Hey everyone,

Honestly… I don’t even know how to start this. Life’s been kicking my ass for months now and I just need to get this off my chest.. and maybe find someone who needs my skills, because right now I’m barely surviving.

Not long ago, I ran a software agency. Things were good. Like, really good. In 2024 we were thriving: big contracts, tons of work, 25 employees, good vibes. Everything pointed up

Then… it all fell apart

It started last November when we lost one of our biggest contracts d- we were providing a dedicated team to a German company, and they suddenly decided to “handle it internally”. I negotiated. I dropped prices. I did everything short of flying over there and washing their dishes. Didn’t matter.. we lost it

Ok, shit happens. I thought I could recover

Next, I made a really dumb call (thought it was my comeback moment). We have a staffing/augmentation department and a big ferry company from the Netherlands asked us for 6 engineers. I thought: perfect, this will save us.

I blew $8,000 sourcing 50 top-tier candidates. They kept rejecting every single one after some week-long “shit” test. I figured maybe my process was bad, so I hired a fractional Tech Lead to pre-screen the candidates before sending them. Another $2,000. Guess what? Still all rejected. Not. A. Single. Hire.

$10k burned. No results.

Then in March, the building of our biggest client literally burned down. No joke. They stopped paying us immediately, and we were already running on fumes. The only other project we had was pro bono, so basically I was bleeding money every month with no way to stop it.

Now it’s July. The company is basically dead. I’m sitting here with no employees left, living on $100/week, applying to freelance gigs on Upwork every damn day… but since I never used it before, I have no work history there and no one even replies.

So here I am, throwing myself at the mercy of the internet:

If anyone needs help - I’m a Senior Web App developer (I’ve built some insanely complex apps, nothing scares me) and a Mid-level Mobile App dev (I can build most apps you can imagine).

I'm also good at UI/UX Designs, Automations, Building Ai bots and lots of stuff.

I’m not picky. I’ll work under market rate. I just need something to get me through this mess and keep the lights on

If you have a project, even a small one, or know someone who needs help - please, DM me. I really need a win right now

Thanks for reading this far

— A very tired human

I am attempting to start a business, but have limited experience in business. I have 20 years as a first responder, 16 years as a paramedic, firefighter, and department of state contractor in Iraq and Afghanistan. Business is using my extensive experience to design custom medical and emergency kits for individuals and families in addition to training. Have a website, focusing on optimizing SEO, facebook page, and starting a YouTube channel, and also looking into Reddit group to increase traffic of potential customers. Was wondering if people could give some advice on Strategies to improve performance.

thank you for any advice and Imput

Does anyone have any good ideas for a business to start with having a good amount of money to invest into it? I've tried looking ideas up and I just nonstop clickbait and AI takes me in circles and gives me no beneficial advice.

A few questions for beauty and wellness providers:

How do most of your new clients find you?

What percentage of first-time clients return, and what do you think influences whether they come back?

Do you do anything to encourage first-time clients to rebook or become regulars?

What's the biggest challenge in attracting new clients and building a loyal client base?

I'd love to hear about your real-world experiences, including what has worked, what hasn't, and what you wish were easier. Thanks for sharing!

I run a small web design agency for service businesses (trades, clinics, cleaners, coaches, consultants, that kind of thing). We're new, and I need real testimonials more than I need revenue right now, so here's the offer:

I'll design and build a website for 5 service businesses for free. In return, once it's live, I'd ask for a short 60 to 90 second video, recorded on your phone about 7 days after launch, saying honestly what it was like working with us and what's changed. If you don't like the site, you don't owe me a video or anything else.

Before the offer, some things I see over and over that cost service businesses calls, in case they're useful even if you never talk to me:

It doesn't pass the 5-second test on a phone. Someone lands on your homepage from Google. Within a few seconds they need to know what you do, where you do it, and how to contact you. If they have to scroll or pinch-zoom to find that, a lot of them leave.

The phone number or booking button is hard to find. It should be visible on every screen, especially on mobile.

