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The cookbook · from a cold laptop to cash

You, your laptop, and $100.

Haven't really opened a computer in years? Perfect. We start there, at the power button, and we don't skip a single step. By the end, money lands in your actual bank account. I'll walk you through it like a big sister in the kitchen. Patient, slow where it counts, no talking down to you. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Start at the very beginning 5 courses · one full meal
How to read this

One bite at a time. Don't read ahead, don't open ten tabs. Do the step in front of you, check the little green "you did it when," then come back for the next one. If something looks scary, that's just because it's new. New is not hard.

✋
Your hands means: this is the thing to physically do right now.
✓
You did it when means: how to know it worked before you move on.
👀A dashed pink box is where a picture or short clip will go, so you can see exactly what your screen should look like. [FILL: drop screenshots/gifs into these]
The whole meal, at a glance
Before we cook
Wake up the kitchen
Day one
Set up the kitchen
Day two
Create the menu
Day three
Serve the full meal
The finish
The chef's kiss
Pay day
Money in the bank
Before we cook
Wake up the kitchen.
No building yet. We just get you comfortable touching the computer again, and learn the one skill that fixes almost everything.
About 20 minutes
1

Turn it on and let it breathe

Open the laptop and press the power button. If it's been a while, it might think for a few minutes when it wakes up, updating itself. That's normal. Let it. Go make tea.

✋
Your hands: press and hold the power button until the screen lights up, then let go.
Where the power button usually is👀 Where the power button usually is
✓
You did it when you see the home screen with your apps, and the little spinning wheel has stopped.
2

Get on the internet

Look at the top corner of your screen for the little fan-shaped wifi symbol. Click it, pick your home network, and type the password (it's usually on the back of your router box).

✋
Your hands: click the wifi symbol top-right (Mac) or bottom-right (Windows), choose your network, type the password.
The wifi menu, lighting up👀 Getting on the wifi
✓
You did it when the wifi symbol is solid, not empty.
3

Open your browser

The browser is the window to the internet. Find Chrome, Safari, or Edge on your screen and click it. We'll live here for the easy parts.

✋
Your hands: double-click the round browser icon. One firm double-tap.
✓
You did it when a window opens with a search bar across the top.
4

Learn the one magic skill

This is the big one. Any time something breaks or confuses you, you take a picture of your screen, paste it to your helper, and say "what do I do here?" That single move solves almost everything. You never have to figure it out alone.

✋
Your hands, Mac: press ⌘ Cmd + Shift + 4, then drag a box around the thing.
Your hands, Windows: press ⊞ Win + Shift + S, then drag a box.
📋
Then paste it wherever you're typing with ⌘ Cmd + V (Mac) or Ctrl + V (Windows).
Screenshot, then paste. The magic move.👀 Screenshot, then paste. The magic move.
✓
You did it when a little picture of your screen shows up where you pasted it. That's it. You just learned the skill most people are scared of.

See? Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Day one
Set up the kitchen.
Your digital architecture. We get your helper, your workspace, and your chef. Free or close to it. This is the part you only do once.
About 1 to 2 hours, snacks allowed
1

Meet your helper (Claude in the browser)

This is the friend you ask everything. In your browser, go to claude.ai and make a free account with your email. When it opens, just say hi and tell it you're a total beginner. It will meet you exactly there.

✋
Your hands: click the search bar, type claude.ai, press Enter, then click Sign up.
Meeting your helper👀 Meeting your helper
✓
You did it when you can type a message and Claude writes back.
2

Tell your helper who it is for you

Paste it this, word for word. It tells Claude to slow down and teach, not show off.

"You are my patient big sister teaching me tech. I haven't used a computer much in years. Explain everything in small steps, no jargon unless you explain it first. When I'm stuck I'll paste a screenshot, just tell me the next click."

📋
Your hands: copy that, paste it into Claude with ⌘ Cmd/Ctrl + V, press Enter.
✓
You did it when Claude says something warm and ready, like "got it, let's go slow."
3

Get your workspace (the kitchen counter)

This free app is where the building happens. It's called VS Code. Go to code.visualstudio.com, click the big download button, and install it the way you install anything: open the file it downloads and follow the arrows.

✋
Your hands: type code.visualstudio.com, click Download, then double-click the downloaded file and drag it where it tells you.
Getting your workspace👀 Your workspace, the kitchen counter
✓
You did it when you can open VS Code and see a welcome tab. If it looks busy, ignore the clutter. We only need a little of it.
4

Hire your chef (Claude Code)

Your helper in the browser gives advice. Your chef lives inside VS Code and actually cooks: it builds the thing on your computer. You add it once.

✋
Your hands: in VS Code, click the squares icon on the left (extensions), type Claude, and click Install on "Claude Code." Then sign in with the same account.
Hiring your chef👀 Your chef, working inside the computer
✓
You did it when you can type hello to the chef and it answers inside VS Code.
5

Make one clean shelf (a folder)

Every dish needs its own bowl. Make one folder on your desktop for your project, and open it in VS Code. Everything for this business will live here, tidy and in one place. No mess, no spaghetti.

✋
Your hands: right-click your desktop, choose New Folder, name it my-business. In VS Code: File → Open Folder, pick it.
✓
You did it when the folder name shows in the top-left of VS Code.

Kitchen's open. The hard part is already behind you.

Day two
Create the menu.
Your branding. What you sell, what it's called, and the look that makes a stranger trust you. We keep it simple and true to you.
An afternoon
1

Name the one thing you're selling

Not ten things. One. Finish this sentence with your helper: "I help [these people] with [this problem]." If it takes twenty minutes to explain, it needs to get simpler. Clear beats clever every time.

