Start a Small Business in 12 Weekends
A twelve-weekend plan to test, price, sell and keep records for a small business, with US basics as questions for a professional.
By Whole Life HQ6 parts · about 5,900 words · printable · read online
Who it's for
For people thinking about starting something small alongside a job or other commitments, who want a careful, low-cost way to test the idea.
What problem it helps with: A twelve-weekend plan to test, price, sell and keep records for a small business, with US basics as questions for a professional.
What you receive
- One focused job for each of twelve weekends
- A fully worked example with labeled sample numbers
- One-page plan, 12-weekend tracker and money log
- US setup questions to take to an accountant
All 6 parts, in reading order
- Part 1: How to use this plan
- Part 2: Weekends 1 to 3 - the idea, the customer, the offer
- Part 3: Weekends 4 to 6 - price, first ten customers, first sales
- Part 4: Weekends 7 to 9 - bookkeeping and US basics
- Part 5: Weekends 10 to 12 and a worked example
- Part 6: Printable worksheets
Look inside
The first page, word for word.6 parts in total.
Part 1: How to use this plan
Welcome. This is a step-by-step plan for testing and starting a small business in your spare time, one weekend at a time, over twelve weekends.
An honest word first
Most new small businesses make little money in their first year. Many make nothing in the first few months, and some people spend more than they earn while they learn. Others find out by Weekend 3 that the idea is not for them, which is a useful result and costs very little.
This is a plan, not a promise. It cannot tell you how much you will earn, or whether you will earn anything. What it can do is help you test an idea cheaply, make careful decisions, keep tidy records and know where you stand at the end of twelve weekends.
Any numbers in these pages are worked examples, clearly labeled. They are there to show the arithmetic, not to predict your results.
What this plan does and does not do
It does:
- Give you one focused job for each of twelve weekends, usually about four to six hours.
- Walk you through testing an idea, understanding who would buy, shaping an offer, pricing it, finding your first ten customers and keeping simple books.
- Raise the main US setup questions (business structure, sales tax, an EIN, income tax) as questions to bring to a professional.
- Include a fully worked example so you can see what a finished page looks like.
- Give you printable worksheets: a one-page business plan (Part 6) and a 12-weekend tracker (Part 6), plus a simple money log.
What is in each part
- How to use this plan
- Weekends 1 to 3 - the idea, the customer, the offer
- Weekends 4 to 6 - price, first ten customers, first sales
- Weekends 7 to 9 - bookkeeping and US basics
- Weekends 10 to 12 and a worked example
- Printable worksheets
Made and checked by
Written by the Whole Life HQ team.
How you get it
- In your libraryAfter you pay, it is in your library straight away.
- Any devicePhone, tablet or computer. Print it if you like paper.
- Yours to keepIt stays in your account, and you can come back any time.