Customers, employees, pricing, cash flow, hiring, software and the messy operational side of running a business.
Peer discussion for owner-operators and small teams. Bring the business model and constraints; what works for a retailer may fail for a local service or agency.
Our software vendor wants a two-year renewal. The service is adequate, not wonderful, and moving to another system would require training and data migration. The renewal price has risen enough to make alternatives worth...
Our staff can solve most routine customer problems, but still wait for approval because nobody knows where their authority ends. That slows customers down and keeps me tethered to the phone. I'm creating a handoff guide...
One item in our inventory sells only a few times each month, but the margin per sale is excellent. The shelves it occupies could hold faster-moving products, yet discontinuing it might disappoint a small group of regular...
The owner of our small shop—that's me—remembers when to reorder supplies, follow up invoices and check weekly reports. Staff ask because the information isn't written anywhere. I've begun moving recurring work into a sha...
Our shop is busy on Fridays and Saturdays, modest on weekdays and nearly empty for the first hour of Tuesday mornings. Extended opening hours sound customer-friendly, but staffing an empty room isn't free. I'm considerin...
I need to raise prices on a service that has barely changed in three years while costs have not been nearly as polite. New customers already pay more; the awkward part is the group who have been with us a long time. I do...
Two employees handled almost identical refund requests differently last week. One apologized and offered a replacement; another immediately refunded, and neither did anything unreasonable. But customers should get predic...
One supplier offers a lower unit price but needs three weeks' lead time. A local supplier costs more and can replenish us in two days. The cheaper option looks great until demand changes and we either run out or hold too...
Our most requested service has become a scheduling nightmare. One customer takes forty minutes, another needs two hours because every job has different complications. Fixed booking slots create delays and unhappy people...
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