ALL 33 STEP-BY-STEP GUIDES
Step-by-step guides to build and grow your small business
We've built Five Marys Ranch and more than 20 businesses from scratch with no outside funding and no big team. Each guide takes one thing we've learned along the way and gives you the steps to do it yourself.
OR JUMP TO A PATH
$37 EACH · STEP-BY-STEP BOOKLET · AUDIO COMPANIONS COMING SOON
$37 EACH
What comes with every guide
A step-by-step booklet
A short visual guide on one topic, with examples and pages to fill in.
A clear action page
Every guide ends with numbered steps and boxes to check off.
An audio companion
I'm recording a podcast-style episode for each guide with the stories behind it, and I'll add each one to your library as soon as it's ready.
Your own pace
There is no schedule to keep. Finish one and pick up the next.
PATH 1 · 3 GUIDES
Start my business
Getting clear on what you sell, your margins and your platforms.
START MY BUSINESS
How to Start a Business from Scratch
Check the idea, run the numbers, make it official and find your first paying customer.
START MY BUSINESS
How to Find Your Niche and Start Small
Find a need you can fill, say it in one sentence and test it on real customers before you spend big.
START MY BUSINESS
How to Price Your Product and Find a Profit
Know your costs, set your price and find your profit.
PATH 2 · 3 GUIDES
Build my brand
Your name, your story and a look people recognize.
BUILD MY BRAND
How to Build a Brand People Want to Belong To
Tell your story so people remember it and want to be part of it.
BUILD MY BRAND
How to Photograph Your Own Products
Set up your phone, find good light and take product photos your customers can picture in their own home.
BUILD MY BRAND
Make Your Own Printed Marketing Materials
Design your own brochures, cards, inserts, booklets and flyers and print them for pennies apiece.
PATH 3 · 3 GUIDES
Share my story
Your profile and knowing what to post every week.
SHARE MY STORY
3 Quick Fixes to Grow Your Instagram
Fix your bio, get more story views and start a reel series.
SHARE MY STORY
How to Plan Content Where Every Post Has a Job
Plan your posts so each one has a job and you always know what to post.
SHARE MY STORY
Getting Your Business in the Press
Find your story and get it in front of the right person, without paying for a press release.
PATH 4 · 3 GUIDES
Own & grow my audience
An email or text list that belongs to you.
OWN & GROW MY AUDIENCE
How to Start and Grow Your Email List
Start your list, add a sign-up form and send your first emails.
OWN & GROW MY AUDIENCE
How to Write a Welcome Series
Write four emails that introduce every new subscriber to your business and send on their own once you set them up.
OWN & GROW MY AUDIENCE
How to Start a Text Line
Set up an SMS marketing text number your best customers join, so they hear your news first and you can reach them in a minute. Instant sales!
PATH 5 · 5 GUIDES
Sell more
Making it easy to buy and bringing customers back.
SELL MORE
How to Keep Customers Coming Back
Seven steps that turn a first order into a repeat customer.
SELL MORE
How to Sell by Subscription
Set up a club or a box your customers get on a schedule, so you can count on those orders every month.
SELL MORE
Let's Fix Your Website and Socials
Check your website and your Instagram the way a stranger sees them.
SELL MORE
Setting Up Your Shopify Store
Plan it on paper, build the back end, set up payments and shipping, then place a test order and launch.
SELL MORE
How to Sell at Markets and Pop-Ups
Pick the place, set up a table that sells, make it easy to buy and collect emails.
PATH 6 · 5 GUIDES
Add income streams
More than one way to get paid.
ADD INCOME STREAMS
How to Choose Your Next Income Stream
List what you already have, run each idea through the margin test and start with the one that costs the least to try.
ADD INCOME STREAMS
How to Host a Workshop or Event
Pick the event, make the numbers work, cover yourself and fill the seats.
ADD INCOME STREAMS
How to Write and Publish Your Own Book
Start with an eBook or a booklet you make yourself, print it on demand and know what a publishing deal takes before you sign one.
ADD INCOME STREAMS
Swag and Merch for Your Brand
Put your logo on things people want to wear and use, and price them to cover your costs.
ADD INCOME STREAMS
Affiliate & Influencer Marketing
Get your product shared by people who love it, without paying for a post, and earn from the things you already use.
PATH 7 · 2 GUIDES
Run it well
Knowing your numbers and getting work off your plate.
RUN IT WELL
Streamlining Your Business
Build the systems that keep your business running when you step away, and know when and how to bring on help.
RUN IT WELL
Finding & Getting Grants
Find the grants that fit, decide if one is worth it, get your paperwork ready and handle the money after you win.
PATH 8 · 4 GUIDES
Ranch to Retail
Selling your meat direct to customers.
RANCH TO RETAIL
How to Market DTC Beef
How to market and create the content that sells your beef direct to customers.
RANCH TO RETAIL
How to Sell Beef
Know what comes back from the butcher, choose your cuts and price them by the cut or by the share.
RANCH TO RETAIL
How to Ship Perishables on Dry Ice
Choose the liner, the box, the dry ice and the ship days that get frozen product to your customer's door still frozen.
RANCH TO RETAIL
How to Build a Tallow Business
Find good suet, render it clean, make a product you're proud of and get it ready to sell.
PATH 9 · 5 GUIDES
Build my AI Super Staff
Putting AI to work on your everyday tasks.
BUILD MY AI SUPER STAFF
How to Get Started with AI and Use It Wisely for Everyday Tasks
Set up Claude or ChatGPT and hand it your first everyday jobs.
BUILD MY AI SUPER STAFF
Your Daily Dashboard or Personal Newspaper Every Morning
Get your calendar, sales, inbox and to-do list on one page every morning.
BUILD MY AI SUPER STAFF
How to Build Your Business Brain
Answer the questions once, have Claude write your business brain and save it where every chat already knows your business.
BUILD MY AI SUPER STAFF
How to Teach Claude Your Voice
Gather your own writing, have Claude describe how you sound and correct its drafts until they sound like you.
BUILD MY AI SUPER STAFF
Build an AI Super Staff
Train AI to take over ten jobs in your business, with the job description and the first assignment for each one.
NOT SURE WHERE TO START
Find the guide your business needs next
The M5 Scorecard has nine paths with three checks each. Check every statement that is true for your business today, and the path with the fewest checks is where to start. If you would like me to look at your website and Instagram myself, that is the M5 Business Audit.