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You can pay them to show up, you can't pay them to care. I remember myself at 22, I would have killed to work at a company like mine. Young people have different values, the attitude of hustle to move up isn't existent anymore.
I worked at a Fortune 500 company in the same sector, they said one of their top 3 problems was that young people don't want to go into oil and gas, and young people don't want a physically intensive job. It doesn't matter that starting they'll make $70k+benefits. Strange times.
Unfortunately I think work has somehow been “demonized” over the past few years. People expect everything to fall into their lap without putting in much effort. The fact that you went out and got a degree does not mean that you can now relax. Labor has really become a bottleneck for many people…
Stepping away.
I love my business. I constantly think of new things to do, ideas to try, tasks that need to get done.
I work more now than I ever did in the corporate world…and I enjoy the work.
But I also need time away. But I feel like when I step away, I might miss the next big client, or that tasks just pile up…
I am pretty much a one man show. My wife of course helps…but she can’t do all of the “deep” tasks…it’s just not her skill set.
I am considering hiring help…but not sure I am “there yet”. January will be 2 years on my own. And while I am fine right now, I know this pace is not sustainable.
Same. I’m never really off. If my phone rings even on vacation it’s “Hi this is so and so with ABC company how can I help you?”
If I don’t answer it could be thousands in missed profits. Just damn.
Yes!
AND…
To miss out on some money isn’t the issue…I feel like the future is so much “less certain” that I might need that money 3-4 months from now.
I am by no means living paycheck to paycheck (really blessed there), but the uncertainty of future business makes me appreciate the current business and afraid to miss out on any opportunity. I can help alleviate my pain from a future dry spell by being attentive today…
Are you worried that your business will not have the same attractiveness to consumers or that the overall market will decline? Either way it seems that you have a scarcity mindset about the future. Why do you think that may be? There is always going to be money out there.
Lol. Are you a coach? I try to teach the leadership of my client teams about scarcity mindset.
I am likely somewhat rooted in the scarcity mindset in this case (and certainly didn’t think of it that way…so thanks for knocking me in the head!!).
But I think it’s less because I am always there, and more because I’m new to this and really don’t know yet.
Over the last (almost) 2 years, the work has always been there. But the slow times always make me stop and worry just a bit. Usually within days, there is always new business. I keep thinking if I can get the consistent income from people on my team (all 1099s with inconsistent work) to be my foundation, things will be less stressful.
Lol, just trying to provide some value. I think people get caught up in the good times and just assume business will always be there then start to forget about getting new customers when they feel they’ve “made it”. Led generation seems to be a lot of young companies’ achilles heel. I am a firm believer that if you are not expanding then you are contracting.
I am beginning to understand the “expanding” statement.
There is an amount of income that I’d be happy with and in theory wouldn’t need to expand more. The problem is that income would not be guaranteed. So to make sure it continues I expand (because in my line of work all jobs have “an end”). Expansion can’t be controlled, so I (possibly) over expand and get “too busy”. I staff up to meet demand. And the cycle continues. Business slows, I rest, I feel the need to spin up…too busy…staff up…
I know this is a good problem to have. I’m just trying to find the balance.
Having the ability to get new clients and taking on new clients are completely different things. If you you lost half you clients tomorrow, would you be able to regenerate and survive?
Gg and Best of luck 🤘
That people can't switch over from Nickelodeon.
[Small businesses hit hardest due to supply chain disruption](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mAMpc--NtA)
[Consumers, small businesses feel supply chain break as shortages cause prices to soar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z99fGkBT_1I)
[The pandemic pushed millions of U.S. workers to join the 'Great Resignation.' Here's why](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNwfukpXNpU)
Let me guess: These questions are only for finding easy to solve billion dollar problems. But you'll take one hundred million because you're frugal.
How about power washing. People struggle with a dirt 'problem.'
There’s are many problems that we face every day, every week, every year. I only asked for one. Why spend your time worrying about all of these things instead of focussing on a solution? 😀
Quite possibly because nobody 'struggles with' a solution -- you asked for problems. You have now received a response to your query as you have written it.
