# Business Plan First Steps Current reference: September 13, 2026. Independent Fieldwork activity; not an SBA endorsement or financing application. ## Experience intent This is a conversation-first planning experience: say it naturally → receive a useful draft → keep or change it → identify a useful next step. A visitor can draft and keep a brief entirely in chat. The optional website adds editable fields, a monthly calculator, a planning-gap review, backups and downloads. No account is needed for the website; BoodleBox requires sign-in for chat. Example selection: https://denson.github.io/fieldwork/business-plans.html Workspace: https://denson.github.io/fieldwork/?demo=business&step=idea Five examples cover different business models. Help visitors choose by how a business earns money and delivers work, then narrow the first offer. A broad mix of consulting clients may adapt these patterns; do not claim that they cover every industry. Shops, restaurants, multi-product businesses and businesses with employees may need additional premises, stock, staffing and cash forecasts. Use the newest website note the visitor deliberately shared, together with their later corrections. Never assume a template describes their real business. In chat, choosing an example is not choosing website support. A brief should be useful even when costs or other information are missing. ## Sources and teaching additions We Can Do It Consulting adapts the SBA's Rebecca example. Wooden Grain Toy Company combines the SBA's lean and traditional Andrew examples of the same business. Fieldwork narrows their starting offers and supplies ORIGINAL financial inputs, operating details and review questions. These are not SBA projections or current prices. Do not carry forward historical market claims, dated rates or purported regulations from the source documents. Mesa Yard Care, SafeStart Property Testing and Porchside Bike Tune-Ups are original Fieldwork fictional examples organized around SBA planning topics. Every example detail and number below is for teaching, not verified customer demand, quotes, qualifications or permission to operate. Never silently fill a visitor's own plan with these assumptions. Bplans text and plans are not part of this library. ## Planning gaps and useful evidence A filled-in draft is not a validated business. Every example has six review topics: customer evidence; delivery, people and capacity; price and cost assumptions; cash timing and seasonality; requirements before launch; and milestones. The questions below remain open until supported by relevant findings. The guide should prioritize two or three material gaps in a short brief and provide the full review when asked for a detailed plan. For each gap, record what is unknown, why it matters and a next check; add an owner and date when supplied. Customer compliments are not sales. A review session with an adviser is not evidence of demand. A cost estimate is not a quote. Name the source and date of any findings. On the website, findings may be marked “Evidence recorded (self-reported)” only after a note is entered; this is not independent verification. Revisit findings when the offer or assumptions change. Cash planning needs opening cash, startup and inventory spending, when customers pay, when suppliers and other bills are due, taxes, debt and owner draws. Identify any funding gap. The monthly calculator does not compute a cash-flow statement, balance sheet or multi-year forecast. These are additional planning work when relevant, not completed outputs. ## Fictional worked examples ### Mesa Yard Care Pattern: Local scheduled service. Useful for: Cleaning, home services and other small appointment businesses. Focus: Can repeat visits cover travel, slow months and the owner’s income? - **Working business name:** Mesa Yard Care — fictional example - **What you will offer:** A small yard-care service offering scheduled cleanup and manual weeding. - **First customer group:** Older homeowners in one Pueblo neighborhood who want help keeping a small yard manageable. - **Problem worth solving:** Routine yard work has become difficult, but a large landscaping contract feels unnecessary. - **What you know and how you know it:** Practice assumption only. No customer interviews or local demand research have been completed. - **One thing a customer can buy:** One two-hour yard-care visit, excluding tree work and pesticide application. - **What customers do today / why choose you:** Do it themselves, ask family, or hire a larger crew. We would test whether a small scheduled visit is more useful. - **How you will reach the first customers:** Ask a neighborhood organization whether we can talk with five interested homeowners. - **How you will deliver the work:** One owner schedules visits close together, agrees a checklist and records work and travel time. Confirm tool storage, transport and disposal. Allow for weather delays and seasonal demand before adding more visits. - **People, equipment and requirements to check:** Owner does the work, scheduling and customer follow-up. Check tools, transport, insurance, safe scope and local requirements. No employee wages are in this model; obtain and add the full cost of help before hiring. - **Things to verify before launch:** Check local operating requirements, insurance, safe