✋
Your hands: ask Claude, "help me turn what I'm good at into one simple offer a stranger would get in five seconds."
✓
You did it when you can say what you do in one breath.
2

Pick a name and a look

A name, two or three colors, and one font. That's a brand at this stage. Don't agonize. You can change it later, and you will. Use a free design tool like Canva, or ask your helper for three name ideas and a simple color set.

✋
Your hands: go to canva.com, make a free account, search "logo," and pick something close. Swap in your name.
Designing your look👀 Designing your look
✓
You did it when you have a name, a logo file saved, and colors you like.
3

Find your voice (it's just yours)

Write the way you text a friend. Warm, clear, human. Ask your helper to take your rough words and "keep my voice, just tidy it." You're not becoming a brand. You're letting people meet you.

✓
You did it when you have a one-line description that sounds like a real person said it.

Menu's written. People know what they're ordering.

Day three
Serve the full meal.
The build and the launch. Your chef cooks, you taste, you fix, and then it goes out the door and onto the real internet.
A focused day
1

Tell the chef the dish

In VS Code, tell your chef what you want in plain words. Like ordering. "Build me a simple one-page website for my business, with my name, what I do, and a button to pay me." Then let it work.

✋
Your hands: type your order into the Claude Code box, press Enter, and watch.
✓
You did it when the chef starts making files and asking permission. Say yes when it asks.
2

Taste it

When the chef is done, tell it "run it so I can see it." It gives you a link. Click it and your website opens in your browser. That's your dish, on the plate.

Your site, on the plate👀 Your site, plated and ready to taste
✓
You did it when you see your own website open up. Yes, you made that.
3

Send the dish back if it's wrong

Don't like something? Take a screenshot, paste it to the chef, and say what's off. "Make the button pink." "The text is too small." It fixes it, you look again. This back-and-forth is the whole job. Real builders do it all day.

✋
Your hands: screenshot (⌘ Cmd+Shift+4), paste, type the change, Enter.
✓
You did it when the thing you wanted changed actually changed.
4

Open the doors (put it on the internet)

Right now only you can see it. To let the world in, we put it online with a free service. Ask your chef: "help me put this online so anyone can visit, step by step." It walks you through it and gives you a real web address.

Live on the internet👀 Open for business
✓
You did it when you can open your website on your phone, off your home wifi. It's live. It's real.

Plated and served. Take a breath. Look what you did.

The finish
The chef's kiss.
The small touches that make a stranger think, oh, she's the real thing.
An hour, optional but worth it
1

Three tiny polish moves

Ask your chef for these one at a time: a friendly headline at the top, a real photo of you or your work, and a clear single button that says exactly what happens next ("Book me," "Buy now"). Three small things, big difference.

✓
You did it when the page feels like a warm hello, not a form.
2

Show one person

Send the link to one friend and ask, "would you get what this is and how to buy?" Fix the one confusing thing they name. Then stop polishing. Done and live beats perfect and hidden.

✓
You did it when one real human understood it without you explaining.
Pay day
Money in the bank.
The whole point. We set up the way people pay you, put the button on your site, and get that first deposit moving.
About an hour
1

Open the till (a Stripe account)

Stripe is the cash register the internet uses. Go to stripe.com, make an account, and connect your bank (the account number and routing number, the same details on a check). This is how the money gets from a stranger to you.

✋
Your hands: type stripe.com, click Start now, and follow the steps. Have your bank details and ID nearby.
Your cash register👀 Your cash register
✓
You did it when Stripe says your account is active and your bank is connected.
2

Make a payment link

You don't need code for this part. In Stripe, make a Payment Link: name your offer, set the price, and Stripe gives you a web link. Anyone who clicks it can pay you with a card. That link is your money button.

✋
Your hands: in Stripe, find Payment Links, click New, type your offer and price, click Create, then Copy link.
✓
You did it when you have a link that opens a real checkout page with your price on it.
3

Put the button on your site

Give that link to your chef: "make the button on my site go to this payment link," and paste it. Now your website doesn't just look nice. It takes money.

📋
Your hands: paste the link to Claude Code with your instruction, press Enter, then taste it again (click your own button).
✓
You did it when clicking your button opens the checkout page.
4

Tell people, then follow up

Send the link to three people who might need this, today. Then, the quiet secret of all business: follow up. A simple "hey, did you get a chance to look?" makes most of the sales. Not pushy. Just present.

✋
Your hands: text or message three people the link with one warm line about what it is.
✓
You did it when three real people have your link in their hands.
✨

The first deposit

When someone pays, Stripe holds it for a few days the first time, then sends it to your bank automatically. You'll get a little "you got paid" notice. That's the moment. From a cold laptop to money in your account, by your own hands.

The first deposit lands👀 The first deposit
✓
You did it when you check your bank app and the number went up. Welcome to it.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy. You're a business now.

Take it with you
The whole recipe, in your pocket.

Download the Starter Kit: the recipe, the checklist, the golden prompts, and a folder for your own files. Friendly folder names, nothing scary. Start here, then bring it into your project.

Download the Starter Kit
When you want a hand

You can do every step above on your own. And you don't have to do it alone. If you'd rather have the recorded workshop walking you through it, or a room building right alongside you:

Get the recorded workshop → Start with The Swap, $9 Join the guild
What, Like It's Hard? · One bite at a time