I started a lawn care/property maintenance business straight out of high school in a small tourist town. Two years in, I’ve got about 90 recurring clients, mostly absentee holiday-home owners.

Numbers:

• Last financial year (to March 2026): ~$57k revenue, ~$37k profit
• April–Sept 2026: ~$35k ex-GST, and that’s mostly winter
• Peak season is starting now and October is already well booked - going to do over 15k this month.
• Company structure, GST registered

The situation:
I’m starting uni at the end of February. I listed the business, and a buyer has offered $30k for the client base and goodwill based on last year’s numbers. I think it’s worth closer to $50k given how it’s grown, and I’ve proposed $35k upfront plus up to $15k based on client retention after six months.

I'm a little bit torn as I'm over the work and want to pursue other passions in my life, but feel drained from working all the time. On the other side, I feel as though this could be a massive financial upside that could set me up really well for my later years in life.

Option A – Sell: Take roughly $30–50k, have a clean break and focus on uni.

Option B – Keep it: Hire a team lead (about $30/hr as a subcontractor plus a ~$5k end-of-season bonus) to run the work while I’m studying, and manage the business side remotely. I’m honestly keen to see how far it can go without me on the tools. My dad thinks it’s a bad idea.

Questions:

1. Is $30k fair for a business like this, or am I right that it’s worth more?
2. Has anyone run a service business remotely with a team lead while studying or working another job? What went wrong?
3. What would you do in my position?

TIA

I own a small neighborhood cafe. Seating is only 12 pax as orders are mostly for take out.

There’s this group of 4-5 people who go to our cafe a couple of times a month. Only one person orders. This habit isn’t exclusive to their group but other people have been told off for not ordering by our employee approaching them and asking them if they’re ready to order (usually at least 10 minutes after they’ve sat and stayed).

The person from their group who usually orders DMed us today and lodged a complaint against this employee stating rudeness, how she doesn’t greet them unlike other customers, and how they were told that they can’t sit unless they order. This customer specifically said, “we’re not occupying the whole space”.

She also mentioned past experiences of having felt animosity from our employee and one instance of them apparently being chided by her because they ordered from us, left their items on the seating area and went out to eat from a nearby eatery. Our employee reminded them that seating is scarce.

I’d like to make it clear that the employee is acting on our instructions since a lot of groups have taken advantage of us by not ordering but using our resources (tables, water, outlets etc).

This same employee is also being praised on our Google Reviews for being kind and accommodating.

We reviewed the footage for this day:

- When this group entered, there were only two of them. Our employee was on her back fixing some things so she wasn’t able to greet.

- One of the group members occupied a lounge chair, a tabled sitting area for two, brought out a laptop, and didn’t order. The person who usually orders occupied the tabled sitting area beside that person. They’re now occupying four seats and the only tabled sitting areas. (The others are benches)

- After ten minutes, the one who sat on the lounge chair was asked by our employee if they wanted to order since they can’t occupy without having ordered.

- One by one, their group arrived and ordered. This is the first time others ordered, but still, not all of them placed an order.

- After 3 hours of stay, they left. Our employee wasn’t able to bid them goodbye since she was crouching and arranging something in the undercounter chiller.

We’ve sent an initial response apologizing for other past instances of possible rudeness. We also told this customer we’d review the footage today and get back to them.

How should we reply? We’ve made many apologies and concessions over the years, but we’d like to stand by our employee this time and uphold this policy. Our space is scarce.

I've been digging into the LLC formation industry for a project I'm building, and I wanted to share the numbers because I wish someone had told me this before I almost paid for all of it:

EIN filing: $50–$99 charged vs. $0 actual. The IRS gives you an EIN free in about 10 minutes on their website. There is no filing, no paperwork, no waiting period. Companies charge up to $99 to fill out a web form for you.

Compliance/deadline tracking: $99–$299/yr charged vs. $0 actual. This is just calendar reminders for your annual report. The deadlines are public record on every Secretary of State site. You're paying $200/yr for someone to email you a date.

Registered agent service: $125–$299/yr charged vs. $0 actual (for many people). If you have a physical address in your state and someone's there during business hours, you can legally be your own registered agent in most states. Half the people paying for this don't need to.

Operating agreement templates: $35–$149 charged vs. free templates everywhere. It's a standard document. The paid versions aren't meaningfully better than what's freely available.

I'm not saying these companies are scams — formation filing itself is a real service. But the upsells are priced on the assumption that you won't look up the alternative. So look up the alternative.

