r/smallbusiness
This sub is not for advertisements! Questions and answers about starting, owning, and growing a small business only.
Self-promotion
Business promotion posts are banned outright and confined to a weekly promote-your-business thread, links/product recommendations/SEO shaping are removed even indirectly, and market-research or pain-point-fishing posts are removed as of policy; mentioning your own business is only tolerated as a brief aside in a relevant reply.
Patterns that work
Recurring patterns in the top posts of the past year. Counts and scores are measured from those posts.
Based on 99 top posts. Left out 1 moderator, pinned or recurring post.
- Score lift1.1×About the same
Difficult client or employee story
23 of 99 top posts 23%
A narrative about a client, employee, or family member behaving badly or unfairly in a business context.
Why it works: Conflict and moral judgment calls generate strong comment engagement and validation-seeking replies.
Top posts using it - Score lift0.9×About the same
Reflective lesson or hard-won wisdom
11 of 99 top posts 11%
Post frames a personal realization or lesson learned from running a business, without a specific ask.
Why it works: Matches the sub's informal ethos of shared experience even though formal advice-posts are restricted, so it reads as authentic reflection rather than promotion.
Top posts using it- Tried going off grid for 5 days to see if my business could run without me. It couldn't.1,327 upvotes
- When I had to pay a lawyer in 5 minute blocks really changed how I hire anybody who bills by the hour1,253 upvotes
- Nobody prepares you for how unpredictable income feels when you’re self employed649 upvotes
- Score lift1.1×About the same
Milestone or big-number reveal
9 of 99 top posts 9%
Post centers on a large, specific dollar figure, revenue milestone, or payoff moment.
Why it works: Concrete numbers create instant credibility and curiosity, prompting comparison and questions.
- Score lift1.0×About the same
Rant against a platform or system
8 of 99 top posts 8%
Post criticizes a third-party platform, tool, or policy (Yelp, Amazon, payment processors, insurance) for hurting small businesses.
Why it works: Shared frustration against a common outside villain unites commenters and invites pile-on agreement.
Top posts using it- Yelp is the biggest scammer targeting small businesses477 upvotes
- Amazon is getting ridiculous and rewarding petty thieves with both product and their money back.463 upvotes
- I sued a customer for $15k, won in court, but they still haven’t paid. Hired a collections agency, and they just quit, saying the customer keeps running them in circles. Do I have any other options? Or do I just forget about it?461 upvotes
- Score lift1.1×About the same
Price increase confession
7 of 99 top posts 7%
Owner raises prices and reports the customer/revenue fallout.
Why it works: Gives concrete numbers and a relatable risk decision that invites people to share their own pricing stories.
Top posts using it- I finally raised my prices by 40% after 3 years of undercharging. Lost 30% of my clients. Revenue went UP. Anyone else been through this?1,236 upvotes
- Client feels entitled to her old "sympathy discount", totally freaks out when I give her my actual rate606 upvotes
- Am I being "rude" for wanting to charge no-show deposits? My uncle thinks I'm ruining our family business.567 upvotes
- Score lift1.1×About the same
Business acquisition or exit story
7 of 99 top posts 7%
Post recounts buying, inheriting, selling, or considering selling a business.
Why it works: These are high-stakes life decisions the audience aspires to or fears, so they draw advice-seeking and vicarious interest.
Top posts using it
How top posts are laid out
Top text posts open with a brief scene-setting sentence establishing the business and role, then narrate a chronological sequence of events in short paragraphs, often ending with a twist, unresolved tension, or direct question to readers.
- One or two lines establishing the business type and owner's role
- Statement of the routine or expectation before the turning point
- Chronological narration of the incident or decision in short paragraphs
- A specific number or detail that grounds the stakes (money, time, percentage)
- A twist, complication, or emotional beat that escalates the situation
- Brief reflection or takeaway near the end
- Closing question or open invitation for others to weigh in
Best times to post
- #1 Mon, 11am–12pm ET
- #2 Tue, 8–9am ET
- #3 Mon, 10–11am ET
When the top 99 posts of the past year were published, in US Eastern time. Each square counts the posts that went up in that hour.
Left out 1 moderator, pinned or recurring post.
What formats win
100%text posts. Nothing else made the top.
Share of the top 99 posts of the past year by post type.
