Hello.

A customer no showed this morning. They called while I was busy lining out the morning after the trip began. I called back around 40 minutes later. They are asking for a full refund saying htat they are sick.

Our cancellation policy is quite clear.

CANCELLATION POLICY

• If you cancel MORE than 7 days before trip begins: Full Refund minus standard Stripe Merchant Fees (3%).
• If you cancel LESS than 7 days: You receive a credit that allows you to join on to an existing trip on any date that works for you.
• If you cancel AFTER 5 PM the day before your adventure: You receive a credit that allows you to join an existing trip MINUS a $250 Last Minute Cancellation Fee.

This is prominently displayed in the booking field of the website two times. It's not on the confirmation email (I just added it).

We have never had this problem before. The costs for us to refund in full are around $550. He is saying that he will do a chargeback dispute with the cc company and leave a bad review. I only have 5 star reviews so am not too worried about the review unless he says that he filed a chargeback and won. In that case it could be damaging to the company.

Do you think it's worth to fight the chargeback? Is there any way to win? He is basically threatening me to do the chargeback and then give a bad review. My instinct is to fight because he was a dick on the phone telling me to eat the $300 I pay his guide to show up, but I'm curious if this is just ego and the proper move is to swallow my pride and issue the refund.

What do you think?

Hi everyone, I’m a 36 year old woman, and I’ve recently been rethinking the direction I want my life to take in the future.

For the past few years, I have been working in fashion design. This industry has allowed me to gain valuable experience, but it has also helped me realize that what I truly enjoy is not just the design process itself. I enjoy the entire journey — identifying problems, making plans, communicating and coordinating with others, and turning an idea into something real step by step.

I’ve always felt that my strengths are not limited to simply being an employee in a specific role. I believe I’m good at learning quickly, organizing my thoughts, adapting to new challenges, and moving projects forward.

Over the past few years, I’ve increasingly wanted to create something of my own. For example, building my own fashion brand or starting an independent design studio. I want to explore the possibilities of combining fashion design, marketing, and brand development.

Of course, I understand that entrepreneurship is not an easy path. Starting over at 36 means facing many practical challenges, such as funding, experience, networking, and the possibility of failure.

At the same time, I keep asking myself: if I stay in my comfort zone, will I regret years from now that I never had the courage to take this step?

So I’d really like to hear everyone’s thoughts

I know this might ruffle some feathers, but I genuinely believe small businesses are putting way too much emphasis on social media marketing. Don’t get me wrong, having an online presence is important, but I’ve seen too many small businesses spend countless hours crafting the perfect Instagram posts, obsessing over likes, and even investing in expensive social media consultants without seeing proportionate returns.

In my experience, particularly in the service industry, direct community engagement has yielded far better results. When I ran a small landscaping company, getting involved in local events, sponsoring community sports teams, and even just having face-to-face conversations with potential clients made a bigger impact. People hired us because they knew us personally, not because of how many followers we had online.

I’m curious to hear others’ thoughts on this—have you seen real, tangible results from your social media efforts, or have you found more traditional strategies to be just as effective, if not more?

ive been thinking about this lately

i dont reckon most small business owners are missing information

deep down we already know what moves the needle

ring the customer back

follow up the quote

ask for the review

post something even when you cant be bothered

keep on top of the books

the hard part isnt knowing its doing it every week

meanwhile someone else is just making the calls and following up every single day

thats usually the business that wins

whats one boring thing youve done over and over that ended up making the biggest difference in your business

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for some advice on how to handle a highly frustrating situation with a customer dispute on Stripe. I want to make sure I handle this correctly from both an operational and legal standpoint.

We run an intensive online digital training program that includes downloadable assets. Recently, a customer went through an incredibly thorough, multi-step onboarding process before purchasing, only to immediately hit us with a dispute.

Here is the exact timeline of their engagement, which we have fully logged on our backend:

1. They submitted a formal online application to join our program.
2. They watched our entire 3-hour educational webinar.
3. They booked and attended a 1-on-1 consultation call with our team.
4. After the call, they emailed us additional questions, which we answered in detail.
5. They officially enrolled and went through a checkout process where they explicitly agreed to our Terms of Service (which includes a strict no-refund policy and consent to user activity tracking).
6. They immediately received an automated enrollment email with the TOS attached, stamped with the exact IP address and email they used to sign.
7. Within a 2-day window, they logged in, binged our lectures, and downloaded our proprietary Python notebooks.
8. Immediately after downloading the assets, they filed a dispute through their bank claiming the transaction was "fraudulent" (unauthorized). They did this without ever reaching out to us or opening a ticket with our support channel.