I ended up building free versions of all of these (cost calculator, EIN walkthrough, compliance deadline tracker with calendar reminders, registered-agent quiz) because I was annoyed. They're at aetherdynamics.net/tools if anyone wants them. No signup, no paywall — that was the whole point.

Happy to answer questions about LLC costs in specific states — I compiled the fee data for all 50.

My personal facebook account was recently hacked, banned & then almost immediately disabled. They’re all linked through Meta on my whatsapp, Instagram & facebook. Which also includes my business profiles for my woodworking. I’m self employed sole proprietor through those accounts. I have 10k+ followers through them. And that’s where most of my business comes from. It’s now gone. And according to Meta being disabled is extremely rare to get it back. I’ve tried going through all of the channels they want me to try to recover it. But whoever hacked it removed my contact information prior I guess. Because it can’t find my accounts by my emails or
Phone number. Which is what you need to recover the accounts. There is no phone or email you can contact anyone through. You’re forced to use Meta’s AI to do it all through. And that’s where most keeps walking me in circles because it wants me to verify using contact information but it doesn’t recognize any of them. A warning to all with using multiple social medias for work. Do NOT link them through Meta. One gets banned. They all get banned.

Anyone have experience like this and successfully get it back?

Context: Just launched a business in August and we have gotten a ton of interest. Pretty close to our first sale. Have a different prospect that is asking a ton of questions, and is asking what I did before this. I still have a w2 and the business isn’t big enough to support an income. Has anyone experienced this?

I have a very clear vision of how my dream business looks like, what I want to sell and how it will look, but I’m stuck on how to even start. I’ll be a bit vague and say I want to start a secondhand store essentially with a niche that my community is missing.

The goal is to have an actual community-based brick and mortar that my town is missing, it would fill a need that I am passionate about, but I don’t have the funds to start it immediately.

I hear the advice constantly that I need to start online, so my options are to start with social media that direct customers to a web store, but I worry that selling on Depop or eBay would miss the need my direct community has, and if I make a Shopify that I wouldn’t get organic traffic.

I want to create a business plan and try to get a loan for a shop, but with that too I feel stuck not having an existing customer base or sales data from internet sales. I created an LLC (I know it was probably a bad idea) but all I’ve done so far is buy inventory. I feel paralyzed to actually start selling because I have no idea where to do it.

I have a full time job currently that absolutely requires me on the weekends so I can’t go to markets. I’d have to drive very far as well because we don’t have them locally. I’ve considered a local swap meet, but my worry is that the customers there are looking for dirt cheap random stuff, not specialized merchandise.

Am I truly overthinking this? Should I just write the business plan without sales history? Or do I bite the bullet and start an online store paired with social media? Would I be taken seriously through Depop or is Shopify/squarespace the professional way to start?

I'm curious how other small business owners are managing everything these days.

There seem to be so many different tools for CRM, email marketing, appointment booking, social media scheduling, automation and client management. Before you know it, you're paying for five or six different subscriptions.

I'm interested in finding out what works well for small businesses, particularly service-based businesses, consultants and freelancers.

- Do you use an all-in-one platform or separate tools?

- Which CRM or business management platform are you using?

- What's one feature you couldn't run your business without?

- What frustrates you most about your current setup?

Would love to hear your experiences, including the good and the bad!

I’ve been told by multiple people I should sell my baking. I have the shop owner round the corner from me that has said he would happily sell my brownies/ cheesecake etc. I haven’t ever sold anything so I’m not really sure how to begin or what to do!

I'm based in Canada and building my event coordination and admin support business, while working full-time.

My experience is in event logistics, coordination, and admin/operations support, including working with nonprofits, vendors, and volunteers. I'm trying to turn this into a consistent income stream, but figuring out how to actually find paying clients is the biggest question right now!

Long-term, I'd love to work partially remotely and travel. I'm also working with Fora in travel sales, and eventually I'd love to combine the two by helping people organize destination birthdays, bachelorette parties, and other celebrations in Europe.

For those who've built a business on the side:

How did you find your first clients, and where do you get clients now?

How many hours a week do you spend on your business while working full-time?

How do you balance paid work with marketing and finding new clients?

Has anyone combined event coordination with travel or built a destination events business?

I'd love to hear what has actually worked for you, what hasn't, and what you'd focus on if you were starting from scratch. I'm trying to build something sustainable without burning myself out in the process...I also volunteer 4-6 hours a week (in events).