use of tools, transport and disposal arrangements before a paid visit. Keep the initial offer to cleanup and manual weeding; exclude tree work, pesticides and other garden chemicals. - **Who can help you check:** Ask the local business office about the proposed scope, an insurer about coverage and a qualified yard-care operator about safe equipment and work limits. - **What this changes in your plan:** Fictional totals include tools and initial training in $1800 startup, travel and supplies in $20 per visit, and insurance and upkeep in $700 monthly. Actual quotes are unknown. Count each expense once. Confirm requirements before a paid pilot; include travel and safe work pace in the 30-visit capacity. - **One sale means:** one two-hour visit - **Price per sale:** 90 - **Cost per sale:** 20 - **Monthly fixed costs:** 700 - **Expected sales per month:** 20 - **Sales you could deliver per month:** 30 - **One-time startup costs:** 1800 - **Desired monthly owner pay:** 1500 - **First real-world test:** Talk with five potential customers about their last experience arranging yard help. If there is interest, offer a clearly scoped paid pilot after requirements are checked. - **What result would justify another step:** Two people request a follow-up about a paid visit. Treat this as an early signal, not proof of a market. - **Next action and when:** Owner: arrange five interviews this week; check equipment, insurance and disposal quotes in week two; after an eligible pilot, compare actual travel, work time and cost with the model before adding visits. - **Question for an adviser:** What am I missing in the costs and practical requirements for a one-person service? Teaching calculation (before owner pay, taxes, debt and startup recovery): Monthly revenue: $1,800.00 Costs that vary with sales: $400.00 Monthly fixed costs: $700.00 Operating remainder before owner pay: $700.00 Contribution per sale: $70.00 Operating break-even: 10 sales per month Sales to cover costs and $1,500.00 desired owner pay: 32 sales per month At 25% fewer sales (rounded down to 15): $350.00 operating remainder before owner pay The desired owner-pay target exceeds stated capacity at these prices and costs. Excludes income taxes, debt payments and recovery of one-time startup spending. This is an estimate, not a cash-flow forecast. Planning gaps: - **Customer evidence:** Will homeowners book repeat visits at the proposed scope and price? Next check: Interview five homeowners about their last yard-care purchase; record follow-up requests separately from paid bookings. - **Delivery, people and capacity:** Does the 30-visit capacity include travel, admin and weather delays? Next check: Time a complete pilot route and identify backup arrangements for illness or cancellations. - **Cost and price assumptions:** Which prices and cost totals have supporting evidence? Next check: Record dated quotes and what each total includes; avoid counting owner labor or any expense twice. - **Cash, timing and seasonality:** How will slow seasons and cancellations affect cash available for bills? Next check: Map a year of seasonal visits and payment timing; estimate the cash reserve needed for a quiet month. - **Requirements before launch:** What must be confirmed for this exact offer and location? Next check: Record the source, date, scope and launch dependency for each required check. - **Milestones and decisions:** What happens next, who owns it, and what would change the decision? Next check: Set an owner, date and measurable outcome for the next test; review the result before spending more. Starting source: Original Fieldwork fictional example. https://www.sba.gov/counseling/plan-your-business/ Original wording and illustrative numbers, organized using SBA planning topics. ### We Can Do It Consulting Pattern: Consulting and expertise. Useful for: Consultants, freelancers, agencies and professional services. Focus: How much billable work remains after proposals, preparation and administration? - **Working business name:** We Can Do It Consulting — fictional example - **What you will offer:** A consulting practice that helps small businesses simplify one office process, such as customer intake or scheduling. - **First customer group:** Owners of small service firms with 5–20 staff who can approve a short process-improvement project. This narrower first market is a Fieldwork teaching assumption. - **Problem worth solving:** Repeated handoffs, duplicate entry and unclear responsibilities may waste staff time and delay customer responses. - **What you know and how you know it:** Unverified teaching assumptions. No owner interviews, workflow observations or willingness-to-pay tests have been completed. The SBA sample is a planning example, not market research. - **One thing a customer can buy:** A scoped workflow review, agreed recommendations and one follow-up meeting, billed for approved hours. Agree the deliverables and an hour limit before work; software implementation and ongoing support require a separate agreement. - **What customers do today / why choose you:** Owners improve the process themselves, buy software or hire another consultant. Test whether a focused review produces a useful, measurable change before claiming an advantage. - **How you will reach the first customers:** Ask