The Business Blueprint

Your step-by-step playbook for building a real business. From your first idea to your first £10k — we break down exactly what works, no...
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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·1h

Stop pricing an Epos till system. Nobody is ringing up a shop that has not sold.

An EPOS supplier will let you build a quote at 8am as if a till is a business. You can pick a touchscreen, a cash drawer, a receipt printer, and a monthly software licence for a company that has never invoiced. You have not taken a payment. You have not got a queue, a stock list, or a counter to stand behind. You are ringing up a shop that does not exist.


An EPOS system earns its fee when dozens of sales a day need stock counts, staff logins, and end-of-day reports. A hardware bundle written against zero transactions is a contract for volume you have not earned. The supplier is not your problem. The missing sale is.


Do this today:


  1. Write down how many sales you expect to take this week and where. If the answer is "a few, online", you do not need a till. You have a draft offer.


  1. Take one payment with whatever you already have, a payment link or a bank transfer. Put the customer's name and what they bought in a file you control. That is a sale. A touchscreen on a shelf is not.


  1. When you have ten paying customers and a physical counter or market stall with real footfall, then compare till systems and read the contract length. Until then there is nothing to scan.


If you are pricing because a competitor's shop had a tidy till in a photo, you are solving a retail problem you have not got. A receipt printer does not invoice. A customer does.


What are you ringing up that has not made you a pound?


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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·1h

The Customer Discovery Formula That Works

  1. Find your ideal customer profile (be specific—age, income, problem)

  2. Ask them ONE question: 'What's your biggest struggle with [topic]?'

  3. Listen. Don't pitch. Record patterns.

  4. Build exactly what they asked for.


Don't guess. Ask.

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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·3h

Stop drafting late payment letters. Nobody owes a shop that has not sold.

The Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act will let you spend the morning as if statutory interest is a business. You can template a chaser, work out 8 percent over base rate, and save a letter-before-action for a company that has never invoiced. You have not taken a payment. You have not got a customer who could be late. You are chasing a debtor who does not exist.


The Act gives a business the right to charge interest and a fixed sum when another business pays late. A letter written against an empty ledger is paperwork for money nobody has promised you. The law is not your problem. The missing sale is.


Do this today:


  1. Write down the customer who owes you money right now. If the list is empty, you do not have a debt. You have a draft offer.


  1. Take one payment up front. Put the customer's name and what they bought in a file you control. That is a sale, and an upfront payment cannot be paid late.


  1. When you have ten paying customers and an invoice that is genuinely overdue, then send a polite reminder, add the statutory interest, and keep the template. Until then there is no debtor to write to.


If you are drafting because a blog said every invoice needs late-fee terms, put the payment term on the invoice you actually send. A clause does not invoice. A customer does.


What debt are you chasing that has not made you a pound?


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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·5h

Stop applying for FCA authorisation. Nobody is regulating a shop that has not sold.

The Financial Conduct Authority will let you open a Connect account at 4am as if a regulatory permission is a business. You can read the threshold conditions, draft a programme of operations, and pay an application fee for a company that has never invoiced. You have not taken a payment. You have not got a regulated activity to perform. You are seeking permission for a shop that does not exist.


FCA authorisation is for firms that arrange investments, give credit, advise on mortgages, or do other regulated work. A business plan written against no clients is a fee and months of questions for permission you have not earned. The regulator is not your problem. The missing sale is.


Do this today:


  1. Write down the specific regulated activity you would perform for a paying client. If you cannot name one in the FCA Handbook, you do not need authorisation. You have a draft offer.


  1. Take one payment for something that is not regulated. Put the customer's name and what they bought in a file you control. That is a sale. A permission with no clients is not.


  1. When you have ten paying customers and an activity that really does need a licence, then speak to a compliance adviser and check the FCA register. Until then the application has nothing to assess.


If you are applying because a forum said coaching about money needs a licence, check the line between education and advice first. A permission does not invoice. A customer does.


What activity are you seeking permission for that has not made you a pound?


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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·5h

The Customer Discovery Formula That Works

  1. Find your ideal customer profile (be specific—age, income, problem)

  2. Ask them ONE question: 'What's your biggest struggle with [topic]?'

  3. Listen. Don't pitch. Record patterns.

  4. Build exactly what they asked for.


Don't guess. Ask.

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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·7h

Stop booking a startup solicitor. Nobody is suing a shop that has not sold.

A fixed-fee startup law firm will let you book a package at 2am as if legal cover is a business. You can pick a shareholders' agreement, a terms bundle, and an IP assignment, then wait for a partner to review a company that has never invoiced. You have not taken a payment. You have not got a counterparty, a dispute, or a contract worth fighting over. You are lawyering a shop that does not exist.


