A Free Workbook · Calm Back with Gem

FREE

Because even in business — everybody wants to feel free, everybody wants to feel good.

The business manual they forgot to give you. Spoiler: they didn't forget. It just doesn't sell courses.

No fluff
No gatekeeping
10
Sections
100%
Free
✦   ✧   ✦
👋 New here? Read this first.

What this actually is

A free workbook. The proper kind. The one that doesn't ask for your email twice and then tries to sell you a £997 course.

Ten sections. Each one tackles a foundation most coaches and small businesses are quietly missing — legal, tax, pricing, onboarding, boundaries, systems, offers, visibility, AI, and your one clear next move.

Try this first 🧮

Four numbers. The maths happens live. If your floor rate is higher than what you're charging, that's the gap that's been quietly draining you.

Your minimum hourly rate£0
Honest note Tick the boxes as you go. Your progress saves automatically to this browser. Close the tab. Come back tomorrow. The state stays. Nothing leaves your device.

How to actually use it

  • Each tab is one section. Click through in order or skip around — your call.
  • Each section ends with one DO THIS TODAY action. Just one. Not a list. The point isn't to fix everything in one sitting.
  • The progress bar at the top tracks every checkbox across all 10 sections. Watch it move.
  • The last tab — Shake It Off — is the £75 thing if you want me to look at your actual business after this. No pitch. Skip it freely.
Section 02 · Foundations

Tax and money basics 💸

HMRC knows you exist. Or they will. They're not scary — they're just very patient. And then suddenly very not.

What you need to know

  • ⏰ Self Assessment — the moment you earn one pound of self-employed income, register. Don't wait for a 'good time'. The penalty for missing the October deadline is real money.
  • 📒 Bookkeeping — every payment in. Every business expense out. Every. Single. One. A spreadsheet beats a shoebox of receipts every time.
  • 🚨 VAT threshold — once your turnover hits £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period, VAT registration is mandatory. Watch this number. Being caught off guard is expensive.
  • 🏦 Separate bank account — one for business. One for personal. Non-negotiable. Your accountant will thank you. So will your sanity.
Tick what's actually in place
Do this today
Log into your business bank account and check the balance. Write down what you actually have. That number is your starting point.
Section 03 · Foundations

Pricing reality check 🔥

You've been told to know your worth 47 times. Nobody showed you how to calculate it. Until now.

The simple pricing formula 🧮

Pricing from vibes is not a strategy. I say this with love. Start here. Work backwards from what you actually need to survive — then thrive.

1
What do you need to take home each month, after tax? Not your dream number. The number that keeps the lights on.
2
Add every business cost — software, insurance, accountant, subscriptions. All of it.
3
Add 30% on top for tax and National Insurance. A safe starting buffer. Your accountant may refine this.
4
How many hours can you realistically bill? Not work. Bill. Big difference.
5
Divide. That number is your floor. Not your ceiling.
If your prices don't cover that number, you're subsidising your clients with your own stress. That ends now.

Run your numbers (live calculator)

Type in real figures. The maths happens automatically. Your numbers save to this browser only.

Take-home + costs£0
+ 30% tax buffer£0
÷ billable hours£0
Your minimum hourly rate£0

That gap is the problem. And now you can't unsee it. Good.

Tick when each is true for you
Do this today
Run the calculation above. Write the floor number down. Even if it makes you uncomfortable. Especially if it makes you uncomfortable.
Section 04 · Client Experience

Onboarding and client experience 🤝

Someone says yes. Money lands. Then what? If you're winging it from here, you're leaving money, trust, and repeat business on the table.

A panicked WhatsApp at 11pm is not an onboarding process. Here's the sequence that makes every client feel like the only client.

The sequence that works

1
Agreement — contract signed before a single piece of work begins. Same template every time, edited for scope.
2
Payment — invoice sent and paid. Work doesn't start until money's landed (or the deposit has, if you split).
3
Welcome pack — sent within 24 hours. What to expect, how to contact you, what they need to bring to session one.
4
First session — booked and confirmed. They know exactly when, where, and what.
If you're rebuilding this from scratch every time, that's not a client experience. That's chaos with a smile on it. 😬
Tick what's actually in place
Do this today
Write down the one step in your onboarding you reinvent every single time. That's the one you systematise first.
Section 05 · Client Experience

Boundaries and scope protection 🚧

One thousand quick questions equals death by a thousand favours. Zero boundaries equals available to everyone, present for no one.