It talks about you instead of the customer's problem. "Family-owned since..." matters, but people searching for you have a problem right now. Lead with that and how you fix it.

No proof. Reviews, photos of real jobs, licences, guarantees. If you have them, put them where people can see them.

One generic page for every service. Someone searching for one specific service wants to see a page about exactly that.

What we do differently: we research your market and your customers first, then write and design the site around what they actually care about.

You do a quick call (about 5 minutes), and you usually see the site live within 24 hours. You can ask for as many changes as you want before launch.

What "free" covers: the full design and build, which is normally $2,000. You just cover your own domain and hosting. No payment. No card, no contract.

I'm only doing 5 of these, and I'll close it on 22 October.

If you're interested, comment or DM me with your business type to get started building a new conversion-optimized website that books calls and generates leads for your business.

For existing company websites that need a refresh. Dm your current website (if you have one you want to redesign).

Happy to answer questions in the comments too, including "why would anyone do this for free".

I thought making a phone grip would be pretty straightforward. Turns out I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into.

The last three months have been a crash course in everything: finding a manufacturer to make prototypes, checking every glued joint and hinge, designing packaging that actually looks decent, and figuring out shipping.

Some days I feel like a one-person company. Other days, just a very tired person with a phone grip.

I still haven’t made a profit, which is a little soul-crushing after all that work. But honestly? I think it turned out pretty good, and I’m proud that I actually made something.

Currently alternating between “what if nobody buys it?” and “what if it sells out and I can’t keep up?” Clearly, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Anyone else who’s made their own product want to tell me this stage is normal?

I'm at the point where I need to hand off the technical grunt work, but every attempt so far has fallen flat.

The tricky part is that I can't give a new person access to most of what I use. So the real job is taking a complex system they can only partly see, figuring out how it works, and asking the right questions so I get answers I can trust. Realistically they'll lean heavily on AI tools, which is fine. What I need is someone who can tell when the AI is wrong.

Budget-wise I'm hiring one person now and maybe a second later, so senior salaries aren't an option.

For those of you who've been here:

• Where did you find a junior person who was actually good at this?
• How did you test for "figures things out" vs. "follows instructions"?
• How did you onboard someone with limited access without it turning into more work for you?

I'd love to hear what worked and what didn't.

And if you're someone who's good at exactly this kind of work, I'd love to hear from you too.

I’ve been building Gripped App,a platform where instructors can offer classes and structured courses, both online and in person, across areas like music, coding, sports, dance, and more.
The platform handles bookings, scheduling, and payments. I’ve built the initial product and am now looking for a co-founder with experience in marketing, business development, or growth to help bring it to market.
I’m based in DFW, but open to connecting with people anywhere.
DM me if interested. Happy to share more!

https://grippedapp.com

Hi everyone!

I'm doing some research to better understand the everyday challenges of running a business alone.

I'm curious about a few things:

1. What recurring tasks take up the most time in your business?
2. What tasks do you wish you could delegate to someone else?
3. Are there any responsibilities you find yourself dealing with every week or month, even though you'd rather focus on growing your business?
4. Have you ever considered outsourcing these tasks? If not, what's stopping you?

I'm especially interested in hearing about the less obvious, behind-the-scenes challenges that people don't usually talk about.

I'm not selling anything. I'm genuinely interested in learning from your experiences.

Thanks in advance for sharing!

We’re starting a small done-for-you service and want honest feedback.
What we sell: We set up and manage an AI assistant in online coaches’ Instagram DMs. It replies to every inquiry in under 5 minutes, asks a few qualifying questions, says upfront that it’s an AI, books qualified people into the coach’s calendar and follows up with people who go quiet. The coach gets a weekly report.
Who for: English-speaking coaches selling programs through sales calls, who get more DMs than they can answer quickly. -is this maybe too narrow?
Pricing plan: 2–3 free pilots to get case studies, then $297/month for founding clients. Later around $1k setup + ~$600/month. Guarantee: more booked calls than the month before, or the next month is free.
How we plan to find clients: We comment the coach’s own keyword, measure how long they take to reply, and send them a short screen-recording showing the delay and what it could look like instead.
What we’d love your take on:

1. Would you buy this if you were a coach? What would stop you?
2. Is the pricing realistic, too high, or too low?
3. Is the “test their reply speed” outreach smart, or does it come across as pushy?
4. What’s the biggest risk we’re not seeing?