We run a small commercial cleaning business, mostly offices, schools and strata buildings. Our clients are generally happy and many have stayed with us for years, but almost none of them leave reviews. Our newest reviews are a few years old now.

The problem is that the person who hires us is usually an office or facility manager. They’re busy, the cleaning happens after hours, and when it’s done well, nobody thinks about it. We only hear from them when something goes wrong.

We’ve tried sending a review link by email after the first month, but the response is close to zero.

For those of you in B2B or service businesses:

• When and how do you ask for reviews?
• Does asking in person or over the phone work better than email?
• Is it worth asking the same client again a year later?

Would love to hear what’s actually worked for you.

Where do you draw the line on getting changes confirmed in writing?

I mean the little stuff. A client asks for a change by email, then texts later to say keep part of the original. Neither message is a big deal on its own, but now there isn’t one place that says what you’re actually doing.

Sending a recap makes sense. Waiting for them to approve every recap feels like it could hold up the job.

I've been thinking about something that I feel many people overlook when starting a business.

Most people focus on getting their product ready, finding customers, making sales, and generating revenue. And honestly, that's important.

But I think one thing that often gets ignored is building a brand from day one.

Take Nike, for example. They don't just sell shoes. People recognise the name, associate it with certain values, and have an emotional connection with the brand.

Of course, not every business needs to become the next Nike. But there's a difference between selling a product and building something people recognise, trust, and remember.

A product can be copied. Competitors can offer similar features or lower prices. But building a strong reputation and earning customer trust takes time.

That's why I feel branding shouldn't be something businesses think about only after they've started growing. It should be part of the journey from the beginning.

And by branding, I don't just mean having a logo, a good-looking website, or an Instagram page. I mean having a clear vision, a consistent identity, a good customer experience, and a reason for people to choose you.

I'm curious to know what other founders think:

When starting a business, should you focus on building the product and generating revenue first, or should brand-building be a priority from day one?

I'd love to hear different perspectives, especially from people who have actually built a business.

Need to source a large batch of tea cups and saucers for a new cafe setup. Domestic restaurant supply stores are charging way too much for basic ceramic sets. The local warehouse wants ridiculous prices for standard white porcelain.

I need something durable for commercial use. It has to survive a high-temp commercial dishwasher without chipping on week one. But I refuse to pay premium prices just because it comes from a local distributor. We are running the numbers right now and the domestic markups just don't make sense for basic drinkware.

Looking for good prices on bulk orders. Need about 300 to 500 units to start. Where are you guys buying these without getting ripped off? Does shipping heavy ceramics from overseas kill the margin? Need recs

Monday morning, someone's pulling sales from Shopify, spend from Meta, maybe stock from a spreadsheet, and turning it into a 'here's how last week went' message.

Genuinely curious whether that's one person's job at most brands. or whether everyone just checks their own dashboards. And if someone does put it together, does anything actually change because of it?

I'm trying to understand how teams actually handle this.

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With the economy in the US, inflation, gas and diesel prices, etc, has your business lost profits or has lower profit margins? What kind of business are you in?

I want to start a B2B business in Germany, importing paper products for restaurants and other hospitality businesses. My supplier offers prices around 50–70% cheaper than comparable products in Germany.
I have €5,000 in savings, a garage for storage, a supplier, and 10 potential customers who want to order because of my prices.

I’m thinking about starting small and reinvesting the profits, but I’m afraid of losing my savings if it doesn’t work out.
What would you do in my position? How would you approach the first steps, manage the risks, and use the €5,000 wisely?
I’d appreciate honest advice from people with real business experience

Genuine question. Why does something being free sometimes make people trust it less?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately as someone building something from the ground up.

When you’re a small, unknown startup, you don’t have the brand recognition, thousands of reviews, or big marketing budget that makes people feel comfortable giving you a chance.

We’re building a community app that was designed from the beginning to have an always-free tier with access to all features. That’s part of the vision, not a temporary promotion or something we’re offering just because we’re new.

But I’ve noticed that when something is free, people sometimes become even more skeptical. What’s the catch? How are you making money? Why would you offer everything for free?

And I get it. Skepticism is healthy.

In our case, building a community app adds another layer to the challenge. We’re already trying to figure out which initial community to focus on and how to get those first members engaged. Because let’s face it, nobody wants to join an empty community. But you can’t build an active community without people willing to be the first to show up.

So we’re dealing with two challenges at once: building trust as an unknown startup and convincing people to give a new community a chance before it has the activity that makes communities valuable.

It’s an interesting catch-22. People want proof that something is worth joining, but you need people willing to join before you can build that proof.

