Nine Bar
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Start Your
Business.

Find the gap before you spend a pound. Unzip it, upload two files to a Claude chat (or open the folder in Claude Code or Codex) and say "Start my business." I opened my first business at 22 on £20,000 I'd saved. This is how I'd start again, with 25 guides.

Get it for £20 See what's inside

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Buy on your phone, set up on your computer. The booklet reads anywhere.

  • £20 once
  • Works with ChatGPT or Claude
  • Yours to keep
  • No subscription
Start Your Business

I want to start a mobile dog grooming van.

Good. Before you buy a van, let's see who already does it near you. Name the groomers you know, and I'll help you check their prices and read what their customers complain about.

Five of them. Most reviews say the same thing: booked up for weeks, daytime only.

That could be your gap: evenings and Saturdays, booked within a week. Now we test it with ten strangers who pay before you spend. Friends don't count.

7stages, idea to open
10conversations before you spend
1page website, written for you
25guides you can print
£20once, yours to keep

Is this for you?

It's for you if

  • You have an idea, or want one, and don't know if anyone will pay for it.
  • You have a job and some savings, and you don't want to risk either on a guess.
  • You want to find the gap before you spend money on a website, stock or a van.
  • You need the numbers, a one-page website and your first ten customers, in plain steps.

It's not for you if

  • You've been trading for a year and want more customers. Grow Your Business fits better.
  • You're opening a restaurant, bar or hotel with investors and a lease. Talk to me about that one.

You'll need

  • A computer or a phone.
  • A Claude or ChatGPT account. A free one works the guide-and-spreadsheet way.
  • About 30 minutes for the first session.

The gap first. Then build it.

Most new businesses start with the idea and hope. This starts with the market: who already sells to your customers, and what they're not getting.

1

Find the gap.

Your rivals, their prices and what their customers complain about, every fact with a source. Plotted on a map, so the empty corner shows.

2

Test it, then build it.

Strangers who pay or pre-order before you spend. Then the smallest thing that fills the gap, priced from your own costs.

3

Open the doors.

A one-page website, your first ten customers by name, and the company set up properly for your country.

Watch how it works.

Buy, download, unzip, upload two files to a Claude chat, and say one sentence. A few minutes, start to finish.

Music: Ovanea by Moavii, from Free To Use.

This is what you get to look at.

Real screens from the folder. The business shown is the worked example that comes with it: an invented dog groomer, nine weeks in. Every name and number in it is made up, and it says so.

The start dashboard: the gap statement, a gap map of rivals, the test, the numbers and the plan. On a phone it shows as the phone version: one column, read top to bottom.Swipe sideways to read it all.
Your business on one page: the gap, the test, the numbers and what's next.
*** INVENTED EXAMPLE: every person, business and number here is made up. ***
Coat & Collar  ·  Monday 17 May 2027
The gap: Dog owners in Harrogate who work office hours want a full groom at their door on a weekday evening or a Saturday, booked within a week. Nobody gives them that today because the mobile groomers work daytime hours and are booked three to six weeks out, and the salons need a drop-off at nine and a pick-up at four.
The test: passed. 11 strangers paid or pre-ordered (the target was 10).
The numbers: £48 a sale; break-even 15 a month; 50 a month to pay you. Runway: if you make the 32 sales a month you expect, no limit (savings untouched).

1. People to follow up (7)
   c-006  Kate Ellison             Talking  Reply with two slots                     by Mon 17 May
   c-009  Daniel Ross              Lead     Message him: Priya said he'd be interest by Mon 17 May
   c-002  Sam Hale                 Paid     Ask for one name                         by Tue 18 May
   c-005  Dev Mistry               Paid     Ask for a review                         by Tue 18 May
   c-007  Owen Price               Talking  Send the doodle price and a Thursday slo by Tue 18 May
   c-003  Hannah Wood              Booked   Confirm Saturday 10am                    by Wed 19 May
   c-008  Mia Clarke               Booked   Confirm Thursday 6pm                     by Wed 19 May

2. The plan, week 9 of 13 (3 open up to now)
   p-017  wk 8  Ask every happy customer for one name, and for a review
   p-024  wk 9  Two weeks open: check grooms, cost per groom and enquiries against the
   p-025  wk 9  Drop cards at the vet's and ask about the nurses' own dogs

3. Setting up: 11 of 12 done. Next: Check whether you need to pay the ICO data protection fee if you keep customers' details

Launch: 1 May 2027 (16 days ago).

A working tool, not legal, financial or tax advice. Before you choose a legal form, register for tax, sign a lease, a loan or a personal guarantee, check with an accountant or a lawyer in your country.
Every morning: the gap, the test, who to follow up and this week's plan.
A one-page website written by the desk from the gap statement and the offer
A one-page website, written from your gap and your offer, ready to put online free.

Seven stages. One at a time.

Already have paying customers? It skips ahead. Still just an idea? It starts with an afternoon of research.

1

The gap

Rivals, prices, reviews and the size of the market, each fact with a source and marked checked, estimate or guess.

