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Start-up consultations

Start-up Consultations

Test the idea, pick a structure, and build the plan and the numbers — before you spend real money. Practical guidance from someone who has started several businesses.

Taught by Nick Bradfield

$125 an hour

The expensive mistakes in a new business usually happen before it opens: the wrong structure, a price that can't work, a plan built on hope instead of numbers. A consultation works through the decisions that matter most, in order, with someone who has made them — sometimes the hard way.

Book a single session to pressure-test an idea, or a business-plan package: a written plan and a financial model you can take to a partner or a lender.

Pressure-test the idea

Find out whether people will pay before you sign a lease or buy inventory.

Structure and setup

Sole proprietorship or LLC, bank accounts, bookkeeping, and payments set up right from day one.

A plan with real numbers

Pricing, costs, break-even, and cash flow in a model you can actually use.

Understand financing

How small-business loans and other funding work, and what lenders look for in an application.

What a consultation can cover

  • Testing demand before you invest
  • Choosing a business structure — and when to ask an attorney
  • Pricing, costs, and a simple financial model
  • A written business plan
  • How small-business financing works: loan types and what lenders expect
  • Setting up bookkeeping, payments, and a website from the start

Nicholas Bradfield is not a CPA, enrolled agent, attorney, or registered investment adviser. Athens Music Lyceum does not provide tax-return preparation, IRS representation, loan brokering, or investment advice, and does not arrange or guarantee financing. Sessions are educational coaching drawn from running several small businesses. For legal, tax, or lending decisions, work with a licensed professional.

Three ways to learn

At the studio, at home, or on Zoom

At Rabbit Hole Studios

One-on-one lessons in a working recording studio in Athens, with microphones and playback on hand.

1001 Winterville Rd
Athens, GA 30605

At your home

Lessons come to you anywhere within 50 miles of Athens — the practical choice for drums and piano, where the instrument stays put.

Within 50 miles of Athens

Live on Zoom

The same private lesson from anywhere, on Zoom in its musician mode — full-range audio with the usual call filtering switched off, so held notes come through the way they were played.

How online lessons work →
Good to know

Frequently asked questions

How much is a start-up consultation?
$125 an hour for a single consultation, or $1,500 for a full business-plan package with a written plan and a financial model. Full details are on the pricing page.
Can you get my business funded?
No — and be wary of anyone who promises funding for an upfront fee. Sessions are education: how financing works, what lenders look for, and how to prepare. The application and the decision are between you and the lender.
Do I need an idea already?
An idea helps, but a skill or a situation is enough to start. Part of the first session is working out what's worth building.
Is this legal or tax advice?
No. We'll cover how structures and taxes generally work so you ask better questions — then confirm the specifics with a licensed attorney or CPA.
Can we meet on Zoom?
Yes. Consultations work well over Zoom with screen sharing.

What do you want to learn?

Tell us what you're after and whether you'd like lessons at the studio, at your home, or on Zoom. You'll hear back with times and rates.

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