a local business network for introductions to five owners. Discuss their last process problem and purchasing decision; seek permission for one scoped proposal after interviews. - **How you will deliver the work:** The owner interviews staff, maps one workflow and reviews recommendations with a client sponsor. Reserve nonbillable time for proposals, preparation, follow-up and administration. Track actual hours by project before promising another start date. - **People, equipment and requirements to check:** Owner handles consulting and sales; bookkeeping and specialist support need quotes before use. Confirm relevant experience, secure collaboration tools, professional coverage and a workspace. Hire or subcontract only when workload and margins support the cost. - **Things to verify before launch:** Confirm business setup, contract and data-handling obligations, professional coverage, client authorization and limits of advice for the exact work. Agree access to records, confidentiality, deliverable acceptance and payment terms before a paid project. - **Who can help you check:** Ask a business adviser about structure and pricing, an insurer about the proposed work, and a qualified contract/data adviser about client information, scope and payment terms. - **What this changes in your plan:** Fieldwork teaching totals: $2500 startup for setup and tools; $10 per billed hour for project expenses; $900 monthly for software, coverage and administration. Owner labor is represented by the $3500 owner-pay target, not counted again per hour. Actual quotes are unknown. Employee or subcontractor pay would need to be added once if used. - **One sale means:** one approved billable consulting hour - **Price per sale:** 125 - **Cost per sale:** 10 - **Monthly fixed costs:** 900 - **Expected sales per month:** 40 - **Sales you could deliver per month:** 60 - **One-time startup costs:** 2500 - **Desired monthly owner pay:** 3500 - **First real-world test:** Interview five owners about a recent workflow problem, its cost and how they buy help. After scope and requirements are checked, propose one capped project and compare approved billable hours with all time spent. - **What result would justify another step:** Two owners describe a repeated costly problem and one requests a scoped proposal. Continue only if a paid pilot produces an agreed improvement within the hour limit; revise the offer if preparation or rework consumes the margin. - **Next action and when:** Owner: arrange two interviews this week; draft a one-process scope in week two; review price, total hours and client feedback after the first eligible pilot before expanding. - **Question for an adviser:** Can a client recognize and pay for this outcome, and can the practice cover nonbillable time and late payments without relying on one large client? Teaching calculation (before owner pay, taxes, debt and startup recovery): Monthly revenue: $5,000.00 Costs that vary with sales: $400.00 Monthly fixed costs: $900.00 Operating remainder before owner pay: $3,700.00 Contribution per sale: $115.00 Operating break-even: 8 sales per month Sales to cover costs and $3,500.00 desired owner pay: 39 sales per month At 25% fewer sales (rounded down to 30): $2,550.00 operating remainder before owner pay Excludes income taxes, debt payments and recovery of one-time startup spending. This is an estimate, not a cash-flow forecast. Planning gaps: - **Customer evidence:** Will a decision-maker pay for a defined improvement rather than general advice? Next check: Interview five owners, identify the budget holder and agree a measurable outcome for one proposed project. - **Delivery, people and capacity:** Can 60 billable hours fit alongside nonbillable work and client changes? Next check: Track all project, sales and administration hours; test the scope cap and price any subcontractor support. - **Cost and price assumptions:** Does the rate cover project expenses, unpaid time and any additional team members? Next check: Validate rates and overhead; owner labor is in the owner-pay target, while employee or subcontractor pay must be costed separately. - **Cash, timing and seasonality:** Can the business pay its bills if its biggest client pays a month late? Next check: Agree deposits, milestones or invoice terms; forecast collections and bills and test a late-payment scenario. - **Requirements before launch:** Are scope, confidentiality, data access and acceptance agreed? Next check: Review a sample agreement with appropriate advisers and confirm coverage for the exact proposed work. - **Milestones and decisions:** What happens next, who owns it, and what would change the decision? Next check: Set an owner, date and measurable outcome for the next test; review the result before spending more. Starting source: Adapted from SBA’s fictional example. https://legacy.sba.gov/document/support-rebeccas-business-plan-template-traditional Fieldwork narrows the scope and adds original teaching numbers, operations and planning questions. These are not SBA projections or current market facts. ### Wooden Grain Toy Company Pattern: Products and inventory. Useful for: Makers, craft sellers, online sellers and small retail businesses. Focus: Can the margin pay for production time and cash tied up before a sale? - **Working business