2

The test

Ten conversations, a pass mark you set before you start, and only strangers who pay or pre-order count.

3

The product

The smallest thing that fills the gap. Priced from your costs, with break-even and how long your savings last.

4

The website

One page written for you: who it's for, the offer, the price and one button. Then free hosting and your own address.

5

First customers

Where they gather, your first ten by name and the messages to send. You send every one yourself.

6

Setting up

A checklist for the UK, Ireland, Spain, the US or elsewhere, and what to ask your accountant.

7

Launch

Ninety days of weekly actions, a decisions log and a daily screen that says what to do next.

Start Your Business.

£20 once

My Opening Plan is six weeks with me. This is the method I'd use to start anything, for you to run tonight, for £20.

Instant download · Works, or your money back · Secure checkout with Stripe

Installs nothing · No tracking · Nothing sent to Nine Bar

A folder you keep. Pay with Stripe, download straight away, and we email you the link.

Get it for £20

Or get all six business playbooks, this one included, for £60: Start, Round, Grow, Audience, Save and App. Or any three for £45, your choice.

Already bought it? Get your download link again.

  • The booklet: every guide in one PDF, for your phone or to print
  • The playbook: how I'd start a business today
  • 25 guides, from market research to the launch week
  • The start-up numbers spreadsheet
  • The start desk, gap map, website builder and dashboard
  • A worked example to copy from
  • Works with ChatGPT or Claude

What buyers said.

Word for word.

“Jamie's playbooks are a gamechanger.”

Jay Shah, Sportbuddy

What's in the folder.

The AI reads the playbook. These are yours: 25 guides in my voice, a spreadsheet and a worked example.

The Start Your Business folder: the playbook, the tools and a library of guides

Start

Prompts cheat sheetWhat to say to your start desk, stage by stage: from "I've got an idea" to the 90-day review. Copy them, change the brackets, and go.
What Ninety Nine taught meMy first proper business: a healthy fast food store I opened at 22, in 2012, on £20,000 and no investors. It went viral, served over 600,000 meals in its first year and grew to several sites. What it taught me about gaps, starting small and building in public.
What the car business taught meMy second business: a car styling company I built from one heat gun into a full order book, working for leading automotive brands and A-list clients. Then I got the pricing, the deposits and the money wrong, and lost it. What I'd tell anyone starting.
GlossaryEvery money, legal and web word in this pack, in plain English, with an example from the invented dog groomer where it helps.

Find the gap

I don't have an idea yetFor when you know you want your own business but not what it is. Four places to look, an afternoon each, ending in three ideas worth testing.
Research a market in an afternoonFind every business already selling to your customers, what they charge and what people say about them, with a source for every fact. Four hours, one spreadsheet, no guessing.
Reading reviews for the gapYour rivals' customers have already told the internet what's missing. How to find it, log it word for word, and spot the pattern that's a gap rather than a grumble.
Sizing a market honestlyHow many customers are really within reach, how often they buy and what they spend: worked out from the ground up, every figure marked checked, estimate or guess.
The gap statementOne sentence that says who is underserved, what they want and why nobody gives it to them. If you can't write it from your evidence, you haven't found the gap yet.
Is this even a market?The signs that there's no business here, the questions that tell you which, and why walking away from an idea before you spend on it is one of the best things you can do.

Test it with real people

The ten conversationsTen conversations with strangers about the problem, not your idea: who to talk to, how to ask, the questions that get honest answers, and how to end with a real offer.
Reading the signalsFive ways a conversation can end, from "great idea" to money in your hand, what each one is worth, and why only strangers paying counts towards the test.
Ask for the moneyThe words to make a real offer, how to take a deposit or pre-order fairly, and what to do when someone says no. The step everyone skips, and the only one that proves anything.

Build it

The smallest thing that fills the gapHow to design the first version of your product: the least you can deliver, this month, that gives your first customers what the gap statement says they want. And what to leave out.
A service, a product or a downloadThe three kinds of first product, how to build the first version of each with very little money, what each costs to deliver, and the traps to avoid.
Price from your costsWork out what one sale really costs you, line by line, set a price that leaves a real margin, and only then look at what rivals charge. The mistake that cost me a business, and how to avoid it.
Break-even on one pageThree numbers every new founder should know by heart: the sales a month that cover the business, the sales that would pay you, and how long your savings last. Worked out with the working shown.
A one-page website with AIMake a plain, fast, one-page website with ChatGPT or Claude in an afternoon, put it online free, and connect your own web address. Step by step, no code knowledge needed, no monthly fee to start.

First customers

Your first ten customersWho exactly they are, where they already gather, how to write the first ten down by name, and how to turn each one into the next. One at a time, by hand.
The contact sheet: messaging the people who already know youYour LinkedIn contacts ranked by real relationship, a page to strike out anyone you shouldn't message, and a send page you work through by hand, about 20 to 25 a day.
Messages that get repliesShort messages for the first contact, the offer, the follow-up, the thank-you and the ask for a name. Written with the start desk, sent by you, from your own phone or account.
The launch weekWhat to do in the week before you open, the week itself and the week after, so the people who helped you in the test become customers and introductions. A plan for one person, not a marketing department.

