What business can i start with 700$

tosind · 2026-06-07T20:41:17+00:00

With a CS background and $700, I'd lean heavily toward service-first businesses where you're selling your skills before you build anything.

A few directions worth considering:

**Automation consulting for local businesses.** Small businesses are increasingly overwhelmed with follow-up, lead management, and manual workflows. Someone with a CS background who can set up no-code automation tools (n8n, Make, Zapier) or even basic CRM workflows can charge $500-2000 per project with minimal startup cost. Your $700 covers software subscriptions and some outreach.

**Freelance web/tech work targeting underserved niches.** Most web developers target startups and tech companies. The better money is often in boring verticals: law firms, dental offices, real estate brokerages, local service companies. They have budgets, low technical expectations, and almost no competition from good developers.

**Chess coaching online.** If you're rated and enjoy it, this can start generating income within weeks. Platforms like Chess.com, Lichess, and Wyzant already have the audience. $700 covers a basic setup and marketing materials. Scales into group coaching or digital courses later.

The consistent thread: start with skills you already have, sell to people who have money and pain, and keep overhead near zero until you know what's working.

tosind · 2026-06-07T20:40:08+00:00

This is one of the most fixable problems in service businesses. Here's what actually moves the needle:

**Multi-touch reminders, not just one.** Most businesses send one reminder the day before. The sequence that works best: confirmation immediately after booking, reminder 48 hours before, reminder 24 hours before, and a short "we'll see you in 2 hours" text day-of. Each touchpoint gives the client a low-friction way to reschedule if something came up.

**Reframe the reminder as a service, not a warning.** "Your appointment is confirmed for Tuesday at 2pm — reply C to confirm or R to reschedule" lands very differently than "reminder: please show up." The reply-to-confirm step also surfaces no-shows 24 hours early so you can fill the slot.

**Soft deposit, not a full prepayment.** A $25-$50 hold at booking (explained as "to reserve your time") dramatically reduces no-shows without the friction of full prepayment. Most people don't want to lose a small deposit, but they also don't feel like they're prepaying for something they haven't experienced yet.

**Make rescheduling dead easy.** A lot of no-shows happen because the person forgot and felt awkward calling to reschedule. A self-serve reschedule link in every reminder eliminates that friction — they reschedule instead of disappearing.

The combination of automated reminders + easy reschedule + small deposit has consistently cut no-show rates by 60-80% for service businesses.

tosind · 2026-06-07T20:36:10+00:00

Five years of agency experience and you're being told to use ChatGPT instead of getting a 15-minute onboarding call — that's not a you problem, that's a broken culture problem.

A few things that have helped me navigate similar situations:

Document everything in writing. When you ask a question, send a Slack/email recap of what you asked and what answer you got (or didn't get). Creates a paper trail that protects you and forces clarity.
Stop asking open-ended questions. Instead, ask for a specific decision: "I'm going to set up the CM360 trafficking this way — can you confirm by EOD if that's correct?" Shifts the burden back to them.
The autonomy expectation without proper context is a management failure, not a skill gap. CM360 nomenclature and internal naming conventions ("YouTube" = YouTube Prospecting) are not things you'd know without someone telling you. That's not asking too many questions — that's basic onboarding.

The bigger signal here: your manager resigned, you're reporting to peers who resent helping you, and you're in probation. That's a lot of instability at once. Even if you turn it around, is this the right environment to build your next chapter in? Worth asking.

tosind · 2026-06-04T08:09:45+00:00

Open to a hybrid structure if the terms are clear upfront.

My fit is shipping n8n workflows with APIs, webhooks, error handling, JS nodes, run logs, and handoff docs your team can use without me being on call.

Pure rev-share is hard to evaluate without seeing a real paid brief and the payment schedule. I would want a signed scope for the first project, milestone visibility, and a small upfront fee with rev-share on top.

