How to start a Work History Verification for Closed Employers business: plan and growth

# Business plan prompt: Work History Verification for Closed Employers

You are writing a practical plan for one owner who will sell this as a business. Do not write a software specification, a venture memo, or a feature list. Use short sentences. Where a number is unknown, give a range and say what to measure.

## The business
Working name: Work History Verification for Closed Employers
What the customer gets: Verify past jobs at companies that no longer exist using W-2s and indirect records, with a certificate HR systems accept.
Who pays: Job seekers and recruiters
Where the first version operates: United States
How money is collected: a one-time purchase
Price band to test: between $10 and $49 a month

## The complaint this business answers
A candidate was denied credit for 4 years of experience because the former employer closed in 2024 and the manager's email is now on Gmail, not a company domain.

Say it back in the customer's words, then say what they buy (an outcome), not what they log into.

## What they use today
The Work Number; Manual reference calls

The plan should name the gap those options leave, and the reason a buyer would switch. Do not claim those options are bad at jobs they actually do.

## Offer
Write one offer that can be sold this month:
- The promise, in a sentence a buyer can repeat.
- What is included, as three deliverables.
- What is not included.
- How long until the buyer feels the result.
- The price, inside this band: between $10 and $49 a month. Give a founding price and a later price.
- How the buyer pays (invoice, checkout, or retainer) given the model "a one-time purchase".

If the natural offer is a service that uses a spreadsheet, prefer that over a platform. Software can come after ten paying customers.

## Customer
Describe the first buyer tightly enough that the owner could find twenty of them by name.
- Role and situation.
- The moment they decide to look for help.
- The budget they already spend on The Work Number.
- Who says no, and why.

## First twenty customers
Channel to start: the public community r/jobs, where a related thread drew 515 votes and 83 replies. Use it as a place to talk, not as a list to export.

Write:
- A first message that asks for a conversation, not a signup.
- Where else these buyers already gather (two places).
- A simple pipeline: conversation, diagnostic, paid pilot, decision.
- A weekly activity target for four weeks.

## Money
Sketch a month-three picture with ranges:
- Price times customers.
- Time the owner spends per customer.
- Tools and contractors.
- What "enough" means in monthly profit, so the owner knows when to stop changing the offer.

Do not invent a precise market size. Say how the owner would count the buyers they can actually reach.

## Ninety days
- Days 1–14: ten conversations, one written offer, no logo project.
- Days 15–45: three paid pilots, a written case from each, a price review.
- Days 46–90: keep, narrow, or stop. List the evidence that would justify each choice.

## Risks and ethics
- One public thread is not a market. Name the two checks that would change the owner's mind.
- Do not republish other people's posts.
- This is not legal, medical, or financial advice. If the offer touches a regulated decision, say what a licensed person must still do.
- Region assumption: United States. Do not promise coverage beyond it.

## Output format
Return:
1. Offer (one page).
2. Buyer and the first twenty.
3. Ninety-day calendar.
4. Month-three money sketch.
5. Stop conditions.

Keep it under 1,200 words. No appendices.

# Growth prompt: Work History Verification for Closed Employers

You are planning thirty days of distribution for a business that already has an offer. The offer: Verify past jobs at companies that no longer exist using W-2s and indirect records, with a certificate HR systems accept. The buyer: job seekers and recruiters. Price band: between $10 and $49 a month.

Do not propose ads, a viral loop, or a rebrand. Propose conversations, proof, and a repeatable weekly rhythm.

## Starting point
A public thread in r/jobs drew 515 votes and 83 replies. The pain, in the owner's words: A candidate was denied credit for 4 years of experience because the former employer closed in 2024 and the manager's email is now on Gmail, not a company domain.

Use the community as a room the owner can speak in, following its rules. Do not scrape members. Do not automate messages.

## Proof to collect before spending
List five pieces of proof the owner can gather in two weeks. Examples to adapt, not copy blindly: a before-and-after from a pilot, a price the buyer already pays, a sentence the buyer used, a time saved, a bill avoided. Say where each piece is stored.

## Channels, in order
Rank four channels for this buyer. The first must be r/jobs or the place those people go when they are not posting there. For each channel:
- Why this buyer is there.
- The one action the owner takes weekly.
- A message outline (problem, proof, invitation).
- A sign it is not working, after which the owner stops.

Skip channels that need an audience the owner does not have.

## Thirty-day calendar
Write a day-by-day plan for weekdays only. Each day is one block of ninety minutes or less.
- Week 1: conversations and the offer, no public launch.
- Week 2: two proof pieces published where the buyer already looks.
- Week 3: a repeatable weekly post plus five direct invitations.
- Week 4: ask the first buyers for an introduction. Review which message got a reply.

## Partnerships
Name three types of partner who already speak to job seekers and recruiters (a newsletter, a practitioner, a tool they already pay for). Write the ask as a favor with a benefit, not an affiliate scheme. One partnership attempt in the month is enough.

## What not to do
- Do not buy a list.
- Do not argue with the tools people already use (The Work Number; Manual reference calls). Show the missing job instead.
- Do not discount below the bottom of the price band to "get traction."
- Do not start a second product if replies are slow.

## Output format
Return the channel ranking, the thirty-day weekday calendar, three message outlines, and a Friday scoreboard (conversations, pilots, paid, introductions). Under 900 words.