A friend of mine had a small shop that lost money for 3 years straight. Everyone told her to close it down, but she kept tweaking things little by little. She changed her suppliers, cut back on stuff that wasn't selling, and started focusing on what people actually asked for. Fourth year she finally broke even, and by year five she was doing okay. I guess sometimes it's not a red flag, it's just a slow climb if you're learning as you go.

Different desks handle those converter clamps totally differently so it's not always about being cheap.

@cora_west5 had it worse, but rushing always burns you more than the penalty later on.

Six hundred bucks? That's brutal right after good news.

Think about what that rate jump says about your confidence to clients too.