In November we will reach the our second anniversary as an official business. (We didn’t get really going until the following spring when Jenny and Walter arrived.) It’s kind of interesting, when you’re starting a new business there’s a literal ton of information on the web, at bookstores, etc. to help you. And yet, there are also some incredible blind spots. Namely… money.

The hardest thing to figure out when you’re running a small business is what things should cost. How much should I pay that person? How much should I charge that client? What’s a reasonable profit margin on that gig? What makes sense to spend on that initiative. How much money should I keep in the bank? etc. People almost never share this information publicly. And I understand why. It’s competitive. You don’t want your clients to see how much profit you’re making on them. You don’t want the competition to see how much you pay your employees. etc. That said, it’s this information that is the most reassuring to find out for comparison purposes.

Since starting this business I’ve encountered all sorts of other small business owners. Invariably we end up chatting about our shared challenges. There are some that don’t let their guard down. They’re usually big talkers and eager to tell you how great things are. But there are a handful that you immediately bond with. These are people who are running their business with a similar set of values to your own. And I’ve found that these people have been unusually open in sharing with me the intimate details of how they run their business, and… of what things cost.

Usually the people who are sharing with me are running businesses that are more established than ours, and they are simply further along the evolutionary path than we are. But we get folks coming to us for coaching that are even earlier in the process. I try to share as much as I can with them. (Probably more than most people would be comfortable sharing.) I do it because I know how much I appreciated (and still do appreciate) getting tidbits of information to help me level set and get a sense of how successful businesses actually operate.

Think of it as an informal network of small business buddies who are all sharing key information that isn’t available elsewhere and paying it forward to other folks working on establishing their own small ventures.

When you eschew big investors, some people worry that you’re throwing away the baby with the bathwater and cutting yourself off from all that great advice. I’ve found that there’s a peer network of folks who are giving tons of valuable advice. And it’s all free.

To all my small business buddies out there… thank you!