# Archon Foundry for startups, founders, and entrepreneurs: Services path

Help me configure this workflow through Archon Foundry in my Archon.tools workspace, one step at a time. Ask where I am starting and wait for me to confirm each step before moving on.

Source: https://archon.tools/for/startups#startup-services
Goal: A clear service page and tested booking journey
Tools used: Website & forms; Customer hub & inbox; Booking & calendars; Follow-up & campaigns.
Before we start: Workspace configuration and provider choices need your review. You complete business, legal, tax, rights, payment and operating decisions with official authorities or qualified advisers where appropriate. Customer messages remain opt-in and are tested before activation. Service offer and scope brief; Reviewed business setup checklist; Service page and inquiry form; Inquiry pipeline and discovery booking; Delivery checklist and tested follow-up recipes.

## Your launch kit
Shape a consulting, studio or local service offer, make discovery or estimates easy to book, and organize customer follow-up in Workspace.
Best fit: Independent specialists or small teams with a clear skill, a defined service area or delivery format, and time to serve a first client.
Example customer offer: A fixed-scope website audit with a written findings and priority-actions report.
First move: Ask three likely customers what they need help with, then draft a one-page offer around the most specific recurring problem.
Costs to plan separately from Workspace: Professional licensing where required, insurance, work supplies or software, payment processing, and customer acquisition.
Launch milestone: A clear service page and tested booking journey
- Service offer and scope brief
- Reviewed business setup checklist
- Service page and inquiry form
- Inquiry pipeline and discovery booking
- Delivery checklist and tested follow-up recipes

## Starter assets
Adapt these drafts and settings to your own business before using them.
### Page sections
- Offer and best-fit customer
- Outcomes, scope and exclusions
- How it works and timeline
- FAQs and boundaries
- Inquiry call to action

### Inquiry form fields
- Name
- Email
- Company or project
- Service of interest
- Desired timeframe
- Project summary
- Preferred reply method

### Customer messages
- Inquiry received: Thanks, [first name]. We’ll review [service] and reply by [response window].
- Meeting booked: Your [meeting type] is set for [date and time]. Bring [preparation item].
- Project update: [milestone] is [status]. Next, [next step] by [date].

## Step-by-step setup
### 1. Define the offer
Choose a focused service and set expectations a customer can understand.
Bring:
- Who you serve
- Service outcome and scope
- Delivery area or format
Do:
1. Write a one-sentence offer and name the best-fit customer.
2. List included work, exclusions, delivery window and capacity.
3. Choose a pricing approach and the questions that need a conversation.
Ready when: A draft offer states its audience, outcome, scope, boundaries and pricing approach.

### 2. Plan the business basics
Review applicable setup requirements before taking paid work.
Bring:
- Business location
- Service category
- Planned operating model
Do:
1. Review official formation and registration guidance.
2. Check tax registration, licensing and local requirements for this service.
3. Record questions for an accountant, attorney or relevant authority.
Ready when: A checklist names the official sources reviewed and the remaining decisions or adviser questions.
- SBA: Launch your business: https://www.sba.gov/counseling/launch-your-business/
- IRS: Get an Employer Identification Number: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/get-an-employer-identification-number

### 3. Build the service presence
Create a focused page and a simple route for a qualified inquiry.
Bring:
- Offer draft
- Brand name and public contact route
- Primary next step
Do:
1. Add an offer headline, outcomes, scope, process and clear boundaries.
2. Add an inquiry form and a confirmation that sets a response expectation you can meet.
3. Create inquiry pipeline stages: New, Reviewing, Call booked, Proposal, Won, Closed.
Ready when: The page explains who the service is for, what happens next and how an inquiry is handled.

### 4. Set up discovery or estimates
Configure a meeting type for conversations that need scheduled time.
Bring:
- Meeting purpose and length
- Available hours
- Calendar choice
Do:
1. Set appointment name, duration, buffer and availability.
2. Connect a calendar only after reviewing access and conflict behavior.
3. Add preparation notes and reschedule or cancellation instructions.
Ready when: A sample booking shows the expected duration, availability, confirmation and cancellation path.

### 5. Map service delivery
Make the handoff from agreement to completed work understandable and repeatable.
Bring:
- Delivery milestones
- Customer responsibilities
- Support route
Do:
1. List kickoff, work-in-progress, review and completion checkpoints.
2. Prepare an editable welcome message and a project status update.
3. Assign an owner and a manual fallback for missed or delayed milestones.
Ready when: A one-page delivery checklist names each milestone, owner, customer input and completion evidence.

### 6. Test the customer journey
Walk through inquiry, booking, proposal and delivery using sample data.
Bring:
- Test offer page
- Sample inquiry
- Test calendar slot
Do:
1. Submit a sample inquiry and confirm it appears once in the correct stage.
2. Book and cancel a sample meeting; inspect notifications and calendar behavior.
3. Review the proposal and delivery handoff with a colleague or checklist.
Ready when: A dated test note records the inquiry, booking and cancellation results plus any fixes.

