When you talk to the client, you need to really cement in their mind that there’s no point in talking to anyone else. When you take that call, what does your script look like?

I don’t generally tip the owner of the business, and that goes for freelancers or independent practitioners. Your prices should reflect the amount you think you should be paid, and you should not solicit additional gratuity.

If you want feedback on customer satisfaction, email them a survey the next day.

We have a separate thread for self-promotion.

It’s great, so long as you steer clear of scams like RewardPort and the like.

What kind of business is it?

Yes. I hired a business coach.

To give you an anecdote: before I moved cities, I had “a guy” for most home services. Like you described: cash only, fly-by-night. They got the job done cheaply.

Then I moved and lost those contacts. I needed a new furnace and contracted with a Neighborly franchise. The experience was night and day and I’ll never go back to having “a guy.” They were professional, priced reasonably, accepted a credit card, showed up when they said they would and were done quickly. I didn’t have to negotiate, or supervise, or speculate about the quality.

I think these franchises, if run well, target people.lkke.me: people who are willing to pay a little bit more to make sure that the experience runs smoothly.

Curious: what has your training on this looked like so far, and what resources do you have to help her improve her skills?

I just hired an agency that uses AI-generated content and it sucks. I’d steer clear.

I’m a former business accountant with years of experience advising small businesses on profitability. No-strings-attached, I’ll go over your books with you on a Zoom call and figure out what is going on.

What’s your interest payment on the debt per year? If this isn’t a profitable business, what’s it worth?

How much money is the business generating in revenue for each of the last three months? Or is this part of a TikTok scam to run up debt "on an LLC’ and then “dissolve” it?

I kind of think you get what you pay for. (Full disclosure: I mentor at a non-profit that does work similar to SCORE for minority-owned businesses.) There are some amazing people at SCORE, but I think you have to get lucky to find someone motivated, talented, and available. In my last business I just hired a consultant - that let me set expectations and manage the relationship better because I was paying.

You have to have punitive measures for these things, and failure to clock in properly needs to be grounds for termination. I don’t know what system you’re using for discipline now, but adding points, creating write-ups, reducing shifts, and eventually termination is the safest way to handle this stuff.

Do they understand why it’s important or why it’s such a headache to fix?

Generally, wherever you live. Alternatively, if you only do business in a specific state, then that state.

Talk to your CPA about your specific situation, but your business is unlikely to be able to avoid state income taxes merely by being incorporated in another state. Corporations incorporate in other states because of their regulatory environments - rules for when they get sued, for example. For most small businesses most of the time, it doesn’t make sense to incorporate anywhere other than where the owners live and the business operates.

I’d have two concerns: the safety of refilling bottles that you don’t control, and whether you’d be breaking a local law about selling pressurized containers. My city regulates these things.

What you want in your business is an operating account. Whether this is classified by the bank as a “savings” account or a “checking” account is a bank regulation issue, so just choose an account that matches your needs. However, most businesses at some point need to process bank transactions at scale, whether those are deposits, ACH transfers, wire transfers, whatever. It happens when you fund payroll, pay sales tax or payroll tax, receive payments or refunds, pay a loan, or engage in any transaction where a credit card won’t work. If your bank has transaction limits on savings accounts just be mindful of that.

Some lenders might not look at accounts classified as savings accounts when considering your creditworthiness, which is also something to consider.

Receive it as an owner contribution, then transfer it out as an owner draw. It’ll make your balance sheet look a little silly, but it isn’t a big deal and won’t impact your taxes.

Easily 80% of success in business is answering when people call.

An LLC is likely not sufficient protection for all the ways that you, as an individual, can cause harm to a customer, because you can still be sued and found liable as an individual separate from your business. Liability insurance protects you against some of those ways.