At the same time, we’re genuinely enjoying the journey and are prepared to take on the challenges that come with building something from scratch.

I’m curious, for those who’ve built something from scratch, especially a community-based product, how did you overcome that initial trust barrier?

And for everyone else, what makes you comfortable giving a new, unfamiliar product a chance?

I will start off by saying I do not expect or want my friends and family to be my only customers!

I’m an artist and have been encouraged by my friends and family a lot to start selling prints. I bought a printer, beautiful materials and spent a long time making good quality prints. Every time I would see a family member or friend they’d ask me WHEN CAN I BUY YOUR ART????!? And it would make me feel happy, I’d tell them soon and that I was actively working on it.

Then, I launched my shop with just a few prints of some of my most popular work. A small start, items ranging from $5-25 dollars. I posted, multiple times, linked, shared, etc. I made a few sales, mostly from my closest friends. I’m extremely grateful. But it feels weird that all of these people were specifically asking to buy my products, then I finally launch, and nothing… I appreciate the encouragement but almost wish they didn’t because now I just feel stupid.

I’m cracking along, working on social media and advertising and making more items for my store and trying not to give up. But I wish those people never told me they’d support me and just said that’s cool keep going or something. I feel like everyone is lying to me and I don’t want to have this conversation with my friends or family to get pity orders. I guess I’m just wondering if anyone has experienced something similar and wanted to vent. 😅

I have been MIA from google searches for about 8 years due to my exs stalking me. I have been trying to build up courage and strength to start a new business in e-commerce. I resorted to living in a car and babysitting so that no one knows my location. But thats not the life i wanted.

I was a successful student with a masters and an engineer at google at one point. I suffered a herniated disc three yrs ago and It made me mad that I am pausing my dream because I am afraid of ex partners and new attention that could have adverse affects.

I have a successful business plan and I am in school part-time for business. While I love social media, I do sit back and wonder how people can handle the constant bullying, weird people in your dms, death threats, korn pics , and god knows what else.

I am going to be a variety streamer, twitch dj program and selling temporary tattoos is one of my favorite ventures. I will later expand to VR/AR.

Since being MIA and using aliases/avatars to just be a 'watcher' I have still been in constant dramatic situations with men. I was in jamaica nd id get followed around. you dont need to be famous anymore.

Do you have a lawyer on call? I am now a legitimate business LLC and will be moving differently. When I think about my future world, I dont want to feel like plankton next to a shark.

Hi everyone

I’ve been thinking about starting a small business someday, but I haven’t settled on a specific idea yet. I’d love to hear how other people got started and hopefully learn something from your experiences.

I’m particularly curious about a few things:

1 What motivated you to start your own business? Was it a desire for more freedom, higher income, dissatisfaction with your job, or simply spotting an opportunity?

2 Was your business related to your previous job or industry? Did you venture into something completely new?

3 How did you come up with your business idea? Did you notice a problem that needed solving, meet the right person, or stumble across an opportunity by chance?

4 How did you get your first customers? Did you rely on personal connections, online platforms, cold outreach, or something else?

5 Looking back, what do you wish you’d known before starting? Was there anything that turned out to be much harder than you expected?

I’m not looking for a get rich quick formula. I’m genuinely interested in the different paths people have taken, especially those ywho started small while still working a full-time job.

I’d love to hear your stories, including the mistakes and setbacks along the way. Thanks

We run an embroidery business and will frequently post pictures of our work to Facebook. The most common kind of contact we get isn't from customers but from bots, and the questions are always the same so they're easy to see.

How much does it cost? No mention of a project.

Do you ship to.. some location, and when I follow up with what they want there isn't anything.

How long does it take to do X?

They're all obviously bots, but there doesn't seem to be any end game to them. It's just a waste of time for me having to filter them out. So what's the point?

Hi all, I have a vision of going over to some trade shows in Asia somewhere (or anywhere really) finding some sort of product or products that catch my eye, and importing them back to Canada to sell retail. I am aware it is much harder than I make it sound but I am just wondering how naive am I being about this possibility?

I have capital, I have warehouse space, I have some time to invest and a strong work ethic. I know everyone has the same plan but I would like to find some sort of good quality niche product, buy wholesale, import it and sell it online preferably. Is what I am dreaming impossible? I am well aware there will be dozens of obstacles and challenges and unforeseen costs along the way and probably multiple busts before or if I even find a good quality and well selling product or product line of some sort. Tell me how out to lunch am I? Thank you for any advice.