The Side Kit

Copy a prompt, paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, and fill in the parts in [brackets]. They’re in the order you’ll probably need them. Any AI can be confidently wrong, especially about local rules and money, so check anything that matters with a real person or an official source.

Test it

Pressure-test the idea

You’ll getan honest read on who would pay and why it might not work.

Watch outAI tends to be encouraging. The prompt asks it to argue against you on purpose.

Here's my side hustle idea: [your idea]. Act like a skeptical friend who wants me to succeed. Tell me who would pay for this, how often, and what they use or pay for today instead. Then give me the strongest reasons it might not work, and the cheapest way to find out within a week. Don't be encouraging for its own sake.

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Plan a small real-world test

You’ll geta one-day test plan: where to sell, what to make, a small budget and what to ask your city.

Watch outAI can be wrong about local permits. Confirm with your health department or city. See Test a big idea small.

I want to test [your idea] in person before I buy anything big. I live in [your city or area]. Help me plan one small test: where people who'd buy this already gather, what I should offer and how much to make, what I should ask my local health department or city before I sell, a simple budget for the day, and what result would tell me it's worth doing again. Assume I don't own any equipment yet.

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Money

Startup costs and break-even

You’ll geta list of costs as ranges, and how much you'd need to sell each month to cover them.

Watch outThese are estimates, not quotes and not financial advice. Get real prices before you spend anything.

Help me estimate what it would cost to start [your idea], both one-time costs and monthly costs. Ask me questions before you guess. List each cost as a range and mark the ones you're least sure about. Then show how many [sales, customers or units] a month I'd need at [your price] to cover the monthly costs and pay myself [amount] a month.

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Price it

You’ll geta regular price, an honest founding price, and the reasoning behind both.

Watch outCheck it against real competitor prices. See What should I charge?

Help me set a price for [what you sell]. Competitors charge: [paste prices you found]. My costs per [job or item] are about [amount], and it takes me about [hours]. Suggest a regular price, a founding price for my first five customers with the date it ends, and a one-line way to describe the offer that makes the value clear. Explain your reasoning briefly.

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Sell it

Write to your first ten customers

You’ll geta short, honest message to send, and questions that get real answers.

Watch outSend it to people one at a time, not as a mass email.

I'm testing [your idea] for [who it's for]. Write a short, honest message I can send to people I know, asking whether they have this problem or know someone who does. Make it clear it's new and I'm looking for feedback, keep it readable on a phone, and don't make it sound like a sales pitch. Then give me five questions to ask people who reply, about how they handle this today and what they've tried or paid for.

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Read your competitors' bad reviews

You’ll getthe complaints grouped into themes, and the opening they point to.

Watch outUse real reviews you copied yourself; don't ask the AI to invent them.

Below are one- to three-star reviews of businesses like the one I want to start: [your idea]. Group the complaints into themes, count how often each comes up, quote one short example for each, and tell me which complaint looks like the best opening for a small new business. Reviews: [paste them here]

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Build it

Build a one-page site

You’ll geta finished one-page site with a point of view, after the AI asks you five quick questions.

Watch outNever let it invent reviews, numbers or credentials. For a version filled in from your idea, run it through SideFrog and use “Build the page” under the answer.