A solicitor is worth the fee when real money, a co-founder, or a signed customer sits on the other side of the paper. A package written against an empty order book is a bill for risk you have not earned. The firm is not your problem. The missing sale is.


Do this today:


  1. Write down the person you would be in a dispute with. If the name does not exist, you do not have a legal problem. You have a draft offer.


  1. Take one payment. Put the customer's name and what they bought in a file you control. That is a sale. A retainer letter with no client is not.


  1. When you have ten paying customers and a contract, a co-founder, or a supplier you could actually fall out with, then book the solicitor. Until then the engagement letter has nothing to protect.


If you are booking because a founder thread said never start without a lawyer, you are solving a litigation problem you have not got. A legal bill does not invoice. A customer does.


What dispute are you paying to prevent that has not made you a pound?


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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·9h

Stop hiring a company secretary. Nobody is minuting a shop that has not sold.

A company secretarial service will let you sign up at midnight as if board minutes are a business. You can buy a statutory books pack, draft a resolution to approve a logo, and book an annual minute for a company that has never invoiced. You have not taken a payment. You have not got a board to convene. You are minuting a shop that does not exist.


A private limited company does not have to appoint a company secretary. A retainer written against one director and no trading is a fee for paperwork you have not earned. The service is not your problem. The missing sale is.


Do this today:


  1. Write down the decision you would put to a board meeting this month. If it is "approve the logo", you do not have a governance matter. You have a draft offer.


  1. Take one payment. Put the customer's name and what they bought in a file you control. That is a sale. A leather-bound minute book with nothing in it is not.


  1. When you have ten paying customers and a co-director or investor who needs decisions recorded, then look at a secretarial service. Until then the minute book has nothing to hold.


If you are signing up because a formation guide said serious companies appoint a secretary, you are solving a corporate-governance problem you have not got. A resolution does not invoice. A customer does.


What decision are you minuting that has not made you a pound?


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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·9h

The 3-Part Framework for Pricing Power

  1. Understand your value: What unique transformation do you offer?

  2. Know your market: What are competitors charging?

  3. Price for value, not cost: If you save someone 10 hours/week at $50/hr, you're worth way more than your time investment.


Price confidently. Customers who can't afford you probably shouldn't be your customer anyway.

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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·11h

Stop updating a PSC register. Nobody is controlling a shop that has not sold.

A PSC register template will let you spend the evening as if a control statement is a business. You can download a register of people with significant control, draft a PSC01 notice, and tick the 25 percent shares and voting rights boxes for a company that has never invoiced. You have not taken a payment. You have not got a second shareholder to record. You are registering control of a shop that does not exist.


The PSC register lists who owns or controls a company, and Companies House expects it kept current once the company is trading. A spreadsheet written against one name and no customers is admin for a structure you have not earned. The register is not your problem. The missing sale is.


Do this today:


  1. Write down every person who holds more than 25 percent of the shares or votes. If the only name is yours, you do not have a PSC problem. You have a draft offer.


  1. Take one payment. Put the customer's name and what they bought in a file you control. That is a sale. A control statement with no revenue behind it is not.


  1. When you have ten paying customers and a co-founder or investor who actually holds shares, then update the register. Until then there is nothing to record.


If you are polishing it because a formation guide said to complete the PSC register before launch, you are solving a filing problem you have not got. A register does not invoice. A customer does.


What control are you documenting that has not made you a pound?


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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·13h

Stop claiming the apprenticeship levy. Nobody is training a shop that has not sold.

The Digital Apprenticeship Service will let you open a levy account at 8pm as if a training pot is a business. You can pick a standard, tick 5 percent co-investment, and wait for a provider to enrol a learner in a company that has never invoiced. You have not taken a payment. You have not got a payroll the levy would even see. You are training a shop that does not exist.


The apprenticeship levy is 0.5 percent of pay for employers already above £3 million. A DAS login written against a headcount of one is a pot for wages you have not earned. The Education and Skills Funding Agency is not your problem. The missing sale is.


Do this today:


  1. Write down the payroll bill you would put on the levy calculation. If it is zero, you do not have a DAS case. You have a draft offer.


  1. Take one payment as yourself. Put the customer's name and what they bought in a file you control. That is a sale. An apprenticeship standard with nobody to train is not.


  1. When you have ten paying customers and a person you actually employ, then look at co-investment. Until then the levy has nothing to fund.


If you are opening the account because a LinkedIn post said founders should put themselves on a business-administrator apprenticeship, you are solving a training problem you have not got. A standard does not invoice. A customer does.


What learner are you enrolling that has not made you a pound?