u/PrudentAcanthaceae88

Hey everyone,

I’ve been researching CRM options for a small outbound sales team and noticed that most conversations seem to focus on tools like Pipedrive, Zoho, HubSpot, or Apollo.

One platform I don’t see discussed nearly as much is Close CRM.

I recently started testing it through their free trial, and honestly the interface feels pretty clean and straightforward compared to some of the more bloated CRMs I’ve tried. The built in calling features and auto dialer especially caught my attention since our workflow is very sales call heavy.

Right now we’re mainly looking for something that can help with:

Lead management

Call tracking and outreach

Simple pipeline visibility

Easy onboarding for reps

Fast daily workflow without tons of setup

We’re a relatively small team, so we care more about usability and speed than having hundreds of advanced enterprise features.

For people who actually use Close CRM day to day:

What do you like most about it?

Anything frustrating or missing compared to other CRMs?

How well does it scale as a team grows?

Would you choose it again over tools like Pipedrive or Zoho?

Would really appreciate hearing some honest experiences before we commit to moving everything over.

Thanks in advance.

Last week my uncle almost bought a pre owned truck crane for his construction business and honestly he looked super excited about it. The crane looked shiny in the pictures and the seller kept saying it was fully serviced and ready for heavy lifting work. But before paying the money my uncle asked me to come inspect the machine with him because neither of us knows much about truck cranes. When we reached there the crane looked powerful from outside but after few minutes we started noticing little problems everywhere. One side had fresh paint while the other side looked old and scratched. The hydraulic system also made rough noises during testing and small drops of oil was leaking underneath. The seller kept talking nonstop trying to distract us and honestly that made me even more suspicious.

After that we visited another machinery yard nearby and talked to a older mechanic there. He explained things in a much easier way and honestly it helped alot. He said before buying a pre owned truck crane people should check hydraulic hoses engine condition boom structure tire wear and service history very carefully. He also told us to inspect cables hooks and lifting controls because weak crane parts can become dangerous during heavy jobs later. One thing he repeated many times was checking underneath the crane for leaks cracks and rust because sellers sometimes clean machines before showing them. During our visit another crane suddenly stoped moving properly during a demo and everybody looked awkward for few seconds which honestly proved his point.

Later that night we searched more contractor advice and machinery videos on alibaba and saw many workers saying inspection and regular maintanence matters more than cheap prices. Some people even said a cheap used crane can become the most expensive mistake later. Now I keep wondering how many buyers regret rushing into machinery deals

without checking everything carefully first?

I used to think that children's hats & caps were about looking cute in bright colors and fun designs. That was it. I mean they were also a bit fun and childish which is nice.. Then I took my young nephew out for a walk and everything changed. He loves being outside. Has lots of energy. It was a sunny day more than I thought it would be. We were out for a few minutes when my nephew started rubbing his eyes and squinting because of the sun. Luckily one of his aunts had a baseball cap that she gave to him. It was not fancy a simple cap with a brim that could protect his eyes from the sun.. It worked really well. My nephew was happy and relaxed again in a few seconds. It was a change from how he was before.

After that I started to notice all the kinds of childrens hats & caps. I saw that they are designed to protect kids in ways. Some caps have flaps that cover the back of the neck. Some hats cover the head and have special protection from the suns bad rays. I even saw some kids caps with special neck flaps when I was looking at Alibaba. I did not really think about why they had those features until now.

So I was wondering do other people think about how childrens hats & caps work when they pick them out or do they just think about how they look? Can you find a good balance, between the two? I want to know what you think about childrens hats & caps.

So I’ve decided I’m hacking everything, I'm moving into a studio apartment soon, and lets say my budget is really low. I want my apartment to feel like a Pinterest dream, but my bank account says, “be creative.”

I’ve been on a low‑budget shopping spree comparing prices and buying house items everywhere: Amazon, Temu, Alibaba,. Not in a reckless way though, just researching and picking the cheapest functional options. Some things I’ll invest in later, but for now, survival and aesthetics.