Set it up

Setting up the companyWhat to set up before you trade, in plain words, for the UK, Ireland, Spain, the US and anywhere else: the legal form, tax registration, a bank account, bookkeeping, insurance, licences and the name. What to ask, and who to ask. Not legal or tax advice.
Keeping the jobWhy the wage is the best investor your business will ever have, how to start alongside a job, what to check in your contract, and how to know, from the numbers, when it's time to go.
Money you need to liveWork out, from your own bank statements, the least you need each month to live on. The number that decides when the business has to pay you, how long your savings last, and how much you can safely put in.

Spreadsheets and the worked example

Start up numbersRivals and the gap, the test, the cost of one sale, break-even, what pays you, runway, and first customers.
A worked exampleAn invented dog groomer from the first afternoon of research to week 9: rivals, reviews, the gap map, the test, the numbers, the website, customers and setup.

The playbook.

What I learned opening Ninety Nine at 22 and building a car styling business from one heat gun, including the mistakes that cost me.

The start desk.

Runs in your chat or on your computer and never contacts anyone: rivals, the gap map, the test, the numbers, customers, setup and the dashboard.

The rules of the road.

Keep your wage until strangers pay. Never borrow against your home for an untested idea. Check the legal steps with an accountant.

Jamie Mussett Harford
"The businesses that win aren’t the ones that start perfectly."

In 2012 I opened Ninety Nine on £20,000 I'd saved and a rent-free deal on a strange-shaped unit. It served over 600,000 meals in its first year. Then I built a car styling business with a full order book and lost it, because I priced to the market and not my own costs. This folder is the order I'd do it in now: find the gap, test it with people who pay, build the smallest thing, and only then spend.

Jamie Mussett Harford

The rules it keeps for you.

Starting is exciting. It's also when people risk what they can't afford to lose. So it's careful.

Nothing made up.

Every rival, price and market figure has a source, and it says how sure it is.

Your home stays safe.

It warns you before you borrow against your home, sign a personal guarantee or leave your job too soon.

Price from your costs.

It shows when a price is below cost or the margin is too thin to live on.

It never contacts anyone.

No link to your email or any account. It drafts; you send. It never signs you up for anything.

Questions people ask.

I only have an idea. Is that enough?

Yes. That's where it starts. It asks what the idea is and who would buy it, then helps you research who already sells to them. Sometimes the answer is that there isn't a market. Finding that out in an afternoon is cheaper than finding out in a year.

Does it do the research for me?

It does it with you. If your AI can search the web, it looks things up and you check them. Every rival, price, review and market figure is logged with where it came from, and marked checked, estimate or guess. Nothing goes in without a source.

I've never built a website. Can I do the one-page site?

Yes. It writes a single page from your gap and your offer: who it's for, the problem, the price and one button to buy or join a waiting list. Then a guide walks you through putting it online free and connecting your own address.

Is this legal or tax advice?

No. It's a working method and a set of tools. The setup checklists for the UK, Ireland, Spain, the US and elsewhere tell you what to sort out and what to ask an accountant or lawyer. Check with them before you choose a legal form, register for tax or sign a lease, a loan or a guarantee.

Should I leave my job?

Not yet. Keep your wage until strangers are paying. It shows how many sales a month you'd need to replace your wage, and how long your savings would last without it.

What do I need?

Easiest in a Claude chat, with nothing to install: you upload two files from the folder to start (a guides file when it asks) and it keeps your research, draws the gap map, does the numbers and writes your website. Also ChatGPT Plus, or Claude Code and Codex if you use them. On free ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot it works the guide-and-spreadsheet way: the same method, with the big sums in the spreadsheet and no dashboard.

Is it safe to open and run?

Yes. Nothing in the folder installs anything, runs on its own or sends anything to anyone. It holds guides, spreadsheets with no macros, PDFs and one small Python script, start.py, that uses only what comes with Python. It never goes online and has no link to your bank, your email or anyone else. Nothing is ever sent to Nine Bar: no accounts, no tracking. In a chat, what you upload is read by that AI company, so don't upload passwords or card numbers. You can open the script in any text editor and read every line, and the folder includes a page that lists exactly what it does.

Can I get a refund?

If it won't open or run on your computer, yes. Email Jamie within 30 days of buying: we'll help you get it working, and if we can't, we refund you in full. We don't refund a change of mind, because the download is yours the moment you pay.

Rather have me in it with you?

Start Your Business is the do-it-yourself version.

The Opening Plan

6 weeks

Six weeks for a new restaurant, bar, club or hotel: concept, site economics, budget, funding plan and pre-opening timeline.

What's included

Grow Your Business

£20

Once you're open: your offer, a price that leaves a margin, and the customers who come back.

See Grow Your Business

Run Your Own Round

£20

When it's working and you need money to grow it: the model, the deck, your investors and the close.

See Run Your Own Round
Start Your Business · £20 once Get it