And how to stop being an easy target, from someone who’s been burned enough times to know the signs.
Here’s a question I was chewing on tonight: why do so many small businesses get taken advantage of?
The answer is layered, but it starts with a hard truth. Some people are just predators, and they know a small business is an easy target. They know owners are so far in the weeds, so overwhelmed, that any promise of relief feels like a godsend. So the owner jumps at the thing, doesn’t know how to properly audit it, gets gaslit into believing it’s working or that “this is just how it goes,” and ends up paying a lot of money for something that isn’t delivering. The people who do that on purpose are just jerks.
But the deeper reason isn’t the predators. It’s the position we put ourselves in. And I say this as someone who has been that owner.
You can’t protect what you can’t see
Small business owners get taken advantage of because they’re so buried in the day-to-day that they can’t pull away long enough to read the contract, check the fine print, or map out what a thing is actually going to cost them monthly and annually.
And a lot of the time, we get taken advantage of because we don’t know our numbers.
I don’t mean that as a dig. I didn’t know my numbers for a very long time. I didn’t even know which numbers I was supposed to know. People told me constantly, “know your numbers, know your numbers,” and I’d just nod, having no idea what they meant. Revenue? Client count? What?
I remember my first coaching call with Molly Moran. She asked what I needed the most help with, and I said, “Can I be real with you? Everybody keeps telling me to know my numbers, and I genuinely don’t know what that means.” And she didn’t make me feel stupid for a second. She said, “No problem, I’ve got you,” and then she spent an hour in my actual QuickBooks with me, going line by line. I got off that call and I think I actually cried, because for the first time I wasn’t afraid of it. I still had a mountain to learn. But she opened a door I knew I needed and couldn’t find on my own, and nobody in my other coaching programs had ever bothered to.
(And yes, Molly is also one of the people behind CleanCon, so if you haven’t signed up, go. I’ll be there as a vendor.)
Know your numbers so you can make decisions
Here’s why this matters. If you don’t know your numbers, you cannot make a sound financial decision. You can’t know what you can comfortably spend and still turn a profit. And you are not running a nonprofit. The goal is to make money, for yourself, your team, your family, your future.
So dig into your profit and loss. Find a bookkeeper who will teach you, not just do it in the dark. I went through two genuinely terrible bookkeepers before I found the one I have now, who never assumes anything. She categorizes every transaction and asks me a million questions, which I love, because that’s how I know it’s being done right. Where things land on your P&L matters, especially at tax time, for your deductions. That Amazon charge might’ve been cleaning supplies, or office supplies, or something you donated to a school. Guessing costs you money.
You’re allowed to ask questions
This is the one I want you to really hear. You are allowed to ask questions.
If you’re working with a vendor and every single time you ask something you feel like a burden, or they make you feel like an idiot, or they bury you in jargon that means nothing to you, that is a problem. A good vendor explains it in plain language. You should be able to ask what you’re spending per click, or per conversion, and get a real answer. And know that words mean different things in different worlds, a “conversion” to you might mean a closed sale, but to a marketing company it might just mean someone filled out a form. Ask until you understand.
Read the fine print, and watch for the lock-in
The other thing we’re notorious for, because we’re so slammed, is signing things we didn’t read. I could list every time this burned me. I got locked into VA contracts I couldn’t escape. I’d ask a question and get told “we already answered that, search the chat,” and I’d search and find nothing, and when I pushed, they’d say “well, I can’t find it either, but I know I told you.” That is not an acceptable answer from someone you’re paying.
So whatever you’re signing, coaching program, CRM, marketing company, bookkeeper, CPA, even suppliers, read all of it. Is there an out clause?
I’ll be honest about where I stand: I don’t think I should need a contract to keep you. I should be delivering something so good you want to stay. When someone demands a long six-month or year-long commitment up front, it’s often, not always, but often, because they’re afraid you’ll leave, and locking you in means they have your money either way.
That’s exactly why I don’t do subscriptions or long contracts, not on my cleaning, not on my coaching, not on my trainings. I don’t want a furious client stuck with me because a piece of paper said so. I don’t want a coaching client scraping pennies and sliding into debt to stay in something that isn’t serving them. If we’re not a good fit, we’re not a good fit, and that’s okay. A business relationship you’re trapped in turns toxic fast.
Here’s what the lock-in actually cost me once: we gave a VA company thirty days notice, they couldn’t place a replacement, and we sat there for two or three months paying full price for a VA service while having no VA at all. That’s the trap. That’s the nickel-and-diming I hate seeing happen to good people.
Go in educated
So please, read the fine print. And if you don’t understand it, we live in a moment where you can drop that document into an AI tool, tell it to read like a lawyer, and have it pull out every red flag so you can walk in with informed questions. Make your decision on what’s actually in the document, not on “I don’t know, I liked them,” or “a friend of a friend referred them, they seem nice.”
I promise you, every business owner on my page can tell you a story about getting burned by a friend of a friend. Do your own research.
And if you ever have a question, message me. I’m not an expert, I’ve just made enough mistakes in this business that I can usually tell you when something sounds wonky. That’s what I’m here for.
Don’t be an easy target. Know your numbers, ask your questions, and read before you sign.