The First $100: A Very Small Business Plan

Most business plans are written for banks. They're long, they're full of projections nobody believes, and they're the reason a lot of good side hustles never start. If you're doing this on weekends, you don't need one. You need a plan small enough to fit on one page and specific enough to act on this week.

So here's the goal: your first hundred dollars. Not your first thousand. Not "replace my income." One hundred dollars, earned honestly, from someone who wanted what you offered.

Line 1: What exactly are you selling?

One sentence, specific enough that a stranger knows whether they need it. "Help with computers" is too vague. "I set up home Wi-Fi and printers for people who'd rather not" is a business.

Line 2: Who is it for?

Pick a real person. Not "everyone." The neighbor whose mower won't start. The retirees at church who keep asking about their phones. The shop owner who's six months behind on bookkeeping. If you can picture them, you can find them.

Line 3: What does it cost?

Look up what others charge locally. Set a price you could say out loud without apologizing, and write it down. Then write your costs per job: parts, gas, supplies, a share of any tool you had to buy. The difference is what you actually earn. A lot of people discover on this line that their first idea loses money. Better to find out on paper.

Line 4: How will they find out?

List five specific people or places by name. Two neighbors, one local online group, one bulletin board, one friend who knows everybody. That's your marketing plan for month one. It isn't glamorous. It works.

Line 5: How will they pay you?

Decide before the first job. Cash, check, a payment app, an invoice. Whatever you pick, write down every payment with the date, the customer and the amount. A notebook works. A simple spreadsheet works better.

Line 6: What happens to the money?

This is the line almost everyone skips. When the first hundred lands, split it before you spend it:

• Set some aside for taxes. Side-hustle income is generally taxable, and self-employed people can owe self-employment tax on top of income tax. The IRS Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center at IRS.gov covers the basics in plain language, and a tax professional can tell you what applies to you.
• Put some back into the business. Better tools, more supplies, whatever makes the next job faster.
• Keep the rest. Seriously. Buy something small that reminds you this worked.

Keep a receipt for everything you buy for the business. Future you, doing taxes in April, will be grateful.

And keep business money apart from personal money as soon as it's more than pocket change. A separate checking account makes everything easier, from taxes to knowing whether this thing is actually making money.

Then do it again

Once you've hit a hundred, look back at the page. What took longer than you expected? Who actually paid you, and how did they hear about you? What would you charge next time? Fix the page and go after the next hundred.

That's the whole plan. It fits on an index card, which is more than most business plans can say.