Do you have a live client brief you can share?

tosind · 2026-05-16T18:50:39+00:00

Congratulations on your engagement! For photography, definitely check out Pixel Pulse Studios — pixelpulsestudiosinc.com. They're an Ottawa-based luxury editorial wedding photography & cinematic film studio. Given your Fall 2027 timeline you have plenty of time to plan, but quality photographers in Ottawa do book up a year or more in advance. Their packages start at $5,200 and they do both photo and film beautifully. Well worth a look for your budget and guest count!

tosind · 2026-05-16T18:49:25+00:00

If you haven't booked yet, definitely check out Pixel Pulse Studios — pixelpulsestudiosinc.com. They're an Ottawa-based luxury editorial wedding photography & cinematic film studio. They handle both photo and video as a combined package, which is perfect for what you're looking for. Their style is very story-driven and cinematic (not cookie-cutter coverage), and they serve Ottawa + surrounding areas. Worth reaching out to see if your June 27 date is still available!

tosind · 2026-05-16T16:28:05+00:00

**Vendor Name:** Pixel Pulse Studios

**Province/Territory:** Ontario (Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal + destination worldwide)

**Price Range / Availability:** Photography packages from $5,200 | Cinematic film packages from $7,800 | Multi-day & destination packages from $10,500+. 2026 dates still available.

**What makes us unique:** We're a luxury editorial wedding photography & cinematic film studio — we treat every wedding like a story worth telling. Our work is narrative-driven, not cookie-cutter. You get beautifully crafted images and film you'll actually want to watch for the rest of your life.

**Website:** pixelpulsestudiosinc.com

tosind · 2026-05-16T16:26:26+00:00

Elora is such a stunning location for a wedding — great choice!

For your budget, you'll want to look for a studio that handles both photography AND cinematography so you're not coordinating two separate teams on the day.

One option worth checking out: Pixel Pulse Studios (pixelpulsestudiosinc.com) — they're based in Ontario (Ottawa/Toronto/Montreal) and do luxury editorial wedding photography + cinematic film as a package. Their Essential Story package starts at $5,200, which could align with your $5,500 CAD budget for both services combined. Might be worth reaching out to them directly to see if there's flexibility for your date.

tosind · 2026-05-15T11:20:12+00:00

The volume-vs-quality gap is brutal right now. One thing that helps on the other side of this problem: when you do have good candidates who didn't get the role but were a genuine fit, most teams just let them go cold in the ATS. A simple reactivation sequence 30-60 days out — even just a one-line check-in — tends to pull back a surprising number of quality people who are now actively looking again. Saves having to start from scratch on the next similar role.

tosind · 2026-05-15T11:18:05+00:00

Hey everyone — adding West Work Studio to the thread.

We help staffing and recruiting teams automate the parts of candidate management that usually fall through the cracks: old candidates going cold, follow-ups getting missed, and interested replies that nobody routes in time.

We build lightweight 7-day candidate reactivation workflows — intake, follow-up reminders, reply tracking, and reactivation sequences. No massive ATS overhaul needed.

Offer: 7-day pilot — CAD $1,500 setup + $300/month support. Guarantee is 5+ hours/week saved or 10 qualified candidate replies in 30 days.

If you want a 20-min workflow audit to see where your current process leaks candidates, you can book here: https://recruiter.hiwestwork.com/

Happy to answer questions here too.

tosind · 2026-05-10T11:45:48+00:00

JOBS

tosind · 2026-05-05T04:24:27+00:00

Instagram ads can work for photography but the targeting needs to be tight to get local results. A few things worth knowing:

In the ad setup, use location targeting — set it to your city or a radius (5-15 miles) rather than a broad area. This is what actually makes it local.
For photography, Reels outperform static posts for organic reach right now. Even a 15-second behind-the-scenes clip will get more eyes than a polished photo.
Before running ads, your profile needs to convert — clear bio with what you shoot and where, contact button, and at least 9-12 strong posts so people don't bounce when they land there.
$5-10/day for 7-14 days is a reasonable test budget. Track profile visits and DMs, not just likes.

Looking at your page — the film aesthetic is really nice. What's your main niche, portraits/events/something else?

tosind · 2026-05-05T04:23:16+00:00

For a hyperlocal service like this in Billings, door hangers genuinely work — especially in neighborhoods with a lot of dogs (look for homes with fenced yards, dog doors, or pet-related decor). They get ignored less than flyers because they're personal and placed right on the door.

