Printable checklist, Project EP

STEP 01 · A password app

10 min · About $3 a month (approximate)

Go to 1password.com and click Get 1Password.
Choose the Individual plan. Not family, not business.
Type in your email. They send a code. Enter it.
They hand you a Secret Key, a long code. Do not screenshot it and do not email it to yourself. An inbox is the first place an attacker looks.
Use their own Emergency Kit instead. Download the PDF they offer, print it, and put the paper somewhere you keep important documents. A safe, a locked drawer, a fireproof box. 1Password's Emergency Kit guide (opens in a new tab)
If you lose that key and your password, nobody on earth can get you back in. That is the point of it, and it is why the paper copy matters.
Create your one master password. Make it a sentence you will never forget.
On your phone, install the app from the app store and sign in.
On your computer, install the browser extension and sign in.
Turn on Face ID or fingerprint on the phone so you are not typing it all day.
Save one login into it right now, so you have used it once.

Done when: Every login lives in one place and works on all your devices.

Watch out for: People leave this until last. Then they have twelve passwords in a phone note and no idea which is which.

Read the full step: A password app

STEP 02 · Your business, on paper

A few days · Filing fee, $50 to $500 (approximate)

Done when: The business has its own paperwork and its own bank account.

Watch out for: Which business type to choose is a question for an accountant or an attorney, not for me. It depends on your state, your industry and your situation.

Read the full step: Your business, on paper

STEP 03 · Your web address

15 min · About $12 a year (approximate)

Go to a registrar that sells at cost. Cloudflare or Porkbun are two.
Make an account there first, and save the login in your password app. That account is how you control the domain, so protect it like a bank login and turn on two-factor.
Search the name you want. Try .com before anything else.
If it is taken, do not buy a strange spelling. Add your city or what you do instead.
Add it to the cart and decline every add-on. Privacy protection is free at some registrars and charged at others.
Pay for it. One year is fine.
Turn on auto-renew before you close the tab, and keep a working card on the account. A lapsed domain is a dead business.
Make sure the contact email on the registration is one you will still read in a year. Renewal notices go there. ICANN on what a registrant controls (opens in a new tab)

Done when: You control a web address that your email and your website will both use.

Watch out for: A domain is a registration, not a permanent purchase. You hold it for as long as you keep renewing it. Some sellers charge three times the going rate and add things you did not ask for.

Read the full step: Your web address

STEP 04 · Email at your own name

30 min · About $8 a month (approximate)

Done when: An address that looks like a business, plus a calendar and file storage.

Watch out for: The records step is where people get stuck. Changes can take a few hours to take effect. That is normal. Do not redo it.

Read the full step: Email at your own name

STEP 05 · Getting paid

30 min · Free to set up (approximate)

Go to stripe.com and click Start now.
Sign up using the business email you made in step four.
Enter the business details. The legal name has to match your filing exactly.
Enter your tax ID and business address. A sole proprietor without an EIN is usually asked for a Social Security number instead.
Enter your own details as the owner. They are legally required to ask. This is normal.
Connect your business bank account with the routing and account number.
In the dashboard, find Payment Links and create one. Name what you sell and set the price.
Copy the link and open it on your phone.
Pay yourself one dollar with your own card, then refund it. Now you know it works.

Done when: You can charge a customer by card, today.

Watch out for: The first payout commonly takes a week or two while they verify the business, and some accounts are held longer. Do not plan on the money arriving Friday. Payout schedules are set by the provider and can change.

Read the full step: Getting paid

STEP 06 · Letting people book you

20 min · Free to start (approximate)

Go to calendly.com and sign up with your business email.
Connect the Google calendar from step four so it can see when you are already busy.
Set your working hours. Be honest about them, not optimistic.
Create your first event type. Name it and set the length. Thirty minutes is a good default.
Set a buffer of fifteen minutes before and after.
Set a minimum notice of at least four hours, so nobody books you for ten minutes from now.
Copy the link and put it in your email signature.

Done when: No more messaging back and forth about times.

Watch out for: Without a buffer, people book you back to back with no travel time between jobs.

Read the full step: Letting people book you

Setup checklist