The Forge Launch Checklist

If you can't answer the questions in this phase in one sentence each, every later phase will be twice as expensive. Slow down here so you can move fast everywhere else.

• Write the offer in one sentence.Format: "I sell [thing] to [specific buyer] who has [specific problem]." If it takes more than one sentence, the offer isn't locked.
• Name the buyer specifically.First name, company name, role. If you can't name three real humans who fit, your buyer isn't defined yet.
• List the top three competitors.By name. Include their pricing. Note what makes you not them.
• Set a price floor and price ceiling.Floor = lowest you'd accept. Ceiling = highest a customer would pay before checking around. Most launches die in the gap between these.
• Write the "why now" line.One sentence on why this business needs to exist this year specifically. If you can't answer, the urgency isn't real.
• Decide your runway in months.Honest math, not optimistic. Runway = months you can fund the business and your life without revenue.

Brand is a 48-hour problem in 2026, not a 30-day one. Resist the urge to make it longer than it needs to be — perfection here delays everything else.

• Lock the business name and domain.Domain is part of the test — if it's not available in any reasonable form, the name fails.
• Generate 3–5 logo concepts.AI-assisted. Pick the simplest, not the most ornate. Logos should work at 32px favicon size.
• Define the color palette.Three colors max: primary, accent, neutral. Hex codes documented. Use them everywhere.
• Pick two fonts.One serif for headings, one sans for body. Or one font with two weights. Don't mix-and-match more.
• Write the brand voice in 3 bullets.Direct? Warm? Contrarian? Pick three adjectives and write copy that lives by them.
• Create the social handles.Even if you won't use them yet — claim them. LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Instagram, YouTube minimum.
• Order business cards (yes, really).A physical artifact forces commitment in a way digital doesn't. Two-day printing is fine.

The website is not the business — it's the door. Build the door once, build it well, and stop touching it until you have ten customers.

• Build a one-page marketing site.Hero + 3 sections + footer. Headline, value prop, social proof (or what you have), pricing, CTA. That's it.
• Set up Calendly or equivalent.One booking link, embedded on the site. Auto-confirmation email. Calendar synced.
• Wire a contact form.Goes to a real inbox you check daily. Not a generic info@.
• Connect a CRM.Zoho, HubSpot, or even a Google Sheet for week 1. The point is structured capture, not the tool.
• Install analytics.Google Analytics or Plausible. Goal: track if anyone is hitting the site and what they're doing.
• Set up business email.you@yourdomain.com via Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. No more @gmail.com on the contact form.
• Add legal pages.Privacy policy, terms of service. Generated templates are fine for v1.
• Test the full flow end-to-end.Visitor → site → contact form → CRM record → confirmation email. From an incognito browser, as if you were the customer.

The mechanics of running a business once it exists. Most failed launches aren't bad ideas — they're missing systems that surface only when you're already running.

• Open a business bank account.Separate from personal. Get a debit card. Note: requires LLC/EIN — if you don't have those yet, do them this week.
• Set up payments processing.Stripe or equivalent. Test the full transaction flow with a $1 charge to yourself.
• Create the invoicing template.Branded. Clear payment terms. Net 15 or net 30. Includes wire details and a Stripe link.
• Document the delivery workflow.From "yes, I'll buy" to "delivered" — write the steps down. Even if you're solo, future-you will need this.
• Set up automated workflows.New lead → CRM tag + welcome email. New customer → onboarding sequence. Use Zapier, Make, or your CRM's native automation.
• Build a content calendar (next 30 days).3 posts per week minimum. Write the first 12 and queue them up. Don't start a business with an empty content well.
• Define your hours.When are you working on the business? When are you not? Write it down before week one starts.

A business without revenue is a hobby. Get the first three customers' names into the CRM by hand before going live. Psychology matters.

• List the first 30 named prospects.By name and contact info. People who would be a fit and you have a path to. Network, referrals, warm intros.
• Type the first 3 into the CRM yourself.Hand-typed. Not imported. Forces commitment.
• Send the first 10 outreach messages.Personal, not templated. Reference something specific about them. One CTA: a 15-minute conversation.
• Book three calls.Not "I'll get to it next week" — actually on the calendar before launch day.
• Prepare a discovery-call agenda.5 questions, in order. The questions, not the pitch, are what closes deals.
• Create a one-page pricing sheet.Sent after the first call, never before. Includes pricing, what's included, and a one-line decision deadline.

Operational. From here, you're running the business — not building it. The next 30 days look very different from the previous 14.

• Daily routine: 30-minute morning block.Inbox + CRM + content + one outreach. In that order. Before any deep work.
• Weekly review (Friday, 30 min).Pipeline status. Wins. Losses. One thing to change next week. Document it.
• Track the single number that matters.For most early businesses: paying customers per week. Or qualified conversations per week. Pick one. Watch it daily.
• Book the first 5 customer interviews.Even before they buy. The data is more valuable than any market research you can pay for.
• Plan a 30-day retro.Calendar invite to yourself for day 45. What worked? What didn't? What's the next 30-day focus?
• Resist the urge to "improve" the website.Until you have 10 customers. The website's job is to get out of the way. Improvements before scale are usually procrastination.