# The $100 Startup > The companion site to The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau — a practical playbook for starting a microbusiness for under $100, drawn from a three-year study of more than 1,500 founders who launched for under $1,000 and grew past $50,000 a year with fewer than five employees. The book has sold over a million copies worldwide. This site offers free guides, free fillable templates, and two paid programs (Your First Sale and The $100 Marketing Plan) that extend the book's frameworks into step-by-step systems. ## About the book and author - [Key lessons and summary](https://www.100startup.com/key-lessons): The three core ideas from the book — convergence, skill transformation, and "give them the fish" — plus a summary of the main takeaways and the 1,500-person study behind the book. - [About Chris Guillebeau](https://www.100startup.com/about): Author of The $100 Startup, The Art of Non-Conformity, Born for This, and other books. ## Chapter-by-chapter reading companion - [All 14 chapters index](https://www.100startup.com/book): An online companion to The $100 Startup organized by part (Unexpected Entrepreneurs, Taking It to the Streets, Leverage & Next Steps) with deep treatments of each chapter as they're published. - [Chapter 1: Renaissance](https://www.100startup.com/book/renaissance): The opening of the book — Michael Hanna's layoff-to-mattress-bicyclist story, the leaderless middle-class movement of micro-entrepreneurs, the 1,500-person study, and the three core lessons (convergence, skill transformation, and the magic formula of passion + usefulness). - [Chapter 2: Give Them the Fish](https://www.100startup.com/book/give-them-the-fish): One of the book's three core ideas. Salmon-risotto thought experiment, V6 Ranch / Higher Ground Yoga / Music Teacher's Helper case studies, three strategies for selling what people actually buy, and the "more / less" framework. - [Chapter 3: Follow Your Passion... Maybe](https://www.100startup.com/book/follow-your-passion-maybe): The nuanced take on follow-your-passion advice. Gary Leff's $250-per-booking travel-hacking consulting, the instant-consultant playbook (two rules), Megan Hunt's wedding dresses, Mignon Fogarty's pivot from Absolute Science to Grammar Girl, Benny Lewis's language hacking, and the four-element equation (passion + skill + problem + marketplace) behind the businesses that work. - [Chapter 4: The Rise of the Roaming Entrepreneur](https://www.100startup.com/book/rise-of-the-roaming-entrepreneur): The world of location-independent business — Brandon Pearce's $360K/year music-teacher software from Costa Rica, Kyle Hepp's globe-trotting wedding photography, Bernard Vukas's spreadsheet consulting from a beach in Thailand, and Brett Kelly's $120K/year Evernote ebook. Includes the 8-step Become Your Own Publisher framework. - [Chapter 5: The New Demographics](https://www.100startup.com/book/new-demographics): Why traditional demographics matter less than what your customers care about. Kinetic Koffee Company's outdoor-enthusiast positioning, Kris Murray's daycare pivot, Jason Glaspey's $6K/month Paleo Plan, customer-survey questions that actually work, and the decision-making matrix for picking between competing ideas. - [Chapter 6: The One-Page Business Plan](https://www.100startup.com/book/one-page-business-plan): Jen Adrion and Omar Noory's map company that sold out its first run in ten minutes, the action bias, the 7-step instant market testing approach, Nick Gatens's $50 first sale, market-before-manufacturing, the one-page template (Overview / Ka-Ching / Hustling / Success / Obstacles), and the 140-character mission statement. - [Chapter 7: An Offer You Can't Refuse](https://www.100startup.com/book/an-offer-you-cant-refuse): Scott McMurren's $99.95 TourSaver Alaska coupon books, the orange and the donut at mile eighteen, what people want vs what they say they want, market-inefficiency examples (Priceline, Redfin, DirectBuy), perceived value (the locksmith story), and the three tools that make an offer compelling: FAQ, guarantee, and overdelivery. - [Chapter 8: Launch!](https://www.100startup.com/book/launch): The Hollywood-style pre-launch arc applied to microbusiness, Karol Gajda and Adam Baker's $185,755 ebook bundle launch in 72 hours, Andreas Kambanis launching an iPhone app from Heathrow before an 11-hour flight, the Empire Building Kit launched from Amtrak's Empire Builder train, and the 39-step launch checklist condensed. - [Chapter 9: Hustling — The Gentle Art of Self-Promotion](https://www.100startup.com/book/hustling): Elizabeth MacCrellish's Squam Art Workshops, the hustler-vs-charlatan-vs-martyr distinction, the 50-person personal-list approach, Megan Hunt's strategic-giving marketing plan, John Morefield's 5-cent architecture booth, Derek Sivers's "Hell Yeah" test, and a $10,000-vs-10-hours experiment showing hustling beats paid ads. - [Chapter 10: Show Me the Money](https://www.100startup.com/book/show-me-the-money): Naomi Dunford's IttyBiz arc from a homeless shelter to a million-dollar business, Heather Allard's lesson on spending only on brand + sales, the three profit principles (price on benefit, limited range of prices, get paid more than once), unconventional fundraising stories (Shannon Oakey's Kickstarter, Emma Reynolds's car loan), and the $35,000 single-variable pricing experiment. - [Chapter 11: Moving On Up](https://www.100startup.com/book/moving-on-up): Nev Lapwood's Snowboard Addiction arc from ski-bum to $300K/year, the three tweaks (traffic / conversion / average sale price), upsells and cross-sells, Perry Marshall's product-to-service expansion, Reese Spykerman's service-to-product themes, and the case for raising prices regularly. - [Chapter 12: How to Franchise Yourself](https://www.100startup.com/book/franchise-yourself): Why buying someone else's franchise is usually a bad deal, the alternative of leveraging your own skills, Nathalie Lussier's two-business arc, Brooke Thomas's Practice Abundance, the hub-and-spoke model, the one-page partnership agreement, the divergent pro-vs-anti-outsourcing camps, and