Make Or Break
Companion pages for the business adventure.
Practical depth, plain-English decision lenses and QR-friendly references for every section of the book.
Setup · S1
You Have Been Thinking About This
The idea gets stronger when it becomes smaller, plainer and easier to test with real people.
Setup · S2
What Are You Actually Selling?
The idea gets stronger when it becomes smaller, plainer and easier to test with real people.
Setup · S3
How Much Rope?
Price, capital and cash are not background admin. They decide how much room the business has to learn.
Setup · S4
Just Start, Research First, or Build Better
The idea gets stronger when it becomes smaller, plainer and easier to test with real people.
Setup · S5
Your Calendar Objects
Founder energy is a business resource, not an infinite household appliance quietly humming in the corner.
Setup · S6
The Business Exists, Technically
Administration is not glamour, but it is how the business remembers what happened and makes better decisions next time.
Setup · S7
What Are You, Legally?
Your starting structure is not a badge of seriousness. It is a practical choice about risk, tax, control, admin and future options.
Setup · S8
The Box Marked Receipts
Records are not just for tax. They stop the business making decisions from vibes, panic or selective memory.
Launch · L1
Your First Move
Early evidence matters most when it shows behaviour, not just encouragement.
Launch · L2
Where the Customers Are
A channel is not a strategy. It is a rented route to attention, demand or fulfilment with its own incentives attached.
Launch · L3
Someone Has Opinions
Early evidence matters most when it shows behaviour, not just encouragement.
Launch · L4
Is This Working?
Early evidence matters most when it shows behaviour, not just encouragement.
Launch · L5
The Price Feels Personal
Price, capital and cash are not background admin. They decide how much room the business has to learn.
Launch · L6
The Platform Smiles
A channel is not a strategy. It is a rented route to attention, demand or fulfilment with its own incentives attached.
Launch · L7
The First Wobble
Delivery problems are decision problems wearing overalls. Fix the promise, the process or the capacity before trust starts leaking.
Launch · L8
Launch Has Become Operations
Administration is not glamour, but it is how the business remembers what happened and makes better decisions next time.
Launch · L9
The First Real Conversation
Early evidence matters most when it shows behaviour, not just encouragement.
Launch · L10
The Listing Looks Back
A channel is not a strategy. It is a rented route to attention, demand or fulfilment with its own incentives attached.
Launch · L11
The Refund Is Not Personal
A refund is not just a loss. It is a test of policy, customer trust, cash buffer and whether the business learns from friction.
Launch · L12
The Email List Tempts You
Customer data is useful only if the relationship is built on permission and trust.
Survive · SV-L1
The Business Is Alive, Barely
Survival is not just lasting another week. It is learning what must change so the next week is less fragile.
Survive · SV-A1
You Take a Step Back
Survival is not just lasting another week. It is learning what must change so the next week is less fragile.
Survive · SV-A2
The Numbers Stop Flattering You
Price, capital and cash are not background admin. They decide how much room the business has to learn.
Survive · SV-A3
The Customer Was Telling You
Early evidence matters most when it shows behaviour, not just encouragement.
Survive · SV-A4
The VAT Threshold Appears
Growth can change the rules. VAT is where higher sales may affect pricing, cash, records and customer expectations.
Survive · SV-A5
You Ask Someone Who Knows
Advice is not a sign that the founder has failed. It is a way to shorten the distance between confusion and a good decision.
Survive · SV-O1
Something Is Breaking
Delivery problems are decision problems wearing overalls. Fix the promise, the process or the capacity before trust starts leaking.
Survive · SV-O2
You Patch the System
Administration is not glamour, but it is how the business remembers what happened and makes better decisions next time.
Survive · SV-O3
The Quality Problem Gets Loud
Delivery problems are decision problems wearing overalls. Fix the promise, the process or the capacity before trust starts leaking.
Survive · SV-R1
Recovery Is a Business Decision
Survival is not just lasting another week. It is learning what must change so the next week is less fragile.
Survive · SV-R2
You Stop Being the Whole Business
Founder energy is a business resource, not an infinite household appliance quietly humming in the corner.
Survive · SV-G1
Stable Enough to Grow
Growth should increase capability, not merely increase the number of things that can go wrong before lunch.
Survive · SV-S1
Push Sales
Early evidence matters most when it shows behaviour, not just encouragement.
Survive · SV-S2
You Promise a Bit Much
Delivery problems are decision problems wearing overalls. Fix the promise, the process or the capacity before trust starts leaking.
Survive · SV-S3
Margin Is Not a Mood
Price, capital and cash are not background admin. They decide how much room the business has to learn.
Survive · SV-C1
Something Breaks
When the business is under pressure, honesty creates options and delay spends them.
Survive · SV-F1
The Cash Runs Out
When the business is under pressure, honesty creates options and delay spends them.
Survive · SV-B1
You Are Not a Renewable Resource
Founder energy is a business resource, not an infinite household appliance quietly humming in the corner.
Grow · G-L1
You Have Traction
Growth should increase capability, not merely increase the number of things that can go wrong before lunch.
