Build the list, then jump

Your first customers exist before your company does. The mistake is waiting until day one to go find them.

While you are still employed, two lines matter. Build on your own time — evenings, weekends, your phone, your reputation. And never quote your employer's customers behind their back.

Not because you would get caught, but because your reputation is the single asset your new company opens with, and it is worth more than any one job. The character lesson from the start of this course applies here first.

The list has two halves

People who have seen your work: past customers from side jobs, neighbors, family, the guys from church, anyone who has watched you fix something.

And adjacent trades: the general contractor who likes how you leave a site, the plumber who will not touch the work you do, the landscaper who keeps getting asked about your trade.

Adjacent trades are the quiet gold. When their customer asks "do you know somebody who does this," they've got one name to hand over. You want it to be yours.

Three gates, not a mood

Set the jump on three gates, not a mood. One: your runway number from lesson two is in the bank. Two: twenty-five names know you are going out on your own, and when. Three: your first two weeks are not empty. At least a couple of real jobs or firm commitments on the calendar. When all three gates are open, the leap is not a leap. It is a step.

WORKSHEET 1. Write the 25 names: past side-job customers, neighbors, family, friends who have seen your work. No filtering — write them all. 2. Add the two adjacent trades who know your name. If you cannot name two, that is this month's assignment on your own time. 3. Date the three gates: runway hit ____, list told ____, first two weeks booked ____. The latest date is your jump day.