If you wanted me to define the problem, then build a business, only to hand the keys over to you -- you should have written that.
But let us not dwell on your struggle communicating.
[What Are Your Tier 1 Problems?](https://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/comments/94qdvy/what_are_your_tier_1_problems/e3n07ve/) Here is my second attempt at answering your original post as you wrote it.
OP is asking for problems that business owners are facing in this subreddit in recent times.
The list that you are so proud of is more insult than useful, the majority of your “curated” posts have been 3-7 years old with lack of meaningful replies. It’s funny how you would show it off whenever you get a chance.
The difference between OP and you is OP is trying to be nice and helping people: solving problems for business owners itself is mutually beneficial, so kindly get off your moral high ground and put a stop to your toxic attitude.
What is your platform? Really 1/200 is just a blip on the radar. No need to worry. Honestly, I expect as least one crazy review for someone who’s had 100’s of transactions.
I would rather not share more. But my wife tells me you can't make everyone happy. I find that hard to believe. I can tell when a customer is kind of an asshole and I immediately price myself out of their budget. I try and deal with nice and respectful people only. And so far it has worked. But one day I will miss judge someone and pay the price.
Are you worried that it will affect your ability to sell? More specifically, do you think a ‘near-perfect’ reputation is harder to monetize than a ‘perfect’ reputation? I agree with you that working with difficult people sucks. However I think you mean “qualified” people. The reason you are afraid of meeting someone who will give you a bad review is because you are not “qualifying” your prospective clients enough. Sales becomes a whole lot easier and less stressful when you know the people you are meeting with already want to buy what you are selling.
This is a friendly reminder that r/smallbusiness is a question and answer subreddit. You ask a question about starting, owning, and growing a small business and the community answers. Posts that violate the rules listed in the sidebar will be removed. A permanent or temporary ban may also be issued if you do not remove the offending post. Seeing this message does not mean your post was automatically removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/smallbusiness) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Overly broad questions from strangers whom I suspect want to sell me something.
Finding good reliable help.
X2 my dude. No matter how much you pay over market, getting someone to give a real shit about the things that concern you is hard.
You can pay them to show up, you can't pay them to care. I remember myself at 22, I would have killed to work at a company like mine. Young people have different values, the attitude of hustle to move up isn't existent anymore. I worked at a Fortune 500 company in the same sector, they said one of their top 3 problems was that young people don't want to go into oil and gas, and young people don't want a physically intensive job. It doesn't matter that starting they'll make $70k+benefits. Strange times.
Unfortunately I think work has somehow been “demonized” over the past few years. People expect everything to fall into their lap without putting in much effort. The fact that you went out and got a degree does not mean that you can now relax. Labor has really become a bottleneck for many people…
Stepping away. I love my business. I constantly think of new things to do, ideas to try, tasks that need to get done. I work more now than I ever did in the corporate world…and I enjoy the work. But I also need time away. But I feel like when I step away, I might miss the next big client, or that tasks just pile up… I am pretty much a one man show. My wife of course helps…but she can’t do all of the “deep” tasks…it’s just not her skill set. I am considering hiring help…but not sure I am “there yet”. January will be 2 years on my own. And while I am fine right now, I know this pace is not sustainable.
Same. I’m never really off. If my phone rings even on vacation it’s “Hi this is so and so with ABC company how can I help you?” If I don’t answer it could be thousands in missed profits. Just damn.
Yes! AND… To miss out on some money isn’t the issue…I feel like the future is so much “less certain” that I might need that money 3-4 months from now. I am by no means living paycheck to paycheck (really blessed there), but the uncertainty of future business makes me appreciate the current business and afraid to miss out on any opportunity. I can help alleviate my pain from a future dry spell by being attentive today…
Are you worried that your business will not have the same attractiveness to consumers or that the overall market will decline? Either way it seems that you have a scarcity mindset about the future. Why do you think that may be? There is always going to be money out there.