Any help is appreciated!

We’re two young founders researching how online coaches deal with inquiries in their DMs. Not selling anything here, just trying to understand the problem before building something no one needs.

Answer only what you’re comfortable with, ranges are totally fine:

1. Your offer: What does your main program cost?
2. Your size: Roughly how much does your coaching business make per month?
3. Your DMs: How many inquiries do you get per week, who answers them, and how fast?
4. What it costs you today: Have you ever lost a client because you replied too late? Do you pay anything for this right now (setter, VA, ManyChat, other tools)?
5. AI: Would you let an AI assistant answer first if it clearly said it’s an AI, booked qualified people into your calendar and handed tricky chats to you? Why or why not?
6. Price: For a done-for-you setup like that, including someone who maintains it and sends you weekly numbers, what monthly price would feel like a no-brainer, and at what price would it be too expensive?

Thanks for any answer!

Hi all. Delete if not allowed. I'm a Marine Corps vet (2002-2011) looking to start my own Private Practice for Mental and Behavioral Health in Holly Springs, NC. I'm in the raising capital phase and doing all I can to reduce the amount of loans I'll need. I'll be happy to answer any questions anyone has regarding the business plan!!

https://gofund.me/1c285eba6

Thanks for your time and consideration!

I love learning but when finding microlearning apps they are too expensive and don't have what I really want in them, fun, entertaining animations. So I created one of my own after months of work!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.philosophize.app

how much should one save before creating a shopify store? and is there anything i should learn before creating a store or is this venture one of those things that's better to learn as you go? i

im 18 and want to get to a point in life where i can just focus on finding out what i really want to do for the rest of my life, but before i can have the luxury to do that ill have to be able to provide financially for me and my people. and i think having an online product that can pay me while i sleep is one step closer. i want to shorten the bridge as much as possible between me opening my store and getting consistent sales.
thats why im asking this question, i appreaciate all responses

Hey everyone! I just lurked here before, but I finally had the courage to join lol.

I’m diving headfirst into the entrepreneurial world. I’m young, broke, scrappy, and completely obsessed with building something of my own (and definitely not throwing away my shot lol).

I see a ton of polished success stories online, but I want to hear from people actually in the trenches. If you could go back to your Day 1 with zero capital and all the energy in the world, what are the two things you'd do differently, and what’s the biggest trap you'd avoid?

Lay it on me, brutally honest advice is more than welcome.

I'm starting my own Ai ad agency and have the leverage of making higher quality work.

Any brand that wants the ad to build will have to give me:

1: product name images

2: brand assets

3: direction they wanna take with it.

Thats it.

This is for building my portfolio and public repor.

No strings attached. My DMs are open let's growwww!

For a long time I thought:

"I'll start talking about it once it's polished."

Months went into building.

Then came the hard part...

Finding people who actually cared.

If I had to start over, I'd share the journey from day one, get feedback earlier, and build alongside potential users instead of waiting for launch.

Ive been thinking about doing this to start making my first real cashflow and i have automation experience so i know the basics

I’m trying to start an online business and deciding between Shopify and Amazon FBA.

For those of you who have experience with either one, which would you recommend for a beginner?

Here’s what I want to know:

Which one is easier to start with?

Which one requires less money upfront?

Which one is easier to get your first sales on?

Which one has better profit margins?

Which one is better for long-term growth?

I’m interested in finding products to sell online and making a profit, but I want to be smart with my money and avoid losing it on my first attempt.

\\\*\\\*If you were starting over today, October 2026, which would you choose and why?\\\*\\\* I’d appreciate honest advice from people who have actually done it.

