Companion workbook · September 2026

The Boring Business Workbook

Exercises, calculators and checklists for every stage of the guide — from your first offer to your day-90 decision.

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Your starting point

Write down where you are today. You’ll come back to this at day 90. Read the chapter →

Business name (or working name) State, province or territory Service you’re considering Hours per week you can give the business Cash you can put in before the first payment ($) Target date for your first paid job What would make day 90 a success?

Choose the service and the buyer

Match what you can deliver with a buyer who can say yes quickly. Read the chapter →

What I can competently deliver today (skills, equipment, transport, hours) What I will not do (my exclusions)

Compare three service-and-buyer options

Service + buyer	Buying trigger	Decision-maker	Typical job size	Fits my skills?	How I can reach them

Five discovery conversations

Date	Who / role	How I reached them	Their exact words	Main frustration	Next step

My service-area rule My one-line offer

Legal and tax foundations

One row per requirement. “?” is a valid answer — as long as it has an action and a date. Read the chapter →

Requirements checklist

Requirement	Authority / source	Applies? (Y / N / ?)	Evidence held	Open action and due date
Business name / registration
Municipal business licence or permit
Trade licensing
Sales-tax registration decision (GST/HST in Canada)
Provincial or state sales-tax decision
Workers’ compensation
Insurance
Business bank account
Bookkeeping routine

Questions for my accountant, lawyer or licensing office

Credentials and safety

Build the folder your next buyer actually needs — not every certificate you can find. Read the chapter →

Credentials matrix for my next buyer

Requirement	Issuer	Held? (Y/N)	Covers this work?	Expiry	Next action

Site-safety plan

Price the job and check your cash

Enter your own numbers. The calculators update as you type. Read the chapter →

Job pricing calculator

Labour hoursLoaded labour cost per hour$ Materials$Equipment and consumables$ Other direct costs (disposal, travel, subs)$Target gross margin% Overrun scenario: extra hours

Direct cost—

Price before tax—

Gross profit—

Markup on cost—

Direct cost with overrun—

Margin with overrun—

Price = direct cost ÷ (1 − target margin). Overhead, tax and owner withdrawals still come out of gross profit.

Cash gap before payment

Cash available now$Job costs due before the customer pays$

Funding gap to solve before accepting—

13-week cash forecast

The week-by-week forecast (opening cash, collections, payroll, materials, subcontractors, taxes, overhead, closing cash) is a spreadsheet — it’s ready with formulas on the Cash 13 weeks tab of the Excel workbook.

Email and website launch

Tick an item only when you’ve tested it for real. Read the chapter →

Domain and email

Domain registered in an account the business controls
Renewal date and billing owner recorded
Multi-factor authentication on
One monitored enquiry mailbox with a named responder and backup
DNS records documented (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
Signature installed
External test: message received and reply sent
Signature checked on a phone

Website

One page: who, what, where and how to request an assessment
Five buyer questions answered
Short enquiry form with privacy notice
Phone link works on a phone
Labelled test enquiry reached the owner
Only claims I can support
A way to roll back an update

Test log

Date	What I tested	Result	Fix needed

Your pipeline

Every open row needs one owner, one next action and one date. Read the chapter →

Response owner and backup When I check for new enquiries

Opportunity register

ID	Customer / property	Source	Stage	Owner	Next action	Due date

Your first ten prospects

Score each factor 0, 1 or 2. Six solid rows beat ten padded ones. Read the chapter →

Prospect list

Organization	Official source URL	Checked date	Fit	Geography	Route	Readiness	Next action	Total
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Outreach check

Run this for each message before it goes out. Read the chapter →

Before sending

The recipient invited contact, was introduced, or has a documented consent basis
The message relates to their business role
Checked the suppression list and previous contact
Sender identification and unsubscribe included where required
Every claim can be supported
Links and attachment version checked
Someone owns the replies

My message draft

Walkthrough and proposal

Measure first. Price second. Read the chapter →

Walkthrough notes

Item	Notes
Buyer and approving person
Property and access
Measured areas
Surface condition and repairs
Products and finishes
Protection and furniture
Hazards needing assessment
Exclusions
Photo permission
What a good handover looks like
Open decisions

