Manual № 77 · Starting something of your own

TheFirstCustomer

The manual for starting something of your own.

Not the launch. The first person who actually pays you.

12 modules — for the person with an idea who has not started, or has started and stalled

  1. 01The Numbers Nobody Leads With
  2. 02What You Are Willing to Lose
  3. 03Which Thing Are You Actually Building
  4. 04Start From What You Already Have
  5. 05The Smallest Thing a Stranger Would Pay For
  6. 06Talking to People Without Leading Them
  1. 07Naming a Price
  2. 08The First Customer, and Then the First Ten
  3. 09Selling When You Find Selling Distasteful
  4. 10The Job, the Hours, and the Person You Live With
  5. 11When It Works, But Not Enough
  6. 12The Plan, the Review Date, and the Stopping Rule

Two editions

Themanual,orthemanualand the toolkit.

Standard edition

$39

The full program: all 12 modules, with the exercises, logs, and checklists that save as you go. Everything you need to do the work.

Elite edition · most complete

$69

Everything in Standard, plus The Toolkit, 14 techniques drawn from across the evidence base, each labeled with where it comes from and how good the evidence behind it actually is. With original diagrams throughout.

Start with Standard if you would rather. You can upgrade to Elite at any time for the $30 difference, and nothing you have written is lost. And once you own one manual, every other one is 20% off.

Inside The Toolkit

  1. 01The Affordable Loss Line
  2. 02The Means Inventory
  3. 03The Pre-Mortem
  4. 04The Outside View
  5. 05The Smallest Testable Offer
  6. 06The Non-Leading Question
  7. 07If-Then Plans
  1. 08Graded Exposure to the Ask
  2. 09The Sunk Cost Check
  3. 10The Stopping Rule
  4. 11The Price Ladder and the Silence
  5. 12The Protected Block
  6. 13The Ten Conversation Pattern
  7. 14The Partner Briefing

Educational content — not therapy, diagnosis, or treatment, and not a substitute for a clinician when one is needed. Every manual opens with a safety page. If you are thinking about suicide, call or text 988 now.