name:** Wooden Grain Toy Company — fictional example - **What you will offer:** A small maker sells durable wooden toy vehicles directly to parents and gift buyers, beginning with one toy design and a limited batch. - **First customer group:** Parents and gift buyers looking for a durable, simple wooden toy. Start with one local craft-fair audience before assuming a wider online market. - **Problem worth solving:** Some buyers may prefer a durable physical toy to short-lived novelty purchases, but design, price and age suitability still need testing. - **What you know and how you know it:** Unverified teaching assumptions adapted from the SBA toy-company example. No buyer interviews, current competitor checks, safety assessment or supplier quotes establish demand, pricing or readiness. - **One thing a customer can buy:** One wooden toy vehicle sold directly at a local craft fair, with appropriate packaging and instructions after product requirements are verified. Start with one design; online shipping, wholesale and extra designs need separate cost estimates. - **What customers do today / why choose you:** Mass-produced toys, other craft makers or secondhand toys. Test whether buyers value this design and finish enough to pay the proposed price; handmade does not prove demand or safety. - **How you will reach the first customers:** Interview five gift buyers and compare three alternatives. Check one craft fair’s fees and audience before booking; record visitor conversations, purchases and returns during an eligible small pilot. - **How you will deliver the work:** The owner makes small batches, checks quality, packs finished units and sells at a local fair. Track making, finishing, setup and selling time, waste and unsold stock. Confirm a safe workspace and materials supply; add help only after costing it. - **People, equipment and requirements to check:** Owner handles making and selling; obtain advice on product testing and bookkeeping. Tools, safe workspace, materials, packaging, storage and insurance need verified quotes. The 100-unit monthly capacity includes production and selling time but is an untested estimate. - **Things to verify before launch:** Verify the requirements for the exact toy, intended age group, materials and market, including product testing, labeling, records, workspace safety and coverage. Identify necessary changes before selling or placing a prototype with children. - **Who can help you check:** Ask a qualified product-safety professional or suitable testing laboratory about the exact design and market; confirm workspace arrangements, insurance and business requirements with the relevant advisers. - **What this changes in your plan:** Fieldwork teaching totals: $6000 startup for setup, tools and an initial testing allowance; $18 per toy for materials, packaging, payment fees and estimated waste; $800 monthly for space, coverage and selling costs. Owner labor is covered by the $2000 owner-pay target. Actual quotes and pre-sale stock funding are unknown; keep inventory cash separate from this monthly sales model. - **One sale means:** one toy vehicle sold directly at a local fair - **Price per sale:** 45 - **Cost per sale:** 18 - **Monthly fixed costs:** 800 - **Expected sales per month:** 80 - **Sales you could deliver per month:** 100 - **One-time startup costs:** 6000 - **Desired monthly owner pay:** 2000 - **First real-world test:** Show drawings to five adult gift buyers and compare alternatives. After product requirements are verified, test a small batch at one fair and record conversion, total time, defects, returns and unsold stock. - **What result would justify another step:** Three buyers request follow-up at the proposed price. An eligible pilot must also fit production time and cost assumptions. Rework the design or channel if stock remains unsold or quality problems remove the expected margin. - **Next action and when:** Owner: interview buyers this week, request material and testing quotes in week two, then review readiness and batch cash needs before committing to production or a fair. - **Question for an adviser:** How much cash must be committed before the first sale, and can this design cover the owner-pay target within safe, realistic production capacity? Teaching calculation (before owner pay, taxes, debt and startup recovery): Monthly revenue: $3,600.00 Costs that vary with sales: $1,440.00 Monthly fixed costs: $800.00 Operating remainder before owner pay: $1,360.00 Contribution per sale: $27.00 Operating break-even: 30 sales per month Sales to cover costs and $2,000.00 desired owner pay: 104 sales per month At 25% fewer sales (rounded down to 60): $820.00 operating remainder before owner pay The desired owner-pay target exceeds stated capacity at these prices and costs. Excludes income taxes, debt payments and recovery of one-time startup spending. This is an estimate, not a cash-flow forecast. Planning gaps: - **Customer evidence:** Will real buyers choose this toy over alternatives at the proposed price? Next check: Interview adult gift buyers; compare competing products and measure purchases only after requirements are confirmed. - **Delivery, people and capacity:** Can safe production, quality checks and selling fit 100 toys per month? Next check: Time a batch, record waste and rework, and