NEALY GLENN

CONSULTING

A FREE GUIDE

Thinking about opening your

own business? Start here

The five things I'd want you to know before you sign anything, file anything, or spend a dollar on a logo, written in plain language by someone who has opened (and sold) a few.

IF YOU LANDED HERE

You probably have an idea

you can’t stop thinking about.

Maybe it's a salon, a studio, a shop, or the creative work you've been doing on the side for years. Part of you knows it could be a real business. The other part has no idea where to start, and quietly worries that wanting it to make money means you've stopped being an artist.

I spent years believing that too. This guide is the first conversation I'd have with you if we sat down together: what to figure out first, what to file, and what nobody warns you about until it's already a problem.

The Five Steps

Each step ends with key points you can use as a checklist.

  1. 1

    Why

    Why you want to do this at all, what need your idea meets, and what makes it different from everything else on the block.

  2. 2

    Nuts & Bolts

    The business plan, the LLC, the EIN, and the operating agreement, in the order you'll actually need them.

  3. 3

    Branding

    Finding your story and your five values, and the questions I ask myself every time I build a brand from scratch.

  4. 4

    Marketing

    Knowing exactly who your customer is, choosing one platform to focus on, and writing your website around the value you bring.

  5. 5

    Operations

    Bookkeeping, payroll, outsourcing, and culture. I learned this one the hard way, and I'd love for you not to.

Nealy Glenn seated on a metal stool, smiling
Nealy

WHO’S WRITING TO YOU

I’m Nealy Glenn

I trained as an actor at NYU Tisch, and for a long time I was sure that caring about money made me less of an artist. Then I bought a falling-down Victorian the city had given up on, turned it into an event venue, and booked 37 events before the doors even opened. With my partners and our team, I went on to open two more venues, and eventually we sold all three.

Today I restore historic homes, make films about women's history left out, and teach creatives how to become founders through Nealy Glenn Consulting. That teaching follows the Found Method, a five-step path from creative to founder, and this guide covers the groundwork I'd want in place before we ever got to it.

$299,000what I paid for a blighted 1850s Victorian in Nashville in 2014
1,000+events hosted across our three venues in thirteen years
3 of 3venues sold
Find The Joy

Opening a business is a long game. These five steps will help you start it with your eyes open.