Grow · G-B1
Build Properly
Administration is not glamour, but it is how the business remembers what happened and makes better decisions next time.
Grow · G-B2
Hire, Systemise, or Continue Suffering
Do not hire confusion. Decide whether the business needs a clearer process, a contractor, an agency or a permanent employee.
Grow · G-B3
Someone Else Touches the Work
Extra hands only help when the work, standards and decision rights are clear enough for someone else to hold.
Grow · G-D1
Stand Out
Being different is only useful when the difference helps the right customer choose you with less hesitation.
Grow · G-D2
Choose a Smaller Room
Being different is only useful when the difference helps the right customer choose you with less hesitation.
Grow · G-D3
The Copycat Arrives
Being different is only useful when the difference helps the right customer choose you with less hesitation.
Grow · G-S1
Push for Growth
Growth should increase capability, not merely increase the number of things that can go wrong before lunch.
Grow · G-S2
The Ads Machine Wants Feeding
A channel is not a strategy. It is a rented route to attention, demand or fulfilment with its own incentives attached.
Grow · G-S4
The Spend Review
A channel is not a strategy. It is a rented route to attention, demand or fulfilment with its own incentives attached.
Grow · G-S3
More Products, More Problems
Growth should increase capability, not merely increase the number of things that can go wrong before lunch.
Grow · G-S5
Stock Wants Paying For
Price, capital and cash are not background admin. They decide how much room the business has to learn.
Grow · G-P1
You Are the Constraint
Founder energy is a business resource, not an infinite household appliance quietly humming in the corner.
Grow · G-P2
The Job Changes
Extra hands only help when the work, standards and decision rights are clear enough for someone else to hold.
Grow · G-P3
The Management Rhythm
Extra hands only help when the work, standards and decision rights are clear enough for someone else to hold.
Grow · G-B4
The Contractor Brief
Extra hands only help when the work, standards and decision rights are clear enough for someone else to hold.
Grow · G-B5
The Agency Proposal
An agency can buy expertise, but it cannot replace your judgement about cash, customers, promises and capacity.
Grow · G-B6
The First Permanent Hire
Extra hands only help when the work, standards and decision rights are clear enough for someone else to hold.
Grow · G-D4
Protect the Name
Being different is only useful when the difference helps the right customer choose you with less hesitation.
Grow · G-D5
The Price War
Price, capital and cash are not background admin. They decide how much room the business has to learn.
Grow · G-C1
Scaling Breaks Something
Growth should increase capability, not merely increase the number of things that can go wrong before lunch.
Grow · G-SV1
Back to Survival
Survival is not just lasting another week. It is learning what must change so the next week is less fragile.
Grow · G-X1
What Is This Becoming?
Scale, investment and exit are not trophies. They are choices about control, risk, time and what the business is for.
Scale / Exit · X-L1
The Business Has Weight
Scale, investment and exit are not trophies. They are choices about control, risk, time and what the business is for.
Scale / Exit · X-S1
Go Big
Scale, investment and exit are not trophies. They are choices about control, risk, time and what the business is for.
Scale / Exit · X-S2
Scale at the Speed of Cash
Scale, investment and exit are not trophies. They are choices about control, risk, time and what the business is for.
Scale / Exit · X-I1
Someone Else's Money
Scale, investment and exit are not trophies. They are choices about control, risk, time and what the business is for.
Scale / Exit · X-LF1
Enough Is Enough
Scale, investment and exit are not trophies. They are choices about control, risk, time and what the business is for.
Scale / Exit · X-LF2
Optimise for Enough
Scale, investment and exit are not trophies. They are choices about control, risk, time and what the business is for.
Scale / Exit · X-E1
Consider Selling
Scale, investment and exit are not trophies. They are choices about control, risk, time and what the business is for.
Scale / Exit · X-E2
Prepare for Exit
A buyer does not only buy what the business does. They buy what they can understand, verify and operate without the founder holding it together.
Scale / Exit · X-P1
You Stay Central
Founder energy is a business resource, not an infinite household appliance quietly humming in the corner.
Scale / Exit · X-C1
Late Collapse
When the business is under pressure, honesty creates options and delay spends them.
Scale / Exit · X-R1
Final Reckoning
Scale, investment and exit are not trophies. They are choices about control, risk, time and what the business is for.
Endings · E1
Lifestyle Success
An ending is useful if it shows what the business model rewarded, what it punished and what the founder should carry forward.
Endings · E2
Sustainable Growth
An ending is useful if it shows what the business model rewarded, what it punished and what the founder should carry forward.
Endings · E3
High Growth / Fragile
An ending is useful if it shows what the business model rewarded, what it punished and what the founder should carry forward.
Endings · E4
Exit
An ending is useful if it shows what the business model rewarded, what it punished and what the founder should carry forward.
Endings · E5
Burnout
An ending is useful if it shows what the business model rewarded, what it punished and what the founder should carry forward.
Endings · E6
Failure
An ending is useful if it shows what the business model rewarded, what it punished and what the founder should carry forward.