Planning targets: $5k MRR at ~15 hrs/week, $10k MRR full-time, by month 24. Profitable, ≥85% gross margin, ≥80% month-3 retention. Tier B ($20k MRR) is a stretch this roadmap does not plan for.
Rule: nothing in a later phase starts until the current phase's gate is hit. Gates and pivot rules are in WHAT-TO-DO-AND-AVOID.md. The detail for days 1–90 is in 08-90-day-plan.md.
Operating mode: automation first. Self-serve onboarding, templated support answers, no calls after the first 25 studios except for multi-location accounts.
Phase 1: Prove the pain (Months 0–3) → Gates G1, G2
| Track | Work |
|---|
| Customers | 20 studio conversations. Hand-built forms for 10–15 paying pilots. |
| Product | Web v1 (PWA): rules engine (10 states), tattoo and piercing templates, minors and guardian flow, pre-sign links, iPad kiosk, encrypted ID capture, search, retention by state, inspection export, Square Appointments integration. |
| Legal | Lawyer review of the launch states' templates. Disclaimer and data-processing page. |
| Distribution | 20 state law pages with free printable forms. |
| Team | Sign the studio advisor (paid monthly or a small revenue share). |
| Pricing | Solo $19, Studio $39, Multi $79, Archive $5. Pilots keep founding pricing for 12 months. |
| Exit | 25 paying, ≥80% M1 retention |
Phase 2: Make it repeatable (Months 4–6) → Gate G3
| Track | Work |
|---|
| Product | Rules for 25 states. ID barcode reading to flag minors. Aftercare message after signing. Audit log. |
| Distribution | 20 more state pages. Instagram and email outreach to studios in launch states (templated, ~40 a week). Referral offer: 1 month free each side. Square App Marketplace listing if accepted. |
| Ops | Help center, onboarding emails, a churn-reason survey, a status page. |
| Metrics | Per-studio dashboard: forms signed, share pre-signed, minors handled, exports run. |
| Exit | $1.5k MRR (~45 studios), ≥30% of new studios from organic or referral |
Phase 3: Coverage and trust (Months 7–12) → Gate G4
| Track | Work |
|---|
| Product | All 50 states + DC. Convention (offline) mode with guest artists. Spanish forms. Ink and jewellery batch recording. |
| Distribution | 1–2 conventions with the advisor. Supplier newsletter placements. Publish a public "state rules, last checked" index. |
| Legal | Quarterly rules check. Professional liability and cyber insurance. |
| Exit | $3.5k MRR at ~15 hrs/week ($5k full-time), churn ≤3%/month, ≥50% of new paid on annual |
Phase 4: Scale what works (Months 13–24) → Gate G5
| Track | Work |
|---|
| Product | A second booking integration, only if 10 paying studios ask for the same one. Multi-location dashboard. Permanent makeup templates only past $10k MRR. |
| Distribution | Double down on the single best channel from months 1–12. |
| Team | Past ~$6k MRR: a part-time support contractor, not a second developer. |
| Checkpoint | Month 18: $4.5k (15 hrs/week) / $7.5k (full-time). Missing it means concentrating on the single best channel. |
| Decision at month 24 | At or above target: consider Canada or Australia. Between $2k and target: keep running it as a low-operations business. Below $2k: stop, or license the rules library to a booking platform. |
| Exit | $5k+ / $10k+ MRR, profitable |
Revenue path (illustrative, not a forecast)
| Month | Paying studios (~15 hrs/week) | MRR (~15 hrs/week) | Paying studios (full-time) | MRR (full-time) |
|---|
| 3 | 25 | ~$0.8k | 30 | ~$1k |
| 6 | 45 | ~$1.5k | 70 | ~$2.3k |
| 12 | 105 | ~$3.5k | 150 | ~$5k |
| 18 | 135 | ~$4.5k | 225 | ~$7.5k |
| 24 | 150 | ~$5k | 300 | ~$10k |
This assumes blended ARPU of ~$33, monthly churn of ~3% after month 6, and 40% or more of new studios from organic or referral. If churn runs above 5%, this path doesn't work. Fix retention before spending on growth.
Reaching Tier B ($20k MRR) would need ~610 studios, about 2.6% of all US tattoo businesses, and ~40 new studios a month by months 18–24. That needs full-time outbound plus a second country or niche. It isn't in this plan.
Budget guardrails (bootstrapped)
- Year 1 cash budget: ~$3–6k (legal review, insurance, hosting, one convention).
- Hosting, storage, SMS and tools below 10% of revenue.
- Zero paid acquisition before month 6. After it, only channels with CAC payback under 3 months.
- Keep the legal review and quarterly rules check funded before any other spend. The rules library is the product.