how ordinary businesses make money

Choosing

How I'd choose a property agent

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Three keys on a plain ring, a yellow tape measure with plain tick marks and no numerals, a plain white doorbell button, a plain clipboard with a blank sheet and a blank booking slip on a soft pink paper board

Ask for the REN tag before the sales pitch.

A notebook open to a blank page, a black pen, a plain grey wireless mouse, a cork coaster with a coffee cup ring and a blank monthly report cover sheet on a deep green paper board

How I'd choose an SEO agency

Anyone who guarantees number one gets shown the door.

An empty silver blister pack, an amber pill bottle without a label, a plain white pill counting tray, a steel measuring spoon and a receipt on a deep green paper board

How a pharmacy makes money now the prices are showing

Everyone can compare now. So what's the shop living on?

Pick a business

Each post takes one apart: who pays, what's left, or what I'd check before paying. Start with one you use.

can't decide? surprise me

78 posts · 58 trades · 339 sources read · 120 sketches

and 40 more tradesand 46 more trades

A small stack of blank white cards, a steel craft knife, a short steel ruler, a plain white order slip and an empty clear card box on a pale pink board

Nobody's phone has ever needed a box of a hundred.

Why the name card refuses to die

A kraft paper mailer, a strip of clear bubble wrap, a black tape gun, a plain cardboard sheet and a blank quotation on a soft pink paper board

How I'd choose a packaging supplier

The unit price is the bit they want you to look at.

A car key on a plain ring, a small orange traffic cone, a plain grey logbook, a wooden pencil and a blank lesson receipt on a deep green paper board

Where your driving school fee goes

A small part is JPJ. So who gets the rest?

The Field Guide

The businesses here on one page, each with its one number and how I know it. A few from it:

open the Field Guide

The Napkin

Thinking of opening something? Put in your numbers and see how many customers you'd need each day. a made-up stall a saleRM25 costs youRM10 the monthRM18,000 You need 47 customers a day, or one every 13 minutes. do the sum

Unmarked brass coins in a plain wooden tray, a jeweller's loupe, a plain black counting tray, a black pen and a blank rate slip on a deep green paper board

How a money changer earns without charging a fee

No fee on the board. It's all in the gap.

A weekly pill organiser with plain white lids, a folded grey cotton blanket corner, a clipboard with a blank chart, a plain white mug and a blank invoice on a soft pink paper board

How I'd choose a care home for a parent

Which law is it under? The answer tells you a lot.

A plain black oil filter, a steel combination spanner, a small steel funnel, a grey cotton rag and a blank job sheet on a soft pink paper board

Ask for the old parts back. See how they react.

How I'd choose a car workshop

In one line

The short version of three posts. Tap one for the long version.

More to read

A plain grey document folder, a black pen, a plain blank white plastic card, a few steel paper clips and a blank policy schedule sheet on a deep green paper board

How I'd choose a medical card

The premium today matters less than the premium at 60.

A handful of steel hex nuts, a steel vernier caliper with no markings, a plain grey safety glove, a small machined metal part and a blank job card on a soft pink paper board

How a factory makes money putting someone else's name on it

One big customer can be the whole story. And the whole risk.

The corner of a closed grey laptop, a plain black external hard drive, a small plain white network router, a coil of grey ethernet cable and a blank invoice on a deep green paper board

Why your web designer would love to keep your hosting

The website is the one-off. The renewal is the business.

A small plain grey child's backpack, a small plain navy child's shoe, a plain wooden block, a plain steel child's water bottle and a blank fee slip on a soft pink paper board

How I'd choose a childcare centre

Look for the plaque, then count the carers.

Three keys on a plain ring, a blank floor plan sketch on paper, a yellow tape measure with plain tick marks and no numerals, a plain steel door handle and a blank booking slip on a deep green paper board

What a property agent's 3% is paying for

Three percent sounds like a lot. Until you split it.

A fan of plain paper swatches in white and grey, a steel paper cutter blade guard, a small ream of plain white paper, a small stack of blank white cards and a blank quotation on a soft pink paper board

How I'd choose a printer for a small job

Ask for a proof. Then ask what happens if it's wrong.

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