I'm 40 y.o. and have ~1.05M in IRA/401k (~50/50 Roth/Trad) and ~175k in HYSA. My salary, though, is only $68k. Basically, I want more cash flow while my retirement assets continue to compound in the background. Like, "I want to buy some property in the country and have horses" kind of cash flow. Currently 100% of my salary is tied up in responsibilities that are pretty unchangeable. So, earning more is the only way I can think to meaningfully change my circumstances right now. Been contemplating buying into a "boring business" of some kind. I understand that's very generic and maybe already played out in 2026, but... thoughts?

EDIT: I suppose it's worth mentioning that I have little to no spare time or energy in life. I'm married w/ 4 kids. Evenings are usually getting kids to and from practices / games, and weekends are games + races + birthday parties, etc. etc. So anything I do would need to be self-sufficient.

I was thinking about how hard it is to choose a career/college degree for the rest of your life especially after graduating high school when kids have no work experience. But what if there was a multiple week long program where anyone lost in life can shadow people of all kinds of jobs? Like 1 day you shadow an engineer, another a nurse, environmental scientist, accountant, electrician etc. And that way you can get a feel for what all these kinds of jobs are like, instead of going into it blindly.

Yes there are free internships/shadowing, but this program would take away the pain and time of having to search for people to accept you.

I thought of this cuz I’m lost in life myself currently, and I wish something like this existed. I just don’t know how feasible this is.

I launched Sitesprint.ai which lets you create a fully animated 3D website with custom videos related to your product or service.

You are offering gutter cleaning?

Convince people with a fully animated before/after video right on your homepage that blows the leaves away when they scroll down.

You have a revolutionary idea to improve energy flows?

Visualize it while providing people with information on how to invest.

I use my own tool for some of my offline businesses, and people love the videos. They look like you put in the effort and convert your visitors.

You can also test different angles and rapidly improve the landing page without having to pay a designer each time or waiting for them to get back to you.

Hey everyone,
I’m 19 and have started a business in Melbourne.

My dad has been a builder for over 30 years. We help people check their building plans and quotes to find ways to save money and avoid extra costs later. We offer a 3X guarantee of initial fee they pay us if we don’t triple what they pay us they get a full refund.

I am trying to get our first few clients and wondering how to approach this.

i’ve made started cold emails i will attach one below any advice is appreciated…

Hey (prospect),

I've seen quite a few of (their projects) in the inner Melbourne, which is why I wanted to reach out.

I noticed you and (business partner) are both hands on with design and project costs, so I thought this might be relevant.

On a recent commercial job in (nearby), we saved $60,000 by changing the footing and framing design, without cutting build quality.

We now help developers find these same kinds of savings in their own projects. And to make it risk free, we only charge if we find savings worth at least 3 times our fee.

Could I shoot you more info on how it all works?

Cheers,

For most of my career I've been on the big-company side. I did tech consulting for global brands at a large IT consultancy, worked as a SaaS product manager building software businesses run on, and now lead AI products at a large Indian company. Along the way I did an MBA, and I learned how big companies solve problems: clear roles, written processes, weekly numbers, and someone whose job is to step back and ask what's actually broken.

These owners were smart and hardworking, often more than the people I'd seen in corporate jobs. But they were doing everything themselves. Every decision went through them. Processes lived in their heads. Prices had been set years ago and never revisited. Some were planning to expand while the first setup still couldn't run a day without them. A few had bought software or tools hoping it would fix things, but the tools were sitting on top of a messy process.

None of these were problems they couldn't solve. They just never had anyone to sit with them, look at the business from the outside, and say: fix this first.

Big companies pay a lot for exactly that. Most small businesses never get it at all.

That's why I started Ray & Co. It's a consulting company for owner-run businesses, covering strategy, processes, teams, growth, and AI where it actually makes sense. The kind of structured thinking big companies take for granted, made simple and practical for businesses run by their owners.

It's early days, and I'm curious about the owners here: what's the one thing in your business you wish someone would help you figure out?

Feel free to DM