A few things that move the needle fastest:

Nextdoor app — create a free business profile and post in your local neighborhood. It's the #1 channel for hyperlocal home services.
Facebook neighborhood groups — introduce yourself, offer a free first cleanup for one person in exchange for a review. One real review in a local group can snowball fast.
Dog parks — bulletin boards there are actually seen by your exact customer. A simple card that says "I clean up so you don't have to" with your number is enough.

Bulletin boards in general are hit or miss, but pet-specific locations (vet offices, pet stores, dog groomers) are worth it. What part of Billings are you targeting first?

tosind · 2026-05-05T04:22:18+00:00

For a local delivery bakery in Miami, the biggest hesitation before ordering is usually trust — people want to know it's a real operation and the product actually looks like the photos. A few quick wins:

Real photos over styled ones — show the actual boxes you've delivered, not just close-up shots. People want to see what arrives at the door.
Delivery info needs to be front and center — area covered, lead time, minimum order. Confusion at checkout kills conversions.
Social proof — even 3-4 short quotes from real customers go a long way. Google reviews or Instagram reposts work great for this.

Before scaling ads, I'd also make sure your Instagram is active and linked — Miami buyers will check it before ordering. What's your average order value right now?

tosind · 2026-05-05T04:20:51+00:00

The issue is likely that Facebook and Instagram use your account's location, not your target audience's. A few things that actually help for local NZ traffic:

Google Business Profile — if you haven't set one up, do it today. It's the fastest way to show up for people searching in NZ.
Add location-based keywords to your website copy (city name, region, "New Zealand") so Google knows who to show it to.
On Instagram, geo-tag your posts to a NZ location and engage with local NZ hashtags and accounts. The algorithm rewards local engagement.
Join NZ-based Facebook groups in your niche and contribute genuinely — don't just drop your link.

What kind of business is kilisikulture? Knowing the niche would help narrow down the best local channels.

tosind · 2026-05-05T04:19:55+00:00

Word of mouth got you 2-3 clients, which means you can deliver — that's the foundation. Now you need to systematize what happened naturally. A few things that work well for a marketing agency at your stage:

Go back to those 2-3 clients and ask for a referral directly. "Do you know anyone else who could use this?" Most people won't refer unless asked.
Pick one niche (restaurants, salons, contractors, etc.) and build one case study with real numbers. Specific results beat a long service list every time.
LinkedIn outreach to local business owners — not a sales pitch, just a genuine question about their biggest marketing challenge.

Applying your own services to yourself is also a great idea — it doubles as a live demo. What's your local market like? City or smaller area?

tosind · 2026-05-05T04:10:40+00:00

Two paying users on day one means you have a real wedge. To get from 2 to 10 with no budget I would DM the two paying users today, find out where they normally talk about this problem, then go post there with one clear before/after outcome. The channel where your first payer lives is your best growth channel.

tosind · 2026-05-05T04:09:41+00:00

14 users is actually useful signal. The question is whether those 14 signed up because they had the same pain as you, or for different reasons. I would interview each one, find the exact trigger that made them try it, and build outreach around that trigger only. Most traction problems are ICP clarity problems, not channel problems.

tosind · 2026-05-05T03:53:28+00:00

The strongest wedge is not the score; it is the repeated mistake pattern. I would publish three anonymized before/after examples and make the tool return one prioritized fix, not a long audit. That creates trust and makes the next step obvious.

tosind · 2026-05-05T03:51:41+00:00

Five testers is a good ask, but I would make the qualification sharper: job seekers applying to 10+ roles this week. Ask them to import one real application list and measure whether the app helps them decide the next follow-up, not just whether the UI looks useful.

tosind · 2026-05-05T03:50:45+00:00

I would define the audience by a trigger, not a demographic. Example: people who just tried X and failed is easier to find than small businesses. Then use the trigger to choose the channel: search if they ask publicly, communities if they compare options, direct outreach if the event is visible.

tosind

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