Guides
Every guide puts the numbers on the page (the price, the margin, the hours a week) and says what to check first and what usually breaks.
10 guides, newest first
2-1
Customer interview questions to test a business idea
A short script built on what people did last time, the four questions that only get compliments, where to find ten strangers, and how to tally the answers.
5-1
Etsy vs Shopify: fees, buyers and where to start selling
One $48 sale worked through Etsy’s and Shopify’s own fee pages, where the buyers come from on each, what you own, and which to start on with a first product.
6-1
How to calculate your break-even point, with examples
The break-even formula worked at side-hustle scale: a product and a service example, your own pay counted, and the three levers that bring the number down.
1-1
How to find time for a side hustle with a day job
Most side hustles stall on the hours, not the idea. Count the hours yours needs, track an ordinary week, and build a schedule you can keep beside the job.
4-1
How to get your first customers for a new business
Win the first ten paying customers on little or no budget: a one-sentence offer, ten named people and places, the message to send, and a four-week test.
2-2
How to pre-sell a product before you make it
Take real pre-orders before you build: set the pass mark, write an offer with a ship date and refund, and keep within the FTC’s rules on delays and refunds.
6-2
How to price a product: cost, margin and what buyers pay
Set a first price that covers every cost of a sale, card fees and your time included, and sits where buyers will pay, with worked examples and the markup trap.
2-3
How to validate a business idea before you spend money
Five tests in order of cost, from ten conversations to a pre-sale, each with a pass mark set first, so you know whether to build it, change it or drop it.
3-1
LLC vs sole proprietorship: which a new business needs
What an LLC protects and what it doesn’t, why the taxes are the same by default, what each costs to start and keep, and when forming one can wait.
6-3
Why is my business not making money? What to check first
An ordered check for a business that sells but keeps nothing: profit or cash, the margin on each sale, fixed costs, customers, demand and your hours.