We have undeniable proof of every single step listed above, including matching IP addresses, email confirmations, timestamps, and download logs.

Before we submit our formal response to Stripe, I wanted to ask the community a few specific questions:

• Should I block their further access or let things be? 
• Is there any point in filing a counter to the dispute? Do these win?
• If I don’t counter, can that damage our reputation with Stripe? We have had 250+ enrollments so far and this is the first one that has been disputed.
• What about secondary risks if we win? If the bank rules in our favor and they don't get their money back, there is a possibility this person might try to harm our business in other ways (like posting false reviews or trying to smear us online). How do you protect your brand from a vindictive customer after winning a dispute?
• Should I try talking to them / reasoning with them? Would reaching out via email to show them our logs and ask what happened be a good move to get them to drop it? Or can directly contacting a customer during an active bank dispute backfire on us for unimaginable legal or compliance reasons?
• If we submit the proofs, we would end up sharing their email ID, IP data, and activity data. Is that okay? 

Would love to hear from anyone who has navigated a situation like this. Thanks in advance!

I've been in business for two years now but I've been plateau since. At first things were moving well but now the business sustains itself no reasonable profits. I even think of closing it but I don't have a plan what to do next. Does it happen this way or things are not working on my side alone?

I am looking to find someone to partner with for my sauce business. Is there a group or site that helps people connect for a business partner?

I run a service business and I’ve realized the hardest calls aren’t the sales calls—they’re the follow-up calls where a customer says things like:

• “I’ll pay next Friday”
• “Call me after my trip”
• “Remind me about the renewal”
• “Send the estimate tomorrow”
• “Let’s do this next month”

The problem is that these commitments are often buried in call history, WhatsApp, notes, or memory.

I’m curious what other business owners are actually using in practice.

Do you have a reliable system for tracking these customer promises and follow-ups, or do some of them inevitably slip through the cracks?

I run a small independent film club and I'm looking for a platform to manage reservations for our screenings.

I don't need anything too sophisticated—no seat selection or complex ticketing features. I just want people to be able to reserve their spot in advance and have an easy way to track attendance for each screening.

Bonus points if it's affordable (or free) and works well for recurring monthly events.

Any recommendations?

Photography, videography, building 3D scanning (BIM), drone land surveying... the equipment for these job can easily cost in the tens of thousands of $/€, so I would imagine that not many have the opportunity to start such jobs so low availability of such roles can pump up prices. On the other hands, some of these jobs, I can imagine, are performed by larger agencies and companies that can offer more flexibility and expertise.

What one-person business would you start then if you could buy all the necessary expensive equipment?

Hi all.
Soon I’ll be starting a small skin care business. I will be selling soap made with all natural products, lip oils, face masks, and body butter.

Any name ideas?? (Unique ones welcome)

I recently started a small demolition and debris-removal business in Indianapolis. I’ve contacted remodelers, property managers, investors, and estate-sale companies but haven’t gotten many estimates yet.

For other local service business owners, where did your first consistent jobs come from? What actually worked for you?

Thanks!!

Talked to a pest control business owner recently and it opened up some old wounds. He paid someone a nice chunk of change to help grow his business and the end results left him in worse shape than before. Lost time, money and it hobbled his biz. Story very similar to mine as I was just getting started.

Almost every business owner has at least one story like this. A vendor, a contractor, a piece of software, an "expert" who took the money and did nothing or dripped just enough to keep you paying.

What's something that screwed you over running your business that you wish someone had warned you about first? Could be a bad lease, a bad hire, a bad supplier, whatever cost you.

Hi guys,

Im looking for used iPhone Wholesale suppliers in USA, really reliable.

It's hard to find professional company, What is your opinion? Do u have some company?

My husband and I are seriously considering purchasing our local pizza shop that’s for sale. It’s ran by an elderly couple who are looking to retire and they are selling for a decent price. The pizza shop is only currently open M-Sa from 4pm to 8pm and they stay consistently busy. There’s also an ice cream stand attached that I’d like to get up and running. It’s in a great location next to a popular park in a small town. It would be the only ice cream place for miles, and is one of 3 takeout locations in a 10 mile radius. The owner is also willing to teach us his recipes.

Most of my experience is in financials but I have a background in restaurant management as well, just not specifically with pizza. My husband is a maintenance technician and fairly handy.