Now here’s my latest hack: shower curtains.

Why are decent-looking shower curtains either boring, too thin, or weirdly expensive? I couldn’t justify it. Then I had an idea. I ordered a very big, fancy raincoat, the transparent oversized kind with a nice finish. It was waterproof, durable, and way cheaper than some of the designer shower curtains I saw online. My plan is to carefully rip it open along the seams, then flatten it out, punch holes across the top, thread a rope or hooks through it… and boom. My custom shower curtain is ready.

It’s waterproof (obviously), lightweight, and honestly kind of cool in a minimalist way. I know this will last, not all hacks go wrong, so don't wait to hear my bathroom got flooded, or it ripped after a few months.

Right now my income is basically held together with duct tape and spreadsheets. I’m a caregiver for elderly relatives as my main job, but it’s low paying enough that I still qualify for Obamacare. The relatives are pretty stable these days though, so I end up with a lot of free time during the week.

On top of that I have a seasonal side gig I’ve done for like 15 years, a couple freelance projects I’m trying to grow into something bigger, and I also sell stuff on eBay which is honestly my biggest income source at the moment. Lately I’ve even been looking into Airbnb and Outdoorsy rentals because apparently I enjoy making taxes more confusing.

For the seasonal work and eBay stuff, I already track expenses and save receipts. Mileage, shipping supplies, office stuff, memberships, all that boring adult paperwork. I’ve had an accountant handling my taxes since 2023 because it got too messy for me to trust myself.

What I don’t understand is whether forming an LLC would simplify any of this. Part of me thinks maybe I could just run everything under one LLC and deduct expenses there instead of juggling separate side hustles like a caffeinated raccoon.

Or is that not how LLCs work at all? Curious if anyone here has multiple income streams and whether forming an LLC actually helped or just added another layer of paperwork and fees.

Honestly, I didn’t think I’d ever need one, before I really needed one. I usually just laughed off my friends talking about a “man cave,” mostly when they talk about theirs, but after a year of hell work, familial pressure, and not feeling like I could occupy literally anywhere in my own home, I took over the small spare room.

First a single chair. Then, the old living room tv. Then, my father’s gnarly old speakers from the garage. It’s not fancy, it’s not decorated; it is simply, and totally, mine, a place to spend an hour of utter silence where I’m not required to justify the need for said hour of silence to anybody.

At one point, I became a ridiculous borderline obsessive about something that mattered absolutely not one bit, spending over an hour researching shower curtains on Alibaba versus Amazon because I thought I might want to use one as a makeshift screen. It just needed to feel right.

Now, it is my sanctuary of decompression, where I either stare at a TV screen or a blank wall for the aforementioned hour. I’m not an unsocial person – or at least I do not think I am. It's the idea of one room that feels, fully, completely, your own. What has this changed for you mentally?

I’ve been seeing so many more ethnic scarves and shawls lately! Everywhere – whether it's a community event, in photos, online – they seem to have caught my eye more often. At first I just noticed that they are gorgeous and pretty, some fun colors or an interesting pattern. That’s it. Until one recent event…

During a community get-together I went to someone who walked in draped in a very bright, multi-colored shawl, beautifully woven with intricate designs. It wasn't an ""in-your-face"" kind of a look, but it was eye catching nonetheless. It draped so elegantly on her shoulders and pulled her entire outfit together. All the sudden I was watching her more than usual! The fabric didn’t scream “mass produced,” and the pattern was very deliberate, hinting at perhaps more meaning behind it than just a pretty print. It looked like it told a story and carried part of her identity in the strands and patterns. I left the event still thinking about that shawl and remembering all sorts of scarf designs I'd come across (I can still vividly remember browsing around some I found on Alibaba a while back), and all I would think was, wow, this one’s pretty neat. But after this recent event, that all changed. Now I just don’t see these ethnic textiles as mere accessories – it seems they are more of pieces of the fabric of someone’s world or heritage. Do you love wearing a certain style of a traditional scarf or shawl that's popular in a specific culture?