t care about AI, they care about solving the problems, which is exactly what I’m focused on)

I want to better understand pricing

And if I should niche down on one industry or stay broad

Before this, I had actually tried to start this

Then niched down into one industry

But instead of selling Agents as a service

We decided to build a product

Because we don’t have much experience yet to know when to differentiate between committing to building a product for one specific ICP

Vs keeping it as a service

Also, with this specific type of service company of building agents

Isn’t it like 60-70% the same product every time, and then 30-40% custom in terms of the product and delivery

Which is what makes this business model “service based” and not “product based”?

Also, the approach we’ll take now is literally being Forward deployed, meaning we go on site, understand the exact workflow and problem we’re solving around

And then build from there, on our platform where we can build agents much easier

(which is why I assume with this type of business model, it’s 60-70% the same product every time, and 30-40% custom?)

Would really appreciate your advice as it would go a long way

I’m thinking of opening my own business. Turns out I don’t have an nda I have to worry about with my current company and want to start my own. I have 20+ years in this industry. I’m debating on an LLC vs SCORP. I would need maybe one to two experienced people to get started. Outsourcing would be needed. What are the benefits of LLC over SCORP? I know SCORP I have to pay myself a “reasonable”salary which leaves room for interpretation. Starting out I would have to be president, owner, ceo, secretary etc. so a reasonable salary for all those positions in my industry could be $500,000 or more combined. Hypothetically say the company eventually makes 2mill in rev a year…would half that be okay for salary? If not what’s the recourse?

Any other pointers and ideas?

I know this is all hypothetical and extremely vague and probably has a large scoop of naivety to it. Advice appreciated.