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 calling ACAS. Nobody is conciliating a shop that has not sold.

ACAS will let you download the Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance at 4am as if a workplace dispute is a business. You can save the early conciliation form, draft a written warning, and bookmark the helpline for a company that has never invoiced. You have not taken a payment. You have not got a staff member to conciliate. You are preparing a tribunal for a shop that does not exist.


ACAS early conciliation is a step before an employment tribunal, for a worker who already has a complaint. A procedure written against an empty payroll is paperwork for a dispute you have not earned. The helpline is not your problem. The missing sale is.


Do this today:


  1. Write down the employee you would name on an early conciliation form. If the list is empty, you do not have an ACAS matter. 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. A grievance policy with nobody to grieve is not.


  1. When you have ten paying customers and a person you actually employ, then read the Code of Practice. Until then ACAS has nothing to conciliate.


If you are calling because a forum said you need a disciplinary procedure before you hire, you are solving a staff problem you have not got. A Code of Practice does not invoice. A customer does.


What dispute are you conciliating that has not made you a pound?


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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·1h

The Mistake 90% of Founders Make Early

Most founders optimize for vanity metrics (users, followers, revenue). Optimize for retention and repeat purchase. Easy to get new customers. Hard to keep them. That's where the empire is built.

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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·3h

Stop applying to iwoca. Nobody is revolving credit for a shop that has not sold.

iwoca will let you open a Flexi-Loan at 2am as if a revolving facility is a business. You can connect an empty bank feed, request a drawdown limit, and wait for a decision on a company that has never invoiced. You have not taken a payment. You have not got a feed a lender can read. You are revolving credit for a shop that does not exist.


An iwoca Flexi-Loan is a line you draw against, repay, and draw again from money already moving through the business. A limit written against a silent bank feed is a fee for cash you have not earned. The lender is not your problem. The missing sale is.


Do this today:


  1. Write down the last three months of incomings you would show if you connected your bank. If the feed is empty, you do not have a Flexi-Loan. 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 trading. A drawdown on nothing is not.


  1. When you have ten paying customers and a statement that shows money in and money out, then look at revolving credit. Until then iwoca has nothing to limit.


If you are applying because an ad said cash-flow gaps kill SMEs, you are solving a working-capital problem you have not got. A Flexi-Loan does not invoice. A customer does.


What limit are you drawing against that has not made you a pound?


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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·5h

Stop applying to Funding Circle. Nobody is lending against a shop that has not sold.

Funding Circle will let you start a term-loan application tonight as if marketplace credit is a business. You can enter two years of accounts you do not have, pick a 36-month term, and wait for a credit decision on a company that has never invoiced. You have not taken a payment. You have not got turnover a lender can underwrite. You are borrowing against a shop that does not exist.


A Funding Circle loan is a fixed-term facility repaid from trading cash. A decision written against a zero P&L is a fee for money you have not earned. The marketplace is not your problem. The missing sale is.


Do this today:


  1. Write down the last 12 months of turnover you would put on the form. If the number is zero, you do not have a loan application. 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 trading history. A credit score with no sales is not.


  1. When you have ten paying customers and a bank statement that shows money coming in, then look at a term loan. Until then the underwriter has nothing to price.


If you are applying because a comparison site said SMEs should not use a personal overdraft, you are solving a funding gap you have not got. A loan does not invoice. A customer does.


What turnover are you lending against that has not made you a pound?


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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·5h

The Positioning Framework Every Creator Needs

  1. The problem you solve (be specific, not broad)

  2. Who you solve it for (one avatar, not everyone)

  3. How you're different (your unique angle or approach)

  4. The transformation they get (what changes)


Master this. Use it everywhere. Consistency wins.

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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·7h

Stop applying for invoice finance. Nobody is factoring a shop that has not sold.

A factor will quote you an 80 percent advance against unpaid invoices tonight as if a sales ledger is a business. You can upload a blank aged-debtors report, tick assignment of debts, and wait for a facility letter. You have not taken a payment. You have not raised an invoice anyone owes. You are selling a ledger for a shop that does not exist.


Invoice finance pays you early against money a customer already owes. A facility written against a zero ledger is a fee for cash you have not earned. The factor is not your problem. The missing sale is.


Do this today:


  1. Write down every unpaid invoice you would assign. If the list is empty, you do not have a debtor book. 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 cash. An advance rate on nothing is not.


  1. When you have ten paying customers and invoices that actually sit unpaid for 30 days, then look at a factor. Until then there is nothing to discount.


If you are applying because a blog said SMEs should not wait 60 days, you are solving a cash-flow problem you have not got. A facility does not invoice. A customer does.


What ledger are you factoring that has not made you a pound?


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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·9h

Stop buying a registered office. Nobody is filing an address for a shop that has not sold.

A formation agent will sell you a registered office tonight as if a statutory address is a business. You can pick a London postcode, tick mail scanning, and draft an AD01 for a company that has never invoiced. You have not taken a payment. You have not got a company that needs to receive a letter. You are renting a letterbox for a shop that does not exist.


A registered office is where Companies House and HMRC send legal mail. A service written against an empty order is a fee for post you have not earned. The agent is not your problem. The missing sale is.


Do this today:


  1. Write down what letter you expect this week. If it is not a confirmation statement, a penalty, or a tax notice, you do not need a nominee address. You have a kitchen table.


  1. Take one payment as yourself. Put the customer's name and what they bought in a file you control. That is a sale. A scanned envelope with nothing inside it is not.


  1. When you have ten paying customers and a limited company that actually receives statutory mail, then look at a registered office service. Until then the agent has nothing to forward.


If you are buying the address because your flat should not appear on the public register, you are solving privacy for a company nobody has paid. A postcode does not invoice. A customer does.


What mail are you forwarding that has not made you a pound?


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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·9h

Your Roadmap to $10K MRR

Month 1-2: Get to $500 MRR with 5-10 paying members (focus, quality, no ads)

Month 3-4: Hit $2K MRR by doubling down on what works (referrals, content, community)

Month 5-6: Reach $5K MRR through productization (packages, tiered pricing, automation)

Month 7+: Push to $10K via partnerships, affiliates, or a second product tier


Each phase has different priorities. Don't do everything at once.

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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·11h

Stop running the CEST tool. Nobody is determining IR35 for a shop that has not sold.

HMRC will let you run Check Employment Status for Tax this evening as if a determination is a business. You can tick substitution, control, and mutuality of obligation and save a PDF that says outside IR35. You have not taken a payment. You have not got a client who hired you. You are determining status for a shop that does not exist.


IR35 is an off-payroll rule for contractors who already work through a company for a client. A CEST result written against zero invoices is a status for a contract you have not earned. The tool is not your problem. The missing sale is.


Do this today:


  1. Write down the client you would put on a status determination. If the list is empty, you do not have an IR35 question. You have a draft offer.


  1. Take one payment as a person, not as a deemed employee. Put the customer's name and what they bought in a file you control. That is a sale. A CEST PDF with no engagement is not.


  1. When you have ten paying customers and a medium-sized client who wants you inside a limited company, then run CEST. Until then HMRC has nothing to determine.


If you are running CEST because a LinkedIn thread said contractors get caught, you are solving a fear, not a business. A determination does not invoice. A customer does.


What status are you checking that has not made you a pound?


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RyanProfile picture@businessblueprintbb·11h

📢 Daily Discussion: What's the best marketing strategy for beginners?

You've got $0 marketing budget and a brand new business. What do you do FIRST to get customers?


Share your go-to strategy 👇