What top titles have in common
- Personal first-person narrative stated as a completed event, e.g. "I raised my prices and lost X customers"
- Numbers used as hooks for credibility or shock, e.g. "$1.5M cash offer" or "$200K owed"
- Confessional or emotionally loaded framing of a business relationship, e.g. "My best client cost me my best client"
- Question posed directly to the community inviting shared experience, e.g. "Anyone else feel business is slowing down?"
- Short declarative statement of an outcome or realization, e.g. "Happily lost a customer today"
The culture
The subreddit reads like a mix of confessional forum and support group for small business owners, where people share raw, specific stories about pricing, difficult customers, employees, and ownership decisions rather than ask generic how-to questions; tone is candid, often emotional, and skeptical of anything that smells like marketing or SEO bait.
It rewards first-person, specific, emotionally honest narratives with concrete numbers and a clear turning point or decision, especially around pricing, client conflict, or buying/selling a business; it ignores or removes generic advice-seeking, product mentions, links, and anything framed as research or promotion.
Do
- Write in first person about a real, specific situation you personally experienced
- Include concrete numbers (dollar amounts, percentages, time periods) to ground the story
- End with an open question or invitation for others to share similar experiences
- Save any business plug for the weekly promote-your-business thread or a directly relevant reply
- Keep the post to a single clear narrative arc: setup, complication, resolution or open question
Don't
- Don't post links, product names, or anything that reads as SEO or promotional content
- Don't frame a post as market research or a search for a 'pain point' to solve
- Don't ask a generic how-to question without a personal story or specific stakes attached
- Don't use the sub to sell, upsell, or advertise your own business outside the designated thread
- Don't pad the post with bullet-point advice lists dressed up as personal experience unless it's in the allowed thread
Rules (5)
01Post only questions about small business.
r/smallbusiness is a question and answer subreddit. You ask a question about starting, owning, and growing a small business and the community answers. Exceptions None, no exceptions. Note: You can post own experience in the *new* weekly stickied or pinned share-your-experience thread.
02No links, product recommendations, unsolicited advice, blog content, or SEO shaping.
We are not here to help your SEO, promote your product, or provide an audience for your unsolicited advice or stories. As of June 2026 product mentions will be removed from new posts or comments if they appear directly or indirectly promotional. Exceptions Unsolicited advice (best practices, stories, lessons) are allowed in the stickied post dedicated to them. Surveys related to small business are allowed as posts providing they are from academic sources and pre-approved
03No business promotion posts
No business promotion posts are allowed. Promote your business in the weekly Promote-your-business thread only. Exceptions You can mention your business in a relevant reply to a post or comment in other threads when relevant to the conversation but deliberate abuse of this exception to promote will be recognized and removed.
- 04No personal attacks.
05No market research posts - not for developing apps, not for AI, not for business offerings
Posts asking about "pain points" or trying to find a problem to solve aren't the focus of our sub and those posts will be removed. Our deep library of past posts are your guide to what everyone needs if you are willing to search and analyze. Academics may contact the mods to discuss exceptions for academic research.
Top posts this month
- When I had to pay a lawyer in 5 minute blocks really changed how I hire anybody who bills by the hour1,255 upvotes105 commentstext
- Happily lost a customer today1,154 upvotes133 commentstext
- Doing $500k-1million a month in revenue, but I don’t have an hour to myself and I’m losing my mind.540 upvotes509 commentstext
- For those whose small businesses are doing well in this economy - what industry are you in?422 upvotes653 commentstext
- Client asking for 7am meeting and then not showing up419 upvotes134 commentstext
- New hire (friend of my best employee) lied to me in her first week. Fire her or give one chance?393 upvotes350 commentstext
- My bank thinks I'm a money launderer366 upvotes144 commentstext
- Is anyone else completely fed up with this new "AI" software?303 upvotes164 commentstext
- Why are so many pickleball business are on sale294 upvotes260 commentstext
- everyone says raise my prices but my customers are regulars I know by name and it feels like a betrayal231 upvotes147 commentstext
Similar subreddits
- r/Entrepreneur
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- r/EntrepreneurRideAlong
- r/freelance
- r/business
Want this for any subreddit?
Know what works before you write: rules, self-promo limits, timing, formats and culture for the communities you care about. Then check your draft against them before you post.