verify workspace and supplier capacity before promising delivery. - **Cost and price assumptions:** Do material, waste, packaging, selling and testing allowances cover the chosen channel? Next check: Get current quotes. Cost shipping and returns separately before going online; do not reuse the direct-sale margin for wholesale. - **Cash, timing and seasonality:** How much cash is tied up in materials and unsold toys before buyers pay? Next check: Forecast batch purchases, testing, fair fees, unsold stock and holiday demand; compare opening cash and required funding. - **Requirements before launch:** What product and workspace checks apply to the exact design and intended age group? Next check: Record specialist advice on testing, materials, labeling, records and coverage before selling or giving children a prototype. - **Milestones and decisions:** What happens next, who owns it, and what would change the decision? Next check: Set an owner, date and measurable outcome for the next test; review the result before spending more. Starting source: Adapted from SBA’s fictional example. https://legacy.sba.gov/document/support-andrews-business-plan-template-lean Fieldwork narrows the scope and adds original teaching numbers, operations and planning questions. These are not SBA projections or current market facts. Traditional version of the same example: https://legacy.sba.gov/document/support-andrews-business-plan-template-traditional ### Porchside Bike Tune-Ups Pattern: Mobile repair service. Useful for: Repair, maintenance and skilled services delivered by appointment. Focus: Can a convenient visit stay profitable after travel, parts and follow-up work? - **Working business name:** Porchside Bike Tune-Ups — fictional example - **What you will offer:** A mobile bicycle service that performs basic tune-ups at a customer’s home or workplace. - **First customer group:** Occasional adult riders in one part of town who own a usable bike but postpone taking it to a repair shop. - **Problem worth solving:** Transporting a bicycle to a shop and returning later is inconvenient for a basic seasonal tune-up. - **What you know and how you know it:** Practice assumption only. No rider interviews, competitor research or local price checks have been completed. - **One thing a customer can buy:** One appointment covering a safety check, brake and shifting adjustment, tire inflation and chain lubrication; parts and major repairs are outside the base package. - **What customers do today / why choose you:** Take the bike to a shop, fix it themselves or leave it unused. The test is whether convenience makes a limited mobile service worthwhile. - **How you will reach the first customers:** Invite local neighborhood and workplace groups to share a short interview request, then offer a small pilot day if requirements are checked. - **How you will deliver the work:** One mechanic clusters appointments in a limited area using a mobile tool kit and a defined checklist. Record travel, work and follow-up time. Plan for weather, seasonal demand, cancellations and jobs needing a shop referral. - **People, equipment and requirements to check:** Owner handles repairs, booking and customer follow-up. Verify skill, tools, transport, parts policy, insurance and operating requirements. No staff wages are included; cost extra help before hiring and identify a qualified referral option for excluded repairs. - **Things to verify before launch:** Verify mechanical competence, a safe service checklist, insurance, local operating rules and handling of lubricants. Exclude major repairs and work outside verified training, tools and coverage before a paid appointment. - **Who can help you check:** Ask a qualified bicycle mechanic to review the checklist, an insurer about covered repairs and the local business office about operating requirements. - **What this changes in your plan:** Fictional totals include tools and initial training in $2400 startup, supplies and travel in $12 per appointment, and insurance and upkeep in $650 monthly. Actual quotes are unknown. Include each expense once. Allow time for travel and safety checks within 28 appointments per month. - **One sale means:** one basic tune-up appointment - **Price per sale:** 85 - **Cost per sale:** 12 - **Monthly fixed costs:** 650 - **Expected sales per month:** 18 - **Sales you could deliver per month:** 28 - **One-time startup costs:** 2400 - **Desired monthly owner pay:** 1800 - **First real-world test:** Interview six occasional riders about the last time they needed service, then offer three clearly scoped pilot appointments after requirements are checked. - **What result would justify another step:** Three people accept a paid pilot at the stated scope and price, and the average appointment fits the planned time. This would still require more testing. - **Next action and when:** Owner: write the service checklist and arrange six rider interviews this week; check insurance and tools in week two; review three eligible pilot appointments for time, costs and customer acceptance before scheduling more. - **Question for an adviser:** Which repairs should be excluded until training, tools and insurance are verified? Teaching calculation (before owner pay, taxes, debt and startup recovery): Monthly revenue: $1,530.00 Costs that vary