How long did it take for your business to be profitable? 💵

[isabelle]

Hi all! Hope you're having a lovely Wednesday ⚡️

Today we're wondering...

How long did it take for your business to be profitable?

We realize this can be a sensitive topic as the journey to profitability can be challenging. If you’re comfortable sharing your experience, we’d love to hear from you ❤️ 

[cherrycreeklure]

Well i just got started online sales 2 months ago I'm still working on improving marketing and my web page so it really needs more time to be able to tell you that.

[BristialDesigns]

My website was built by Web Designz. You should check them out, www.webfixs.com

[Alwayzblessed_2]

Business from the ground up can take alot if grind to build.  Considering the type of business, the market, location, convenience amongst other factors contribute to your result. I personally provide a variety of services and one in particular a niche that is in high demand. My clientele was built prior to self employment and did not lag even during the transition from Corporate America. I send prosperous energy you alls way. 

[EDUARDOMTZ4411]

WHEN AM I GETTING MY LLC LICENCE

[GeorgeFournier]

Apply for an LLC via your secretary of state website.  Square is just a debit/credit card processing portal.  Visit your local SBA & SCORE to learn more.  

[agent4nevada]

Hello,

My name is Richard Read and I am a Nevada Commercial Registered Agent. In other words, I specialize in setting up limited liability companies (LLCs) and corporations for my clients and assisting them with making sure they remain in compliance with the current laws and regulations. My email address is: agent4nevada@gmail.com.

[Kingofclean1]

Me and My son started our own Carpet Cleaning Company and We were blessed with the Knowledge of Know how to Market Any small business online with a great marketing plan and Plenty of late nights and long days . Not to mention constantly waking up from falling asleep on my MacBook Pro and having keys embedded on my cheek 😂 but seriously 😳 we had taken some small business marketing get rich quick courses and finally found one that actually delivered on everything it promised from showing you how to becoming number 1 on Google to making 20000 in profit your first month in business the Teacher of the course swore on everything he loved dear that if we followed exactly what he says to do in the order he said to do it we would be Writing him thank you emails in no time . My thoughts on that were as Follows yea right but… He actually came through the only problem was we could not find a case study to show to our perspective clients well after 2 months of pulling our hair out we said screw it we will start our own business 👨‍💼 and show potential clients our case study from us starting Terry Media to us paying a youtuber for his Carpet cleaning Course . You ask why did you choose carpet cleaning let me Guess you had plenty of experience Actually not at all we choose carpet cleaning because neither of us had ever cleaned carpets a day in our lives we just wanted to show other small businesses that it did not mater the nich or how much knowledge we had in the niche of choice that’s why we picked carpet cleaning. I bet your saying man that’s messed up you knew nothing about carpet cleaning and you charged people to clean there carpets yes but not until we got our Certificates from passing the carpet cleaning course witch actually did teach us a lot about carpet cleaning plus the Teacher gave us a all access pass to his inbox and cellphone with any questions he’ll he was interested in seeing how it turned out for us as he runs his own carpet cleaning company and figured if we knew nothing about carpet cleaning and could make more then he does and he owns his own carpet cleaning business for 10 yrs with over 20 yrs experience in the field he promised if it worked he would be our first client you can imagine the excitement from us we said ok cool on the inside we were jumping up and down screaming woohooo! But that’s here nor there back to the topic at hand so we launched our business with our website and the journey began week one we cleared 3500 week 2 we made 7000 and week 3 and 4 the exact same we cleared 25000 the first month well you can imagine what the teacher said sign me up but by then we realized how much money we could make if in 2 yrs we were still open and the numbers have only increased with every month that goes by we have been in business since April 2021 and by June we were making 50000 a month 😮 I promise you this is not a sales pitch so much not a sales pitch that I’m not leaving any contact info on this post but just wanted to add a really cool inspirational story for all the entrepreneurs and people who are thinking about possibly starting your own business 👨‍💼 don’t listen to the pre programing we are taught one before we start our first job and that’s we are workers and only lucky people are successful in business I was always asked growing up what I wanted to be when I grow up and you know what every time I picked some Career or job can you guess what it was  ? How about this can you guess what it wasn’t never not once can I recal saying I want to be a business owner I always picked a job or career working for someone else even when I was a doctor I never dreamed of running my own practice as much as I saw myself working for a hospital sorry if I’m off topic I just want this story to inspire someone to follow there dreams we did and now we run a business that will easily clear 1,000,000 dollars next yr. follow your dreams!!! It will work if you are determined to make it work but you can’t think that it’s easy to start a small business and work a 9to 5 only concentrating on your business when you have the time and thinking that you are going to strike it rich 🤑 hey I guess anything is possible but it’s not very likely you will absolutely have to be committed night and day to playing catch up on all the things there are to learn it’s been one hell of a great ride for us and I wouldn’t trade one second of it for anything that’s a fact god bless have a blessed 😇 night . Sorry for the rant and lack of punctuation don’t have time to go bk and fix it just wanted to comment on this topic .