Design and build a one-page landing page for my business, as a single complete HTML file. ABOUT THE BUSINESS - What it is: [your business, in one sentence] - Who it's for and what they pay: [who pays, and roughly how much] - Name: [your business name, or "help me pick one"] BEFORE YOU BUILD Ask me these in one short message, then wait for my answers: 1. The name (or confirm the one above), and the exact price. 2. What I believe about this work that others in my field don't. 3. How it should feel, in a few words, and a place, era or brand whose look I like. 4. The worry that almost stops people from buying, and any real proof I have that answers it (a customer's words I'm allowed to use, a before-and-after, a guarantee). 5. The link people should land on when they tap the button (a Google Form is fine). If I answer "you choose" to any of these, make a confident, specific choice that fits this business and tell me what you chose. THE ONE JOB The page has one job: get the right person to tap one button. Everything on it should help that. Anything that doesn't, leave out. WHAT IT CONTAINS, IN ORDER 1. A first screen that works on a phone without scrolling: the name, a headline that says plainly what this is and who it's for, one supporting sentence, the price, and the button. 2. A concrete picture of what the customer actually gets, or what happens first, in three short steps or one short paragraph. Specific beats impressive. 3. The worry, answered directly with my real proof, just above the same button again. 4. A quiet footer: the name, a way to reach me, and any fine print this business needs. No navigation menu, no feature grid, no wall of FAQs. HOW IT SHOULD LOOK AND FEEL - Design it from this business, not from a template. Someone in this trade should recognize it as theirs. - Premium craft: a confident type scale, generous spacing, and a restrained palette taken from the business and the feel I described. You may load one or two Google Fonts. - One simple visual drawn in inline SVG or CSS that belongs to this business. No stock photos, icon sets, emoji or gradient hero. - Calm, purposeful motion: sections ease in as they scroll into view, and the button responds to a tap. Respect prefers-reduced-motion, and never make anyone wait to read. - Mobile first, easy to read on a small phone, good contrast, visible keyboard focus. HOW IT SHOULD WORK - One self-contained file (HTML, CSS and a little JavaScript), no frameworks or build step, fast on a phone. - Both buttons open my link in a new tab. If I haven't given one, put a clearly marked placeholder at the top of the script. - Include a page title, a description and social-sharing tags. HONESTY Plain, specific words, no hype. Never invent testimonials, reviews, customer counts, statistics, credentials or awards. Where proof is missing, leave a clearly marked spot for it. BEFORE YOU SHOW ME 1. Read the page as a skeptical customer on a phone, then as a demanding designer. List the five weakest things and fix them. 2. Ask what's on the page because it could be, not because it should be, and remove it. 3. Give me the finished file, tell me exactly where to paste my link, and explain in two sentences how to put it online for free.

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Write the handoff before the chat runs out

You’ll geta HANDOFF.md that lets a new chat pick up exactly where you left off.

Watch outNever include secret keys or passwords. See Vibe coding 101.

We're wrapping up this session. Write a HANDOFF.md I can paste into a new chat so it can pick up exactly where we left off. Include: what the project is and who it's for, in two sentences; how it's built (files, tools, hosting, where the code lives); what's done and working; what we're in the middle of and the exact next step; decisions we made and why, including anything we tried and dropped; known bugs and loose ends; and the file names, web addresses and setting names I'll need. Never include secret keys or passwords. Keep it short and plain, written for someone who has never seen this chat.

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Leap

Talk it through with your partner

You’ll getthe questions they're likely to ask, and honest answers built from your real numbers.

Watch outThis is for a conversation, not a pitch. Bring the real numbers, including the scary ones.

I'm thinking about [your plan, e.g. going part-time to build my side business]. Help me prepare to talk it through with [my partner or family]. List the questions they're likely to ask about money, time and risk. Using my real numbers below, help me write honest answers, including what I don't know yet. Suggest a checkpoint date and a number we could agree on for deciding whether to keep going. Don't turn it into a sales pitch. My numbers: [monthly expenses, savings, what the side business earns now]

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Leave well

You’ll geta notice timeline, a handoff outline for your replacement, and a gracious resignation note.

Watch outCheck your employment paperwork and company policy first, and never share confidential company information. See Before you leap.

Help me plan leaving my job on good terms. My role: [your role]. Help me with: a sensible timeline for giving notice, an outline for a handoff document my replacement could use, a short and gracious resignation note with nothing negative about the company, and a list of people to thank and keep in touch with.

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The Leap Worksheet

One printable page that turns Frank’s advice into paperwork: your monthly number, your safety net, your leap number, your checkpoint, your first test and your first 30 names. Print it, fill it in, and stick it somewhere you’ll see it. Open the Leap Worksheet.