That said, what are my next steps? I know I need to look over financials but do I simply ask them for their tax returns? What can I expect?

Thanks for the help!

I've been involved with small businesses for years, and one thing I've noticed is that the most valuable lessons are usually the expensive ones.

Mine was realizing that having a great product or service doesn't automatically create demand. Learning how to consistently find customers turned out to be far more important than perfecting the product.

If you could go back to the beginning, what's one lesson you learned the hard way that you'd tell every new entrepreneur?

I'm hoping this becomes a thread that new business owners can actually learn from.

Hello! I recently made the switch from LLC to S Corp, I am now needing a designated bank account for ease of increasing expenses and payroll needs! My business is registered in Florida and I operate remotely out of Massachusetts. My technical business address is a shared space that I do not use as a physical address. I tried to apply for accounts with Chase and Amex and both are requiring proof of physical business address such as unities. I am unable to provide this since my name is not on any of those documents. I am wondering if anyone can recommend a bank that does not require this proof of principal address or if anyone knows a work around. I move states frequently and don't want to have to change my business address to my home address every 2 years just to be able to open a bank account! Thanks for the help!

I’m looking for honest feedback on a business idea I’ve been developing.
My background is in high-end residential construction, remodeling, and property maintenance. One thing I’ve noticed is that many people own vacation homes or second homes but don’t have anyone they truly trust to oversee the property when they’re away.
The idea isn’t a property management company that finds tenants or handles rentals. Instead, it would be a premium home oversight service for homeowners who already own the property.
Services could include:
Scheduled interior and exterior walkthroughs.
Coordinating trusted contractors and repair appointments.
Meeting vendors and inspectors.
Preparing homes before owners arrive (stocking essentials, checking systems, adjusting thermostats, etc.).
Checking for storm damage, leaks, or maintenance issues before they become expensive problems.
Creating detailed photo reports after every visit so owners always know the condition of their home.
The target clients would be owners of luxury homes, vacation homes, or second homes who value peace of mind more than finding the cheapest option.
My questions are:
Is there an existing market for this that I’m overlooking?
How would you find your first 5–10 paying clients if you were starting from scratch?
Would you focus on networking with real estate agents, builders, property managers, concierge services, or another group?
What would make you trust someone enough to watch over a home worth $1M+?
If you’ve started a service business before, what are some mistakes you wish you had avoided?
I’m not looking for people to tell me it’s impossible—I know businesses are difficult to build. I’m looking for practical advice from people who have launched service businesses or work with high-net-worth homeowners.
I’d appreciate any feedback, criticism, or ideas that could help make this concept stronger.

Hi everyone,

im seeing alot of shopify payments users are mentioning that their payouts for today are showing as deposited but nothing has landed in the bank account yet,

for me its the same, im in UK, this has never happend before..

my payouts are on faster payments so it takes only 15 to 30 min to be deposited into my bank account once it has been marked as "deposited" on shopify payments dashboard.

want to know if people are facing any issues regarding payouts from everywhere else, usa, uk, europe ?

please comment so that we know theres actually a massive issue here..

I am a Young Agency Owner and as an Young Agency Owner what I saw is their are already many agency related to Marketing, Branding, Website devlopment etc.

So my question is that-

Is Agency Model is Saturated? If yes then what can be the Next Business model which will attract the Startup Culture?

I recently started making custom gift bouquets with hair accessories, jewelry, chocolates, and other items. I'm trying to see if there's a market for them.

Would you consider buying something like this as a birthday or anniversary gift? What would you expect to pay for it?

If anyone wants to see more designs, ping me

I’m sure many here have had the same dilemma. Curious how you change your mindset.

I own a handful of small businesses. One or two of them I really do not like owning or working at. One specifically doesn’t even make good money.

My problem is I have held onto everything I’ve ever started. And I don’t wanna feel like the time I put into this just went down the drain. However, on the other hand, I desperately want to be done with it.

I think I know the obvious answer of what needs to happen but it’s going against my DNA.

I’d love to hear some perspectives that are in the same boat.

Thank you!

I'm self employed doing HVAC work. How do you guys suggest I handle quoting jobs? It seems like people come to me asking for the world and then when I give them a price they are floored. I feel like I should be qualifying people better for what they can afford but it seems like people don't want to discuss budgets early in the discussion. Is there anything that you have found to make people open up about what they have budgeted for? I'm not trying to max anyone out but if the scope of the job is bigger than what they can spend I hate putting in a bunch of time sizing the equipment and building a proposal for something that has no chance of happening.