### 7. Prepare permission-based follow-up
Configure useful drafts and verify eligibility before any live send is enabled.
Bring:
- Approved message purpose
- Channel permission rule
- Journey owner
Do:
1. Create the recipes below in draft or disabled state.
2. Check consent, suppression, duplicate and manual-takeover rules.
3. Run the test contact through every branch and review the resulting activity.
Ready when: A test record proves the intended messages and stop rules, and an owner has approved any later activation.

## Automation recipes
Configure and test these recipes in your own accounts. This document does not install or enable workflows.
### Inquiry receipt and owner task
Trigger: A new inquiry is created with a valid reply address.
1. Create or update one contact and one open opportunity in New.
2. Send one receipt only if the selected channel is permitted; create an owner review task.
3. After owner review, move the opportunity to Reviewing and record the next action.
Stop and duplicate controls:
- Send only when the contact has recorded permission for this channel and the message purpose; suppress opted-out, bounced, or do-not-contact records.
- Stop on reply, manual owner takeover, duplicate active journey, or a completed/cancelled request; do not let this recipe replace a separately owned billing or access lifecycle.
Test: Submit two identical test inquiries, then an opted-out inquiry; confirm one open opportunity, one receipt at most, a review task, and no message to the opted-out test.

### Discovery meeting follow-up
Trigger: A discovery meeting is marked completed by its owner.
1. Wait for the owner to record the agreed next step.
2. Send the approved recap or proposal link only when permission and purpose allow.
3. Set a single follow-up task with an owner and due date.
Stop and duplicate controls:
- Send only when the contact has recorded permission for this channel and the message purpose; suppress opted-out, bounced, or do-not-contact records.
- Stop on reply, manual owner takeover, duplicate active journey, or a completed/cancelled request; do not let this recipe replace a separately owned billing or access lifecycle.
Test: Complete a sample booking and mark it completed; then cancel another and reply to a third. Confirm only the completed eligible meeting follows up, with cancellation and reply stopping the journey.


## Related setup guides
- Capture your first inquiry: Build and test a focused page and form for a product or service conversation. https://archon.tools/guidance/capture-an-inquiry
- Move a customer through your pipeline: Set up a simple view of conversations and the next follow-up. https://archon.tools/guidance/organize-your-contacts
- Build a relevant follow-up sequence: Prepare and test permission-based messages before inviting customer traffic. https://archon.tools/guidance/build-a-follow-up
- Organize your learning resources: Structure original course material, review member access and test the learner experience. https://archon.tools/guidance/prepare-a-course
Official setup resources:
- U.S. Small Business Administration: Launch your business: https://www.sba.gov/counseling/launch-your-business/
- IRS: Get an Employer Identification Number: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/get-an-employer-identification-number

## Rules for the assistant
- Verify my selected tool categories, permissions and the actual settings available on my screen. Extra categories shown on the solution page are not automatically included in my plan.
- Confirm the costs of apps, premium actions, sending and any optional AI before proposing that I enable them. Do not assume a connection is active or a workflow is already installed.
- Check the sending channel, audience consent, contact preferences, timing, duplicate-message ownership and stop rules for replies, opt-outs, bookings or other relevant changes.
- Never ask for passwords, sign-in codes, API keys, card details or other credentials. I sign in and authorize connections myself. Keep secrets out of prompts, screenshots and copied text.
- Ask for the business details and content needed for this recipe; do not invent customers, testimonials, prices or results.
- Prepare drafts and test with clearly labeled demo data before involving customers. Check the result in the relevant records and test the stop or cancellation path.
- Do not install apps, enable workflows, send messages, pay, purchase, publish or change customer access without my explicit confirmation for that action. A downloaded playbook provides no permission or account access.
- If the source system does not provide the event or fields the recipe needs, explain the gap and keep the workflow inactive. A contact sync is not proof of job, quote, payment or completion events.

## Plan and costs
FREE 30-day workspace trial. Card required; renews automatically unless canceled.
Suggested four-tool trial selection: https://archon.tools/account?service=small-business-customer-hub&offer=archon.tools.v1&plan=four&tools=website%2Ccrm%2Cbooking%2Ccampaigns
- Archon Starter: Single Tool; $97/month after the trial.
- Nexus Executive: 4 Tools; $197/month after the trial.
- Apex Suite: Full Suite · All 7 Tools; $247/month after the trial.
Prices exclude applicable tax. Usage and paid extras are separate. Setup is self-service with written guides; there is no setup fee.
Manage your plan, tools, billing and cancellation: https://archon.tools/account
Optional AI assistants are separate from the workspace plan and its trial. Supported channels, setup, usage costs and spending controls are confirmed before activation. Paid apps, message usage and payment processing may cost extra.

Start by asking which tools I have selected and whether I want to begin at step 1.