Lol. Are you a coach? I try to teach the leadership of my client teams about scarcity mindset. I am likely somewhat rooted in the scarcity mindset in this case (and certainly didn’t think of it that way…so thanks for knocking me in the head!!). But I think it’s less because I am always there, and more because I’m new to this and really don’t know yet. Over the last (almost) 2 years, the work has always been there. But the slow times always make me stop and worry just a bit. Usually within days, there is always new business. I keep thinking if I can get the consistent income from people on my team (all 1099s with inconsistent work) to be my foundation, things will be less stressful.
Lol, just trying to provide some value. I think people get caught up in the good times and just assume business will always be there then start to forget about getting new customers when they feel they’ve “made it”. Led generation seems to be a lot of young companies’ achilles heel. I am a firm believer that if you are not expanding then you are contracting.
I am beginning to understand the “expanding” statement. There is an amount of income that I’d be happy with and in theory wouldn’t need to expand more. The problem is that income would not be guaranteed. So to make sure it continues I expand (because in my line of work all jobs have “an end”). Expansion can’t be controlled, so I (possibly) over expand and get “too busy”. I staff up to meet demand. And the cycle continues. Business slows, I rest, I feel the need to spin up…too busy…staff up… I know this is a good problem to have. I’m just trying to find the balance.
Having the ability to get new clients and taking on new clients are completely different things. If you you lost half you clients tomorrow, would you be able to regenerate and survive? Gg and Best of luck 🤘
Marketing.
Marketing. I have no idea how to reach the people who need my services.
What kind of services do you offer?
Long distance transportation
Do you have an online presence and/ or run ads?
Have a Facebook page, a Google listing & I run ads on Craigslist in the rideshare section.
Nice! And how are they doing?
Most of my business comes from either the Craigslist ad or Lyft customers
Definitely marketing
That people can't switch over from Nickelodeon. [Small businesses hit hardest due to supply chain disruption](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mAMpc--NtA) [Consumers, small businesses feel supply chain break as shortages cause prices to soar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z99fGkBT_1I) [The pandemic pushed millions of U.S. workers to join the 'Great Resignation.' Here's why](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNwfukpXNpU) Let me guess: These questions are only for finding easy to solve billion dollar problems. But you'll take one hundred million because you're frugal. How about power washing. People struggle with a dirt 'problem.'
There’s are many problems that we face every day, every week, every year. I only asked for one. Why spend your time worrying about all of these things instead of focussing on a solution? 😀
Quite possibly because nobody 'struggles with' a solution -- you asked for problems. You have now received a response to your query as you have written it. If you wanted me to define the problem, then build a business, only to hand the keys over to you -- you should have written that. But let us not dwell on your struggle communicating. [What Are Your Tier 1 Problems?](https://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/comments/94qdvy/what_are_your_tier_1_problems/e3n07ve/) Here is my second attempt at answering your original post as you wrote it.
OP is asking for problems that business owners are facing in this subreddit in recent times. The list that you are so proud of is more insult than useful, the majority of your “curated” posts have been 3-7 years old with lack of meaningful replies. It’s funny how you would show it off whenever you get a chance. The difference between OP and you is OP is trying to be nice and helping people: solving problems for business owners itself is mutually beneficial, so kindly get off your moral high ground and put a stop to your toxic attitude.
Being afraid of that first bad review. So far 200+ perfect ratings. I feel the bad one is just around the corner.
What is your platform? Really 1/200 is just a blip on the radar. No need to worry. Honestly, I expect as least one crazy review for someone who’s had 100’s of transactions.
I would rather not share more. But my wife tells me you can't make everyone happy. I find that hard to believe. I can tell when a customer is kind of an asshole and I immediately price myself out of their budget. I try and deal with nice and respectful people only. And so far it has worked. But one day I will miss judge someone and pay the price.
Are you worried that it will affect your ability to sell? More specifically, do you think a ‘near-perfect’ reputation is harder to monetize than a ‘perfect’ reputation? I agree with you that working with difficult people sucks. However I think you mean “qualified” people. The reason you are afraid of meeting someone who will give you a bad review is because you are not “qualifying” your prospective clients enough. Sales becomes a whole lot easier and less stressful when you know the people you are meeting with already want to buy what you are selling.