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About
For anyone with a business idea they haven’t launched yet, and for owners whose business launched and then stalled.
Last updated
The name comes from the trade. You take something to a mechanic when it won’t run, and a good one tells you straight what’s wrong and whether it’s worth fixing. This site does that for business ideas.
Ideas rarely stall for want of inspiration. They stall on the price, the channel, the costs or the hours, so the guides look there first, in sections that follow an idea from spare evenings to a first hire. The free Idea Inspection grades each part of an idea and names the first fix, and the Toolbox lists software a small business can start on cheaply.
Prices are in US dollars and the rules are American. Tax and legal points cite official sources and say when to see a professional.
The people who write the guides are below, each with the sections they sign. Questions and corrections go through Contact.
Who writes here
Editor and lead writer
Ran a furniture repair shop for eleven years, closed a subscription box after fourteen months, and now helps first-time founders.
Signs Side Hustles · Validation · Marketing · Selling · Software · Growing
Bookkeeper and money writer
Has kept the books for contractors, shop owners and freelancers for sixteen years, and would rather see the receipts in January.
Signs Money · Starting Up
The Idea Inspection
Twenty questions on demand, price, costs, reach and time. Each part graded, the first fix named. Free, no sign-up.
Guides for every stage
Side hustles, validation, starting up, marketing, selling, money, software and growing, with the numbers on the page.
The Toolbox
Software a small business can start on for little or nothing, with a plain note on when the free plan is enough.