Follow-up queue

Read the last exchange first, and send what you owe before you chase. Read the chapter →

Due follow-ups

Buyer	Last exchange	What we owe them	Follow-up message	Next date	Stop condition

Delivery partners

Interested isn’t available, and available isn’t approved. Read the chapter →

The defined need (trade, location, dates, supervision, skills)

Candidate roster

Candidate	Source	Reported experience	Verified (references / documents)	Available on the job dates?	Status

Deliver, invoice and review the job

Compare what you estimated with what actually happened, and change the next estimate. Read the chapter →

Handover and invoice

Joint inspection against the agreed scope
Deficiencies listed with owners and dates
Fixes checked and handover recorded
Invoice to the correct legal customer
Invoice number, job reference and PO (if required)
Approved changes and taxes shown
Paid only after the bank receipt matches

Estimate vs actual

Price before tax$Loaded labour cost per hour$ Estimated labour hoursActual labour hours Estimated other direct costs$Actual other direct costs$

Estimated direct cost—

Actual direct cost—

Estimated margin—

Actual margin—

Cost variance—

What caused the variance, and what changes in the next estimate?

Visibility, content and referrals

Keep proof genuine, content useful and referrals recorded. Read the chapter →

Local visibility

Same name, phone, area and website everywhere
Checked for existing listings first
Business profile describes the real operating arrangement
Public view checked after edits
Search Console verified and sitemap submitted
Every customer asked for an honest review (no incentives, no filtering)

Content ideas from real buyer questions

Buyer question	Where it came from	Format	Next step for the reader	Status

Referrals and partners

Person or partner	Type	Status (suggested / introduced / agreed / won)	Result

Scorecard and funnel

Unmeasured is not zero. Leave a cell blank if you don’t know. Read the chapter →

Funnel planner

Monthly revenue target$Average revenue per completed job$ Quote-to-win rate%Qualified-enquiry-to-quote rate%

Completed jobs needed—

Quotes needed—

Qualified enquiries needed—

Planning arithmetic, not a forecast. Check real capacity, lead times and your own measured rates.

Weekly scorecard

Week of	Enquiries	Qualified	Walkthroughs	Quotes sent	Won	Revenue	Cash collected

Contractors and tenders

Use only once your delivery record and documents support it. Read the chapter →

Contractor directory

Contractor	Official intake URL	Open / invitation-only	Documents required	Our gaps	Next step

Bid / no-bid

The scope matches our work
We meet every mandatory requirement
Crew available on the dates
Achievable margin
Working capital covers the payment timing
Documents complete
Latest addenda reconciled
Deadline and timezone confirmed (including the contractor’s trade deadline)

Decision and reason

Agents and authority

Write the limits down. A blank field means no permission. Read the chapter →

Agent assignment builder

Task ID Time or usage limit Objective Approved source facts Allowed actions Not allowed Output location Reviewer Completion test

Your assignment

Automation authority

Action	Allowed scope and conditions	Approved by
Research and draft
Update private records
Publish routine content
Send external messages
Submit registrations
Spend
Quote or sign

Your 90-day plan

One goal per week. Carry unfinished prerequisites forward explicitly. Read the chapter →

Weekly goals

Week	Goal	Must be done first	Done?
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13

Launch check and weekly review

Pass, Hold or Not applicable — and a Hold stays visible. Read the chapter →

Before launch

Correct business identity
Required registrations and permissions
Tax treatment established
Suitable insurance
Service boundaries and a costed offer
Contact route tested from a customer’s phone
Responder and backup named

Weekly owner review

Question	This week
Which genuine new opportunities appeared?
What did buyers actually say?
What is overdue?
Which job has scope, quality, margin or cash risk?
Which requirement is blocking useful work?
Which activity should stop?
Is pipeline growth hiding pressure in delivery or collections?
Next three actions (owner, date, reason)

Day-90 decision: continue, narrow or change — and why

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