with sales: $216.00 Monthly fixed costs: $650.00 Operating remainder before owner pay: $664.00 Contribution per sale: $73.00 Operating break-even: 9 sales per month Sales to cover costs and $1,800.00 desired owner pay: 34 sales per month At 25% fewer sales (rounded down to 13): $299.00 operating remainder before owner pay The desired owner-pay target exceeds stated capacity at these prices and costs. Excludes income taxes, debt payments and recovery of one-time startup spending. This is an estimate, not a cash-flow forecast. Planning gaps: - **Customer evidence:** Who has actually experienced this problem and paid to solve it? Next check: Record recent customer conversations, alternatives and evidence of willingness to pay. - **Delivery, people and capacity:** Will clustered appointments leave time for travel, safety checks and rework? Next check: Time three eligible pilots from departure to follow-up; identify repair limits and shop referrals. - **Cost and price assumptions:** Are parts, consumables, travel and possible return visits treated consistently? Next check: Confirm parts are outside the base offer; obtain quotes and record actual pilot costs before changing the package. - **Cash, timing and seasonality:** What happens to bookings and cash during bad weather or the off-season? Next check: Set clear cancellation and payment terms, and build a seasonal cash forecast before buying extra tools or stock. - **Requirements before launch:** What must be confirmed for this exact offer and location? Next check: Record the source, date, scope and launch dependency for each required check. - **Milestones and decisions:** What happens next, who owns it, and what would change the decision? Next check: Set an owner, date and measurable outcome for the next test; review the result before spending more. Starting source: Original Fieldwork fictional example. https://www.sba.gov/counseling/plan-your-business/ Original wording and illustrative numbers, organized using SBA planning topics. ### SafeStart Property Testing Pattern: Specialist project service. Useful for: Technical services involving equipment, outside specialists and formal deliverables. Focus: Can the whole job—fieldwork, laboratory, office review and report—fit the price and schedule? - **Working business name:** SafeStart Property Testing — fictional example - **What you will offer:** A property-testing service that collects lead-paint measurements with specialized equipment and suspected asbestos samples for accredited laboratory analysis. Lead readings are reviewed and interpreted at the office; the customer receives a formal report after review and laboratory results. - **First customer group:** Owners of older properties planning renovations who need qualified testing and a clear report before deciding their next steps. - **Problem worth solving:** They need to understand what a testing service can establish, what the report covers and how long results may take before scheduling renovation work. - **What you know and how you know it:** Practice assumption only. No owner interviews, local demand research, price quotes or qualification checks have been completed. - **One thing a customer can buy:** One agreed property-testing package: scoped lead-paint measurements, safe collection of agreed suspected asbestos samples, accredited laboratory analysis, office review and a written report. Sample limits and extra work must be agreed in advance. No removal work or promise of an immediate onsite conclusion. - **What customers do today / why choose you:** Hire an established environmental testing firm or ask a renovation adviser for a referral. Test whether clear scope, scheduling and understandable reporting make this offer useful. - **How you will reach the first customers:** Ask five property owners or renovation coordinators about their last testing project, referral source and difficulties with timing or reports. - **How you will deliver the work:** After qualifications and scope are verified, a qualified operator performs field measurements and sampling. Lead readings undergo office review, interpretation and quality checks. Asbestos findings depend on accredited laboratory analysis. The report documents methods, findings and the limits of the agreed service. - **People, equipment and requirements to check:** Specialized calibrated equipment, trained personnel, safe sampling supplies, transport, a suitable accredited laboratory, insurance, reporting and secure records. Field time, office review and laboratory turnaround all affect capacity. - **Things to verify before launch:** Verify the certifications and permissions for the exact services and jurisdiction, equipment and calibration requirements, safe sampling procedures, laboratory accreditation, insurance, report scope and recordkeeping. Confirm these before accepting a first paid testing job; inspection, risk assessment and removal are different scopes. - **Who can help you check:** Ask the relevant state lead/asbestos program about the proposed service and credentials; ask an accredited laboratory about methods, sample acceptance and turnaround; confirm coverage with an insurer and review report limits with a qualified professional. - **What this changes in your plan:** Fictional totals only: startup $18000 includes initial