PS we never started Terry Media back up we still clean carpets till this very day !!

[corvette2012]

2 years

[TheClean-UpCrew]

I guess I had beginners luck to start making a profit within a couple of months. I should add I have no experience starting a business, I barely got my GED, and only started a business because I couldnt get a job so I just started a company and now needing to actually give people jobs. So if I can do it, I know you all can find a way to start making a profit.

[allenalston21]

Not long

[Sam_400º]

I’ll let you know when it happens! 

how long did it take for Square? I’m sure I read loads of news reports about loosing money as ‘the disrupter’ & extra rounds of funding in the early years. 

[Donnie-M]

My business became profitable as soon as I quit using "hope" as a strategy.  "Hope is a strategy, just not a very good one."

When I sat down and really did the profit and loss, looked at what I was selling and understood the cost, looked at labor and what I was spending, and knew my numbers:  this is when I actually made decisions to be profitable.

I think we all have that idea we don't want to let go of, because we "think" it makes money, but financially it doesn't.  I'll give the best example:  gluten free.  I have had customers ask me for this over the years.  I would get in some gluten free bread/bun and do a half/witted marketing of it.  They don't sell and then I am stuck with them.  The same people that sometimes clamor for stuff, don't always materialize, they are however very vocal to you the boss.

So make good decisions backed by sales numbers, which as a plug for square helps me alot when I analyze what I am actually selling versus not selling.  If the sales aren't there, are you really promoting the item properly, are you executing the item properly.

Donnie-M

[Inannas1]

Totally agree! I do all my books, including taxes and taught myself how to do it, so now I understand ALL the ins and outs and effects of what i am doing in the buying and reselling. I wont say I am a super expert, but with my shop I know it all. 😉 It is the answer to a lot of questions, and made me braver to adjust my space rentals and my pricing on goods. 

[ConsignConnect]

Broke even in August and will be profitable for the full year next year. Who would think building the first consignment app integrated with Square would cost so much money? 🤣 Looking forward to getting into the app store hopefully first thing next year.  

[babyfashion]

no its free and get off of here 

 like that

[YummySweets]

I'll tell you when I get there

We opened Mar 2, 2020 right before the world came to an end. It is amazing we are still in business, well that and credit cards. Good luck everyone.

[Wheelsmart]

The second month after inception, due to the nature of our business and very little overhead. 

[babyfashion]

1 day 

[frillseekerstx]

Almost 8 years for me.  We are a retail gift and embroidery store.  For me though, profitable is not the same as successful.  I continued to invest in the business by adding new product lines, purchasing new equipment and hiring more employees.  We had to continue to grow in order to be profitable financially.  I will say that hiring employees and being able to actually leave the store in someone else's hands was worth more to me than a paycheck at the time.

[Inannas1]

I agree with the profitable not the same as successful! I run a small shop that houses local art/artisan wares. I dont believe I will EVER be able to hire someone! I did learn that I have to take 2 days off a week though, and actually do it. 

[LostTreasures]

We started in January of 2021 (great year to start a retail operation right)? Fortunately we are both really talented at accepting changes very quickly and we were able to adapt through out the last year and a half. We hit a point where we could start taking money off of the business in August of 2021. So about 8 months to being profitable. We still have savings that we rely on and we have still not taken anything out of the business. We have instead used that money to purchase extra inventory. Our goal has been to have enough inventory in our warehouse so that if we are not able to buy (supply chain issues) that we can go for 4-6 months. It has been a huge blessing with all of the shutdowns and restrictions that have gone on the last year and not to mention the shipping and logistics challenges that everyone faces. Even though we could start living off of our business now, we plan on continuing to live off of savings for the next 6 months to a year.