What you need

  • 📱 Communication hours — set them, document them, put them in the contract. Clients respect what you enforce, not what you hope for.
  • 🛑 Scope defined clearly — what's in. What's not. If it's not in the contract, it's not included.
  • 🗣️ A scope-creep script — "That sounds great. That would sit outside our current agreement. Let me send you a quote." Practise it until it's automatic.
  • 💰 A late payment policy — and actually use it. B2B: statutory interest is 8% above base rate. B2C: set your own terms.
The script feels awkward the first time. Say it anyway. It gets easier. And your bank account will thank you.
Tick what's actually in place
Do this today
Write your scope-creep script. Three sentences. Put it somewhere you can find it next time a "quick question" lands.
Section 06 · Systems

Your systems and tools 🛠️

You've been sold a lot of software. Most of it is noise, a distraction, or a subscription you forgot to cancel.

If you're paying for three tools that all do the same thing, that's not a tech stack. That's a panic stack.

What you actually need

  • 💳 A way to invoice and get paid — reliably. Stripe, PayPal, Wise, doesn't matter — just one that works.
  • 📧 One client communication channel — even just email. One place. Not five.
  • 🔐 Somewhere safe to store client data — Google Drive, Notion, Dropbox. Encrypted, backed up, accessible.
  • 📅 A booking link clients can actually use — Calendly, Notion Calendar, Cal.com. Just one.
  • 📊 Simple bookkeeping — that's actually done. A spreadsheet you update weekly beats software you ignore.

That is it. Everything else is a nice-to-have.

A simple system you actually use beats a complex one you avoid. Every time.
Tick what's actually in place
Do this today
Cancel one tool you're not using. Right now. Before you close this tab.
Section 07 · Sales

Your offer sense check 📦

Does your offer solve a problem people are actively trying to fix? Can a stranger understand it in ten seconds?

Answered "kind of"? Your offer needs work. And "kind of" is just "no" in a polite cardigan.

Four questions every offer must answer

1
What problem does it solve? Specifically. Not "helps women feel confident."
2
Who has that problem? Not "everyone." A real person you can picture.
3
Would they pay to fix it? Or do they just complain about it on Instagram?
4
What's the specific outcome? What's measurably different at the end?
Tick when each is true for you
Do this today
Say your offer out loud, right now, to yourself. If you hesitate or ramble — that's the thing to fix.
Section 08 · Sales

Your visibility basics 👁️

Can people find you online? Does what they see tell a clear story? Google yourself right now. Was that fine — or was it a bit 2019?

What needs to be true

  • 🌐 Your website is live and loads properly on mobile (not just desktop).
  • 👤 Your bio clearly states who you help and how.
  • 📞 Your contact details are easy to find. Not buried two clicks deep.
  • 🔁 Website, bio, and social all say the same thing. No "wait, what does she actually do?" energy.
Tick what's actually true right now
Do this today
Google your business name. Look at the first three results. If something's wrong or missing, fix that one thing today.
Section 09 · The Drain

The task you keep doing from scratch 🤖

Name the task you've now done four times this month from scratch. The thing you keep rebuilding because past-you didn't save the template.

Got it? Good. That's the gap. Now here's what does about it.

What AI is actually useful for

For an ADHD brain it's not about automation. It's about having somewhere to put the chaos while your brain works out what actually matters.

For the task you just named — describe it to Claude once. Ask it to build you a template you can reuse forever. Edit it until it sounds like you. That's the loop.

When your head is too full to think — open Claude and brain dump. All of it. Then ask for the one thing that matters most.

When you need to write something — tell it what you're trying to say and who you're saying it to. Never post the first draft.

AI writes the first draft. You make it sound like you. Both bits matter.
Tick what's true so far
Do this today
Open Claude. Paste: "I run a [type of business]. I keep doing this from scratch every time: [the task you just named]. Build me a reusable template." Then edit what it gives you until it sounds like you.
Section 10 · The Move

Your one clear next move 🧭

You've done the work. You've seen what's there and what's not. The danger now is trying to fix everything at once and fixing nothing.

The move → pick one. Do it. Then the next.

  • You've done the work → you've seen what's there and what isn't.
  • The danger now → trying to fix everything at once and fixing nothing.
  • The move → pick one. Do it. Then the next.

The three things that need fixing most urgently — be specific. "Sort my business" doesn't count.

1
2
3
You looked at the foundations today. Most people never do — they just keep building on shaky ground. That is not small. That is everything.
Tick when each is done
Do this today
Write the one thing. Not the list. The one thing. Then go do it.

✨ Look at you. All ticked off.

You did the workbook. The whole thing. That alone puts you ahead of most people who keep building on shaky ground.

The Calm Back method
Uncover · this workbook + Shake It Off Clarify · I Can See Clearly Now + Diagnostic Build · I Got You Babe + Best Is Yet To Come Steady · Stand By Me retainer
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