Someone described their business in a sentence. This is what came back — specific moves, priced per month, with the sums written out.
What we took you to be
Handmade leather bags sold at weekend markets — for Weekend market shoppers in Bristol.
Your numbers as we read them: Assume ~15 bags sold per market weekend at £80 average price = £1,200/mo revenue (4 weekends). Leather and hardware cost ~£30/bag = £450/mo COGS. Stall fee ~£40/weekend = £160/mo. Gross margin ~£590/mo. Owner's time making bags ~20 hrs/week at £15/hr opportunity cost = £1,200/mo imputed, so net negative on time if counted. No repeat customers yet.
Wrong about something? Add the correction to your description and run it again — the estimates move with it.
01Getting foundTest it small · an hour
Sell 3 pre-order slots per market via Instagram Stories
≈ £120–240/mo3 pre-orders/week × 4 weekends × £10 extra margin (no stall fee or unsold risk) = £120/mo; if 2 of those 3 become repeat buyers buying a second bag later, add another £120/mo
Why now: Instagram now lets small sellers tag products in Stories with direct checkout links; you can capture sales before the market opens without building a full website.
Post a Story on Thursday showing 3 bags you'll bring Saturday. Add 'reserve yours — pay £5 deposit via link in bio, collect at market and pay the remaining £75'. This locks in 3 sales before you pack the car and builds a list of customers you can message next week.
Do this first
Take photos of 3 finished bags right now. Post them on your personal Instagram with the deposit link using a free Linktree.
02What you sellDo it · an hour
Add a £15 strap repair add-on at the stall
≈ £60–120/mo2-4 repairs per weekend × £15 × 4 weekends = £60-120/mo; material cost per repair ~£1 so margin is ~£14 per job
Why now: Market shoppers often carry worn bags from other makers; you already have the leather and tools at the stall — no extra setup cost.
Put a small sign on your table: 'Broken strap? I can fix it in 15 minutes — £15 cash.' You use scrap leather and 10 minutes of idle time between customers. At 2 repairs per market day, that's £120/mo extra with zero new stock.
Do this first
Cut three 2-inch-wide leather strips from scrap tonight and put them in your market bag with a small sign.
03Cutting costDo it · a day
Cut 2 hours/week by batching leather cutting for 4 bags at once
≈ £45–180/mo3 hours saved/week × 4 weeks × £15/hr = £180/mo if you value the time; or 1 extra bag/week × £80 margin = £320/mo if you use the time to produce more
Why now: You currently cut leather for each bag one at a time; laying out patterns for 4 bags on one hide takes the same setup time as for 1 bag but saves 30 minutes per bag in repeated measuring and clamping.
Set aside Sunday evening to cut leather for the next 4 bags in one session. Use a single hide layout. This reduces cutting time from 1 hour per bag to 15 minutes per bag. At 4 bags/week, that saves 3 hours/week. Value that time at your £15/hr opportunity cost or use it to make an extra bag.
Do this first
Trace all 4 bag patterns onto paper and arrange them on your largest hide to find the most efficient layout. Snap a photo of the layout.
The rest of it
There were 7 more. And the letter that collects on them.
The full audit is ten moves, not 3 — ordered into a 90-day sequence so you know what to do first. It also includes the two things that turn a decision into money actually collected: a price-increase letter written in your voice, ready to send, and the replies to the four objections you will get back within the week.
All ten moves, each priced per month with the arithmetic shown
A 90-day sequence — which to do first, and why that order
The price-increase letter, ready to send
Four objections and how to answer without dropping the price
One payment. Delivered on the next screen.
Want a human in it? — we read your site and your numbers, sharpen every move to your situation, and walk you through it on a 20-minute call.
These are estimates built from what you told us, with the arithmetic shown so you can substitute your own figures. Check the sums before you act on them — that is what they are there for.
There were 7 more. And the letter that collects on them.
The full audit is ten moves, not 3 — ordered into a 90-day sequence so you know what to do first. It also includes the two things that turn a decision into money actually collected: a price-increase letter written in your voice, ready to send, and the replies to the four objections you will get back within the week.
All ten moves, each priced per month with the arithmetic shown
A 90-day sequence — which to do first, and why that order
The price-increase letter, ready to send
Four objections and how to answer without dropping the price
One payment. Delivered on the next screen.
Want a human in it? — we read your site and your numbers, sharpen every move to your situation, and walk you through it on a 20-minute call.
Not ready to buy anything?
Then take this and go. It is yours.
Nothing above is held back and there is no account to make. If the numbers are wrong, they are wrong in a way you can see and correct — re-run it with your real figures and the estimates move with them.
Or book 20 minutes and we will go through these against your real figures. Free, 20 minutes, no pitch — bring your numbers and we will go through them.
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Not yours? Do yours.
One sentence about what you sell. About a minute. Free, and there is no signup between you and the answer.