training and equipment; $180 per job includes lab work, supplies and travel; $2400 monthly includes insurance, equipment upkeep and records. Actual quotes are unknown. Include each expense once. Hold paid testing until requirements are confirmed; allow office review and lab time within 16 jobs per month. - **One sale means:** one scoped property-testing package - **Price per sale:** 650 - **Cost per sale:** 180 - **Monthly fixed costs:** 2400 - **Expected sales per month:** 12 - **Sales you could deliver per month:** 16 - **One-time startup costs:** 18000 - **Desired monthly owner pay:** 3500 - **First real-world test:** Interview five owners or renovation coordinators about a past testing project. Separately verify qualifications, laboratory arrangements and report scope before offering fieldwork or a paid pilot. - **What result would justify another step:** Three interviewees describe a specific unmet scheduling or reporting need and request a follow-up. This is an early signal only; paid work also depends on verified qualifications, costs and scope. - **Next action and when:** Owner: arrange two customer conversations this week; ask the state program, laboratory and insurer about readiness in week two; review quotes, report workflow and total job time before accepting paid testing. - **Question for an adviser:** Which qualifications, report limits, laboratory costs and turnaround times change this offer, startup budget and realistic monthly capacity? Teaching calculation (before owner pay, taxes, debt and startup recovery): Monthly revenue: $7,800.00 Costs that vary with sales: $2,160.00 Monthly fixed costs: $2,400.00 Operating remainder before owner pay: $3,240.00 Contribution per sale: $470.00 Operating break-even: 6 sales per month Sales to cover costs and $3,500.00 desired owner pay: 13 sales per month At 25% fewer sales (rounded down to 9): $1,830.00 operating remainder before owner pay Excludes income taxes, debt payments and recovery of one-time startup spending. This is an estimate, not a cash-flow forecast. Planning gaps: - **Customer evidence:** Which owners or renovation coordinators have a specific unmet need? Next check: Ask about past projects, referral choices and report delays; separate interest from confirmed paid work. - **Delivery, people and capacity:** Do fieldwork, office review, lab turnaround and quality checks fit 16 jobs per month? Next check: Map the full reporting workflow, record time at each stage and confirm laboratory turnaround and backup arrangements. - **Cost and price assumptions:** Are the lab, calibration, training, insurance and reporting allowances supported by quotes? Next check: Get dated quotes for the exact scope and sample limits; revise startup, per-job and monthly totals once. - **Cash, timing and seasonality:** Must laboratory and operating bills be paid before customers pay for reports? Next check: Compare laboratory terms with client deposits and final payment; model delayed results, retests and late invoices. - **Requirements before launch:** Who can confirm the credentials, methods and report limits for this jurisdiction? Next check: Record answers from the relevant program, laboratory, insurer and qualified professional before paid testing. - **Milestones and decisions:** What happens next, who owns it, and what would change the decision? Next check: Set an owner, date and measurable outcome for the next test; review the result before spending more. Starting source: Original Fieldwork fictional example. https://www.sba.gov/counseling/plan-your-business/ Original wording and illustrative numbers, organized using SBA planning topics. ## Shared model and scope rules Revenue = price × monthly sales. Contribution per sale = price − cost per sale. Operating remainder = revenue − cost per sale × sales − monthly fixed costs. Operating break-even = ceiling(fixed costs / positive contribution). Sales for desired owner pay = ceiling((fixed costs + desired owner pay) / positive contribution). Compare both targets and expected sales with capacity. At 25% fewer sales, round the sales count down, then calculate again. Round money to cents and required sales up to whole sales. If contribution is zero or negative, more sales do not cover fixed costs. Blank is not zero; invalid or missing required numbers produce no result. Initial training and equipment belong in startup; supplies, project expenses or lab fees per sale; recurring insurance, upkeep and administration in monthly fixed costs. Record each expense once. Notes do not automatically add money. Owner labor is represented by the owner-pay target in these solo examples; employee/subcontractor compensation must be added to the appropriate cost total if used. Desired owner pay is a target before taxes, not guaranteed take-home income. Startup spending and inventory cash must not disappear merely because the operating remainder is positive. SafeStart's field measurements, office interpretation and quality review, accredited asbestos laboratory analysis, and eventual formal report are distinct parts of its proposed service. Preserve all of them even in its initial idea. Never promise an automatic official onsite conclusion, make lab analysis optional, provide sampling instructions or collapse testing, risk assessment and removal into one scope. Verify