Plan the legal and money setup
See this course’s project requirements
A business practice packet: a customer-problem brief, one-page offer, validation record and justified decision, setup checklist, outreach plan, and operating scorecard. Use the supplied fictional café case or clearly identified permitted real evidence. A supported proceed, revise, or stop decision is a complete learning result.
Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.
What to include
- A problem brief with classified source notes, a customer-problem statement citing at least two notes, one counterexample or evidence gap, and a useful follow-up question. Use the four supplied fictional notes or clearly identified real evidence you have permission to use.
- Draft a one-page offer with customer, result, scope, exclusions, price, timeline, and next step. Identify assumptions separately from supported facts.
- A validation record showing the test, the decision rule chosen beforehand, classified observed results, and a justified decision to proceed, revise, or stop. Include a limitation and one bounded next test. Use the supplied practice case or clearly identified real-world evidence.
- Draft a setup checklist naming requirements to verify, responsible official sources or support, status, and next actions. Keep unresolved items marked pending.
- Build a sales-process plan with a sample prospect list, outreach draft, stages, and dated follow-ups. Use fictional records for practice.
- Create an operating scorecard with costs, capacity, cash timing, and review dates. Label assumptions and explain one decision using sample results.
Review and revise
Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.
- Claims can be traced to source notes. Fictional inputs, reported behavior, opinions, assumptions, and missing evidence are distinguished.
- The problem and offer fit the customer situation supported by the notes and acknowledge counterevidence.
- The original decision rule is applied accurately. A justified negative finding or revise/stop decision meets the criterion.
- The next test changes one defined element, sets a rule in advance, and names resource limits.
- Plans are internally consistent and record unresolved checks honestly. Assessment depends on reasoning and the work produced, not sales or outside approval.
Want more background?
The idea in everyday life
Legal form, licenses, taxes, insurance, and contracts depend on location and activity. Use official federal, state, and local sources, and professional advice when stakes require it. Keep business money and records separate from the first transaction onward.
Your business setup must fit its risks and local rules. Choosing a legal structure is only one part of that work.
One step at a time.
Use the sample or information you have permission to use. Keep your work as you go. You can pause between steps.
- 1
List business-name, registration, structure, license, zoning, tax, and insurance questions to verify for the activity and location. Name the relevant official source and keep unresolved items pending.
- 2
For the practice case, record tax identifiers and permits as pending verification. Name the official source and question you would use to resolve each item.
- 3
Draft a plan for separating business and personal records, including banking and bookkeeping questions to verify before real transactions.
- 4
List the terms, invoice fields, receipts, privacy practices, and retention questions needed for the offer. Mark assumptions and unresolved items clearly.
See how it works.
Priya drafts a checklist for the fictional offer. Registration, licensing, tax, banking, and insurance questions stay pending until the relevant authority or qualified support verifies them. She records a source, question, and next action for each. Draft bookkeeping categories and a scope outline show how the plan could work.
Did you cover these?
- The checklist identifies the location and activity questions to verify and marks unresolved items pending.
- The draft recordkeeping plan separates revenue, expenses, receipts, and owner transfers.
- The agreement covers scope, payment, changes, ownership, confidentiality, and cancellation.
What to finish
A setup planning checklist with requirement, source to consult, status, next action, and proposed review date. Pending verification is a valid status in this practice.
Watch for this
Copying another founder’s entity or contract choices without matching your location and risk.
How can I tell I understand it?
You know which government body or professional can verify every unresolved requirement.
Quick knowledge check
Answer all 3 questions. Get at least 2 right and the lesson completes automatically.
You’ll get an explanation for each answer. Signed in? Your results save to your account.
Pass the check. We’ll save the progress.
Answer all 3 questions above and get at least 2 right. You can review the explanations and try again.
Go to the knowledge checkOptional course overview video · same video as Lesson 1
An Introduction to the SBA
From U.S. Small Business Administration. Watch here or open it on YouTube .
Use the SBA video as a directory, then follow only official links for registration, permits, tax obligations, and local assistance.Tools, templates, and lesson sources
Tools and templates
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Sources and further reading
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