These guides are for the person who does the job, answers the phone and sends the invoice. Each one is long enough to be useful and plain enough to read on a lunch break. You don't need to hire anyone to use them, and many solo owners never do. Think of them as the free half of what we do.
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Marketing jargon, translated for people who do the work themselves
Marketing has a lot of words for simple ideas. Here are 31 of the ones solo owners hear most, each explained in a sentence or two, with what it means for a one-person business.
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How to write a one-page marketing plan in one evening
You can write a useful marketing plan for a one-person business in about two hours with a pen and your last few months of invoices. This guide takes you through it in seven steps.
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How much should a one-person business spend on marketing?
There is no right percentage. The right budget is the one your profit per job and your free capacity can support. This guide shows the sum and runs it for three kinds of solo owner.
Why we publish free guides
A one-person business should be able to make good marketing decisions without paying for advice first. Most of what makes marketing work at this size is simple: know your numbers, do a few things consistently, and stop doing what doesn't pay.
We would rather an owner read these guides, write their own plan and come back in a year with good questions than pay for help they don't yet need. If you do want help, the services page explains what we offer and the pricing page shows what it costs.
How to write a one-page marketing plan in one evening
The one-page plan guide walks you through writing a complete marketing plan in about two hours, using your own invoices and calendar.
It covers seven steps: finding your three key numbers, listing where your last ten customers came from, setting three checkable goals, choosing two or three activities, turning them into a weekly routine, setting a budget with a break-even line, and writing a stop-doing list. It ends with what the finished page should look like and the mistakes to avoid.
Read it if: you feel busy but scattered, or you are about to spend money on marketing and want a plan first.
How much should a one-person business spend on marketing?
The solo marketing budget guide replaces rules of thumb with a sum built from your own numbers: profit per job, close rate, spare capacity and cost per enquiry.
It then works through three examples in full, a house cleaner, a handyperson and a renovator working alone, and shows why each needs a very different budget. It also explains where to spend first when money is tight and how to judge an agency fee with the same sum.
Read it if: you are wondering whether to spend more, less or differently, or whether a paid plan could ever pay for itself.
Marketing jargon, translated
The plain-English glossary explains 31 terms solo owners hear in sales pitches and reports, from close rate and map pack to impressions, retargeting and CASL.
Each term gets a one- or two-sentence definition and a note on what it means for a one-person business. The guide finishes with three questions to ask anyone who tries to sell you marketing.
Read it if: you have ever nodded along to a pitch without being sure what was being sold.
How the guides fit together
The three guides are designed to be used in order, but each stands on its own.
- Plan first. The plan guide gives you the structure.
- Then budget. The budget guide fills in the money side of the plan.
- Keep the glossary nearby. Use it whenever someone gives you a report or a proposal.
Together they cover most of what our one-page marketing plan service does with clients. The difference is a second pair of eyes on your numbers and someone to keep you to the routine.
What the guides don't cover
We keep the guides to marketing and business decisions. They don't give legal, tax, insurance or licensing advice.
Where rules matter, such as Canada's anti-spam law or provincial trade licensing, we name the official body and link to it so you can check the details yourself. Our region pages list the main regulators in each province and territory.
If you've read a guide and want to talk through your own numbers, contact us by call, text or email. For an eligible trades business, the first 30-minute conversation is free of charge.
Frequently asked questions
Are the guides really free?
Yes. There is nothing to sign up for. Read them, print them, use them. If you want help applying them, you can call, text or email us.
Which guide should I read first?
Start with the one-page plan guide. It gives you the framework the other two fill in: the budget guide adds the numbers, and the glossary helps you read any marketing pitch.
Are these guides specific to one trade?
No. They are written for any one-person trades or home-service business, with examples drawn from several kinds of work. The method is the same; your numbers will differ.