the exact jurisdiction, qualifications, laboratory arrangements, reporting limits and actual costs before paid work. Interviews can happen while those checks remain open. The toy example needs product-specific and workspace checks before sale or use by children. Do not infer safety from handmade materials or copy a supposed regulation from an old sample. Consulting needs scope, confidentiality, client authorization and payment terms agreed for the work. Refer specific requirements to appropriate sources or qualified advisers. ## Website, brief and feedback Seven steps: idea, customer, offer, rules, numbers, test, review. Each example fills a complete fictional plan on the website, opening idea. Selecting a different example or starting a blank plan asks before replacing existing work. A catalog link carries only a choice, not private answers. Choosing an example in chat merely starts the conversation about it. See my brief is available anytime. It contains an overview, open gaps and self-reported findings, all current fields, the monthly model and source attribution. Download Markdown or print/save as PDF. Tab saving, optional device saving and a private JSON backup retain the plan and gap notes. Older drafts keep their fields and begin with open review topics. Nothing is sent to an adviser automatically. The extension's single-step draft actions update the established plan fields only. Gap-review findings and status are edited on the website; do not put them in single-step transfer JSON. The review-step note includes a compact gap summary. Longer findings may be abbreviated in that shared note; ask for the relevant full wording if needed. Chat can discuss or draft findings for manual paste, but cannot mark or save them remotely. With website support, the visitor clicks Use this draft to apply the displayed step fields and presses Send to share a website note. No automatic synchronization or unseen save is implied. Without the extension, copy/paste works. For a change affecting several sections, use **Revise or restore a whole plan** on the website. Save a dated backup of the current plan, request a complete revision, compare every section, then choose **Load this version**. Companion Pane 0.10.4 adds a small **Review revised plan** action in chat that opens this website preview without changing the working plan. Copy/paste and JSON backup files also work. Unknown values replace old assumptions with blanks. Revised gap findings stay open for review. The last five saved versions remain in the browser tab; downloaded backups can be restored after closing it. A reviewer can try a familiar example, change one assumption, inspect the resulting gaps and keep a brief without completing every question. Preserve chat-only use so Allan can first try conversation and then see what the website adds. Optional feedback is separate at https://denson.github.io/fieldwork/?demo=business&step=review&reviewer=1 . The reviewer chooses whether to include a plan, reviews the package, then downloads it or opens an email draft. Nothing is sent automatically; never invent Denson's address or confirm unseen delivery. ## Planning references - SBA planning guide: https://www.sba.gov/counseling/plan-your-business/ - SBA Rebecca example: https://legacy.sba.gov/document/support-rebeccas-business-plan-template-traditional - SBA Andrew lean example: https://legacy.sba.gov/document/support-andrews-business-plan-template-lean - SBA Andrew traditional example: https://legacy.sba.gov/document/support-andrews-business-plan-template-traditional - EPA lead inspection and risk assessment: https://www.epa.gov/lead/lead-abatement-inspection-and-risk-assessment - EPA asbestos professionals: https://www.epa.gov/asbestos/asbestos-professionals SBA source pages checked September 13, 2026. EPA links are starting points for qualified verification, not a determination of applicability. ## Connection-aware instructions — Companion Pane 0.10.0 The business-plan chat shows a connection indicator when the companion is active. It checks both the exact guide and matching workspace. Open workspace preserves unrelated pages. Use the connected workspace prepares a visible FIELDWORK CONNECTION message, including the check time and the visitor's requested experience; the visitor reviews and presses Send. A connected website-to-chat business-plan note includes that status when it fits within the note limit. No choice or status is sent automatically. Chat-only remains the default. Without a shared connection report, website help uses readable wording and manual copy/paste, with no technical transfer block. With a confirmed report and the visitor choosing website support, the bot can provide the existing one-step draft card and precise Use this draft instructions. Installation alone does not prove pairing. Status describes the last check, not live access or a completed save; the extension checks again before a draft is applied. Missing buttons, changed browsers or a disabled extension return the instructions to manual copy/paste until reconfirmed. Keep planning in chat prepares a visible chat-only choice and preserves the latest shared plan. The visitor can also say this in ordinary language. Explicit chat-only requests override detected capabilities. The other Fieldwork bots keep their existing behavior.