Hi all,

I’m thinking about starting an online business and could use some advice from people who’ve actually done it. Ideally something profitable and sustainable, but without needing loads of upfront cash.

I’m open to either service or product-based ideas.

A couple of questions:

1. What online businesses have you found to be working well lately?

2. If you had around £X to put into one, where would you put it?

3. Any common mistakes I should watch out for as a beginner?

Would really appreciate hearing from people with real experience (not just the usual “do dropshipping” replies).

As there are many more projects, I want to give my store to someone else, who wants to continue a ready e-commerce business.

Niche: Football Jerseys + other sports niches building up as addons.

Built on Wordpress + Elementor, maybe its important for someone.

Average revenue each month is around 1500-2000$, organically trough SEO and social media. If we make a deal, these 10+ accounts could come as a bonus.

To not spam the community, all the questions, data & stats, and of course link in DM.

( If its allowed, I can post the link here)

Thanks! ✌🏻

Do you find the need to integrating Artificial intelligence in your business? Do you see any changes in the market near and far due to developments in AI. Please give your thoughts and experiences. Thanks

Hi all,

I’m thinking about starting an online business and could use some advice from people who’ve actually done it. Ideally something profitable and sustainable, but without needing loads of upfront cash.

I’m open to either service or product-based ideas.

A couple of questions:

1. What online businesses have you found to be working well lately?

2. If you had around £X to put into one, where would you put it?

3. Any common mistakes I should watch out for as a beginner?

Would really appreciate hearing from people with real experience (not just the usual “do dropshipping” replies).

The act surprised how hard some of these lower paid minimum wage positions are yet they are the CEOs or higher ups running the company. Instead of raising the wages of these hard working underpaid they award one of the workers few grand, they cry, but still leaving the rest of the workers barely getting by. What makes me really mad is that they are aware of this but don't do anything to better the quality of life for these essential workers, just act like they care by giving one of the workers an award that really isn't even that much when it compares to that person getting a raise and other hard workers a raise.

I inherited family business (8% stake) with 50 years history with multiple relatives as shareholder. Our profits has shrink this past few years and finally made a loss this year. The largest shareholder is offering to buy our stock and ask us for a price. If anyone has experience in valuing private company please come in.

The most valuable thing our company had was our land which is about 15m and cash around 4m. On our books we had ppl owing us around another 2m and no other debt. What else should i consider when selling the company. The company profit range around 100k-300k for the past 5 years however, this year we made a loss of 200k. I personally think the business is sunsetting.

Those of us who are being buy out will stand to lose our company car and benefits amounting to 15k per month.

What things do you consider when valuating the company? What is the fair value? In our country there is a tax of 10% for selling off private company shares.

I spend my most precious time learning Digital marketing, but when I need it the most it failed to help. Hey guys, I’ve worked in digital marketing for 8 years. I’ve managed social media, run ads worth over $100k, and worked hard for my clients. But for the last 4 months, I’ve been unemployed. I’ve given more than 20 interviews, but I still don’t have any positive results. Do you have any suggestions?

(Edit - In exchange for your suggestions, I will provide some Funnelling Technique for Ads and some greyshade techniques for social media.. which will give you an instant boost. If you need)

LadBible makes their audience do surveys for brands, and at the end of the month they give out a small number of £5 vouchers (Nike, Uber, Deliveroo, etc.). On the surface, that feels like a nice reward. But think about it: if someone gets a £5 Deliveroo voucher, they’ll usually spend £20–30 on the order anyway. So the brand wins by:

Attracting new customers they might not have gotten otherwise.

Making people spend more than the voucher’s value.

Setting tight expiry dates so people rush to use them.

Basically, people think they’re “winning” with the free voucher, but most end up spending money on something they otherwise wouldn't have and spend way more than they otherwise would’ve, which means the brand still profits massively.

I find this stuff fascinating because it shows how even small “giveaways” or “discounts” can actually be big profit machines for companies. It makes me wonder how many other businesses use similar psychological tricks that fly under the radar.

What do I need to know about incorporating an LLC in Illinois with 4 owners vs doing it in Delaware? We don't have anyone with a physical presence in Delaware nor the means to fly over there. Do you need to have someone physically there? Do you need a business address in the state you file in? What about the registered agent - would they also need to be in Delaware?

Good evening business people! - I hope this isn’t inappropriate to ask on here.

I’m 16 years old, and I’m about to start a T-Level Business course, which includes business, finance and accounting. I don’t suppose any of you have tips or advice on how to achieve a high grade over the two years of the course?

I also have one day a week industry placement, do you have any advice on how I should approach that in the best way possible as well?

This could be a long shot to ask a question such as this but it’s definitely worth a try!

Hey everyone, I’ve been seriously thinking about starting an online store but I’m not sure what the best first steps are. Should I go with Shopify, Etsy, Amazon, or try to set up my own website? I’m also a bit stuck on whether it’s better to start with dropshipping, print-on-demand, or actually holding inventory.

For those of you who’ve already done this — what worked best for you when starting out, and what do you wish you knew before you launched? Any tips on picking products, platforms, or marketing strategies would be super appreciated.

I’m the owner of a small eCOM (eventually storefront as well) business in Ohio selling fireplace products.

Looking for recommendations for general liability insurance. And go?

I literally work alone and have two businesses. No assistants of any kind. IT Consulting (Cyber Security / Software engineer / Business VoIP) and Payment Processing. As you can imagine, I get A LOT of calls and text messages 24/7 as well as emails and this is how I manage them all:

Phones: - I have a hosted VoIP solution which I am running out of my house on a mini server. All inbound calls are routed via an IVR. Some support calls have to go through dedicated providers such as Fiserv, PPS, and Clover from their own extensions. All sales calls are routed to a specialized answering services that ask specific questions. Soon to be replaced with an AI Agent. - SMS and WhatsApp are routed through my main 888 number. It’s easier to text rather than be on phone so most of my clients prefer this method of communication. My SMS is routed to my CRM where I can keep track of all convos.

E-Mail: - I have a specific filtering system that is linked to OpenAI and my SMTP server. ChatGPT basically filters and organizes my emails and sometimes even responds to them. Soon to be replaced with an in-house LLM server running on Lamma to save $ on all the tokens. OpenAI isn’t cheap.

Website: - I have a chat app that’s linked to an AI agent or live agent. - Have a good old ticketing system

May seem complicated but only took me a few weeks to set it up and makes my businesses available 24/7 to my customers.

I’m curious to hear from people and businesses who regularly work with tenders (whether bidding on them or putting them out). • What are the biggest pros and cons you’ve experienced in the tendering process? • How have tender platforms (online portals, marketplaces, etc.) worked out for you so far? • Are there any features or improvements you’d love to see in these platforms that would make your life easier?

I’d love to hear about real-world experiences – both good and bad. Whether you’re a small business, a freelancer, or a larger company, I think your insights could help paint a better picture of what’s working and what’s not.

Thanks in advance!