the cautionary Copley Trash Services kids-business story. - [Chapter 13: Going Long](https://www.100startup.com/book/going-long): Tsilli Pines's arc of leaving her design job, going full-time, and returning part-time on purpose. Three case studies on long-term shape (Cherie Ve Ard stays small, Tom Bihn goes medium, Jessica Reagan Salzman splits the difference), the 45-minute "work on your business" discipline, the metrics worth monitoring, and the Built to Sell model compared to The $100 Startup model. - [Chapter 14: But What If I Fail?](https://www.100startup.com/book/but-what-if-i-fail): John T. Unger's rise-from-the-ashes story (collapsed studio roof, lost day job, gun-to-the-head encounter, sculpture career intact), what successful founders actually worry about, the "moments they knew" stories from Gary Leff / Karen Starr / David Fugate / Kyle Hepp / Jonathan Pincas, the full book recap, and the Coda about Rhett the tuk-tuk driver in Phnom Penh. ## Free guides (longform articles) - [The one-page business plan](https://www.100startup.com/one-page-business-plan): Full walkthrough of the five-section template (Overview, Ka-Ching, Hustling, Success, Obstacles), the 140-character mission statement, a mini executive summary, and the financial plan for a micro-business. - [Businesses you can start for $100 or less](https://www.100startup.com/businesses-to-start-for-100-dollars): Real founders from the study organized by startup cost — Chelly Vitry ($28), Nicolas Luff ($56.33), Tara Gentile ($80), Susannah Conway and Michael Hanna ($0), and more — plus the instant consulting and information publishing paths. - [The most successful small business ideas](https://www.100startup.com/most-successful-small-business-ideas): Six categories of business ideas that worked in the study — services, info products, niche products, local services, software, and teaching — with the five traits the successful ones shared. - [How to start a business with no money](https://www.100startup.com/how-to-start-a-business-with-no-money): The honest playbook — six no-capital paths (services, teaching, reselling, pre-sell, free-tier digital, skill transformation), the five things you actually need (all free), and a 5-step "start tomorrow" sequence. - [Business plan examples from real founders](https://www.100startup.com/business-plan-examples): Six worked one-page business plans from named founders in the study (Jen & Omar / These Are Things, Chelly Vitry, Brett Kelly, Nick Gatens, Brandon Pearce, Charlie Pabst), each filled into the five-section template. - [How to test your business idea](https://www.100startup.com/test-your-business-idea): The 7-step instant market testing framework, the decision-making matrix, and the pre-sell approach. Prove demand before you build. - [How to launch by yourself](https://www.100startup.com/how-to-launch-by-yourself): The 8-stage pre-launch sequence, the 39-step product launch checklist, and stories of solo launches that worked (including Karol Gajda and Adam Baker's $185,755 weekend). - [One-person business examples](https://www.100startup.com/one-person-business-examples): Real solopreneur and one-person business case studies from the study (Naomi Dunford, Nev Lapwood, Kyle Hepp, Nathalie Lussier, Brooke Thomas, Erica Cosminsky, Bernard Vukas) earning $50K–$300K a year. - [How to scale a small business (from side hustle to full-time)](https://www.100startup.com/side-hustle-to-business): The three tweaks (traffic, conversion, average sale price), raising prices, productizing, subscriptions, and when to stay solo vs. scale up. - [How to make your first sale](https://www.100startup.com/how-to-make-your-first-sale): Free article on getting from zero to first paying customer (deprioritized in favor of the paid Your First Sale program below). ## Free fillable templates (dedicated landing pages) - [Free small business plan template](https://www.100startup.com/small-business-plan-template): A one-page, fillable PDF — five sections covering everything a micro-business needs, with a worked sample (These Are Things, Jen & Omar's maps company). Email signup for instant download. - [Free marketing plan template](https://www.100startup.com/free-marketing-plan-template): A one-page, fillable PDF for solo entrepreneurs — six sections (audience, message, channels, budget, weekly rhythm, 90-day goal) with a worked sample (Clay & Drift Ceramics). Email signup for instant download. - [Free one-page promotion plan template](https://www.100startup.com/one-page-promotion-plan-template): A one-page, fillable PDF for running a launch, sale, or campaign — six sections (what you're promoting, audience, promise, channels, sequence, window & success) with a worked sample (Karol Gajda & Adam Baker's $185,755 weekend bundle launch). Email signup for instant download. - [Free resource library (all 6 templates)](https://www.100startup.com/resources): Index page for the full free template library — the one-page business plan, the one-page promotion plan, the 39-step launch checklist, the seven-step market testing framework, the instant consulting starter, and become-your-own-publisher. ## Paid programs - [Your First Sale](https://www.100startup.com/your-first-sale): A 14-day guided program for going from idea to first paying customer. Day-by-day workbook with 12 fillable worksheets, 30–60 minutes per day. Starts at $29. - [The $100 Marketing Plan](https://www.100startup.com/100-marketing-plan): An 80-page guide plus seven companion tools (Marketing Mad Libs, Budget Calculator, Weekly Tracker, 90-Day Plan Builder, Swipe File, AI Prompt Library, Audio Companion). The tactical marketing playbook for solo entrepreneurs and micro-businesses. $100, one price, no upsells. ## Site navigation - [Articles index](https://www.100startup.com/articles): Full list of every free article on the site. - [Free resources index](https://www.100startup.com/resources): Full list of every free template, with how-to-use guidance. - [Sitemap](https://www.100startup.com/sitemap-index.xml): Machine-readable site index. ## Optional - [Privacy policy](https://www.100startup.com/privacy)