A free, comprehensive guide to starting and operating a business from day one.
This repository contains everything you need to establish your business legally, technically, and operationally. No fluff—just actionable, repeatable processes you can implement immediately.
Who this is for: Solo entrepreneurs, co-founders, and small business operators who want a professional, scalable foundation from the start.
graph LR
A["1️⃣ LEGAL"] --> B["2️⃣ DOMAIN"] --> C["3️⃣ EMAIL"] --> D["4️⃣ GIT"] --> E["5️⃣ DEPLOY"]
A -- LLC Registration --- A1["State filing"]
B -- Custom domain --- B1["Cloudflare"]
C -- Professional email --- C1["Gmail + forwarding"]
D -- Version control --- D1["Git + Perplexity"]
E -- Auto CI/CD --- E1["Cloudflare Pages"]
style A fill:#e1f5ff
style B fill:#f3e5f5
style C fill:#fff3e0
style D fill:#e8f5e9
style E fill:#fce4ec
| Guide | Duration | What You'll Set Up |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Legal Foundation | 2-3 hours | LLC registration, business license, naming |
| 2. Domain & DNS | 30 min | Custom domain via Cloudflare, professional branding |
| 3. Email Infrastructure | 1 hour | Professional email routing, multi-user setup |
| 4. Git & Repository | 45 min | GitHub repo, Perplexity Spaces, AI workflow |
| 5. Financial Tools | 1 hour | Accounting, tax planning, payment processing |
| 6. Deployment & CI/CD | 1.5 hours | Automated deployment, website hosting |
| 7. Operations Manual | 2 hours | Repeatable processes, checklists, handoff docs |
Total setup time: ~8-10 hours
Start here if you want the fastest path to a working business:
- Quick Start Checklist — 30-minute overview
- Follow guides 1-3 for the essentials
- Come back to 4-7 as you scale
Work through all guides in order. Each builds on the previous.
- Founder/CEO: Start with Legal Foundation and Domain & DNS
- CTO/Technical Lead: Focus on Git & Repository and Deployment & CI/CD
- Solo Founder: Do all of it (you're wearing all the hats)
- Operations Person: Prioritize Email Infrastructure and Operations Manual
This guide is built on five principles:
Your business infrastructure should look like a 100-person company from day one. Custom domain email, proper legal structure, professional communication channels.
Everything is designed to grow without rework. Add team members without rebuilding infrastructure. Start solo, scale to 5+ people with the same processes.
Repetitive tasks are automated. Deployment is automatic. Email forwarding is automatic. Communication is structured to minimize back-and-forth.
2FA on everything. Recovery codes backed up. Secrets management in place. GDPR-ready from the start.
Most tools are free or extremely low cost (free Gmail, GitHub, Perplexity Spaces; domain registrar cost-only pricing from Cloudflare). Your primary recurring expense is your domain (about ~$10.50/year at Cloudflare's cost-based pricing).
Strategy: Buy 10 years of domain registration up front (~$140). Forgetting to renew once and paying recovery premiums (or losing the domain) is more expensive than prepaying.
The ROI comes from saved time, avoided mistakes, and a professional foundation that doesn't need to be rebuilt later.
To reduce decision fatigue, this guide makes specific recommendations:
| Decision | Recommendation | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Legal Structure | LLC | Limited liability + simplicity + pass-through taxation |
| Domain Registrar | Cloudflare | Integrated email routing + DNS + cost-only pricing |
| Email Service | Gmail + Cloudflare routing | Reliable, free, and supports plus-addressing |
| Code Repository | GitHub | Industry standard + native CI/CD + free private repos |
| AI Workflow | Perplexity Spaces | Version-controlled instructions + transparent agent behavior |
| Hosting | Cloudflare Pages + Workers | Fast + cheap + auto-scaling + DDoS protection |
| Accounting | Wave (free) or Stripe | Simple + automated + integrates with payments |
If you prefer different tools, adapt the guides—they're repeatable processes, not tool prescriptions.
graph TD
A["Business Name"] --> B["Check Availability"]
B --> C["LLC Registration"]
C --> D["Domain Registration"]
D --> E["Email Forwarding"]
E --> F["Gmail Setup"]
F --> G["GitHub Repo"]
G --> H["Perplexity Space"]
H --> I["Website Deploy"]
C --> J["Tax ID (EIN)"]
J --> K["Bank Account"]
K --> L["Accounting Setup"]
I --> M["Public Website Live"]
L --> M
style A fill:#ffe0b2
style M fill:#c8e6c9
Critical path: Legal → Domain → Email → Git → Deploy (this is your "go-live" sequence)
After completing this blueprint, you'll have:
- ✅ Registered LLC with active EIN
- ✅ Custom domain (
BUSINESS-NAME.com) - ✅ Professional email (
founder@BUSINESS-NAME.com) - ✅ GitHub repository with CI/CD pipeline
- ✅ Website deployed and live
- ✅ Gmail filters and labels for triage
- ✅ Documented processes for onboarding
- ✅ Backup and recovery procedures in place
- ✅ 2FA enabled on all critical accounts
- ✅ Tax EIN and basic accounting ready
1. Read the Quickstart: ./docs/QUICKSTART.md
2. Follow the checklist
3. Come back to detailed guides as needed
1. Start with Guide #1: Legal Foundation
2. Work through each guide in order
3. Use checklists to validate your work
4. Reference the operations manual for ongoing tasks
1. Read this entire README
2. Skim all guides to understand the complete picture
3. Then work through each guide methodically
Every guide includes:
- Executive Summary — 2-minute overview
- Why This Matters — Context and benefits
- Step-by-Step Instructions — Detailed walkthrough with screenshots where possible
- Checklists — Validation that you completed it correctly
- Dependencies — What needs to happen before/after
- Troubleshooting — Common issues and solutions
- Templates — Copy-paste-ready policies, contracts, and configs
This is a living guide. If you've improved something or found a better way:
- Fork this repo
- Create a feature branch:
git checkout -b improve/better-way - Make your changes (update the relevant guide)
- Submit a PR with description of improvements
- Reference any tools, processes, or lessons learned
This work is provided as-is for educational and reference purposes. While we aim for accuracy, always verify with current resources and consult professionals (lawyers, accountants) for your specific situation.
MIT License — Use freely, modify as needed, no attribution required.
Q: How long does this take? A: 8-10 hours total, spread over a week or two. You can do steps 1-3 in a day if you're focused.
Q: Do I need to follow this exactly? A: No. Use it as a template. The key is having some structure from day one rather than nothing.
Q: Can I do this solo? A: Yes. The entire blueprint assumes a solo founder or very small team.
Q: What if I'm in a different country? A: The US LLC + Cloudflare + GitHub model works globally. Adjust the "Legal Foundation" guide for your jurisdiction.
Q: What if I want different tools? A: Go for it. The processes are tool-agnostic; adapt them to what you use.
Q: Is this just for tech companies? A: No. Apply the legal, email, and operational parts to any business. Skip the deployment guide if you don't have a website.
- Have a question? Open a GitHub discussion
- Found an issue? File a GitHub issue with details
- Have an improvement? Submit a PR
Once you finish the blueprint:
- Growth: Use your operations manual to document new processes as you scale
- Team: Add team members; use your Git-based workflow for transparency
- Automation: Expand your CI/CD to run tests, builds, and deployments
- Integration: Connect accounting, CRM, and customer communication tools
Ready to start? → Go to Quickstart or Jump to Guide #1