Quick Start Walkthrough
Eleven short lessons. One screen at a time, with the click marked. Tick Done as you go; this page remembers where you are on this device.
Five to ten hours across the week. Skip any step you've already done.
Copy your Kit
One Google Sheet where you write everything down for the next six steps. Eight tabs: Logins, Links, Files, Decisions, People, Numbers, Dates, Physical.
Why. Every week asks for something you wrote down in an earlier week. This is where it lives.
In the classroom, open Lesson 1 and click the link that says Copy the Kit. You'll see a spreadsheet called "Leverage 2026 My Kit TEMPLATE." It's view-only; you can't type in it yet. That's correct.
At the top left, click the word File. A menu drops down.
Click Make a copy. A small window appears asking for a name.
Delete the words in the name box and type My Leverage Kit. Click the blue Make a copy button.
A new tab opens. This one is yours. You can type in it. Bookmark it: press Ctrl+D (Windows) or Cmd+D (Mac) and click Done.
At the bottom of the screen, find the row of tabs. Click Start Here and read it. Then click Decisions.
Fill the first four rows in the "My answer" column. Click the cell, type, press Enter: My number (what you want this to pay you each month) · My people (5 to 20 names) · My sentence ("They would be delighted to get ___ from me regularly") · Idea Check top three. These come from the free classes. Skipped them? Go to ideacheck.leverageyourart.com, answer with your best guess, and write down the top three it gives you.
Find the row Where I'm starting from and answer the five parts in the same cell: what I make · how many pieces exist as digital files · followers on my art account · list size (0 is fine) · bank account yes/no.
Google account
A Google account, said out loud.
Why. Your Kit, your First Yes sheet, your expense tracker, your ICA doc, and your art folder all live in Google Drive. Apple and Outlook people: make one anyway. It's free.
Open a web browser (Chrome, Safari, Edge; any of them). In the bar at the top, type accounts.google.com and press Enter.
Click Create account. Choose For my personal use.
Type your first and last name. Click Next. Enter your birthday and gender. Click Next.
Pick a Gmail address. Google suggests some, or you can type your own, like [email protected]. If it's taken, add a number. Click Next.
Make a password. Type it twice. Let your browser offer to save it, and say yes. Click Next.
Google may ask for a phone number to send a code. Type it, click Next, type the code from the text message. This is normal.
Read and click I agree. You'll land on your new Google account page. Done.
Stripe
The account your money lands in when someone buys from you.
Why. Build Week (Oct 26). SnailMailHQ, Shopify, and most platforms pay out through Stripe. Identity verification takes 1 to 3 days. Start it now, not Oct 26.
Go to stripe.com. Click Start now (top right).
Type your email, your full name, your country, and a password. Click Create account.
Check your email inbox for a message from Stripe. Click Verify email address inside it.
Stripe now asks about your business. If you have a registered business, choose that. If it's just you, choose Individual / Sole proprietor. Use your own name.
Fill in your address and phone number. For "What does your business do," pick something close, like Art and design or Retail: other. Write one sentence like "I sell art prints and paper goods."
Bank account. Have a check or your banking app open. Type your routing number and account number (the two numbers at the bottom of a check). This is where Stripe sends your money.
Identity verification. Stripe asks for your date of birth and the last four digits of your Social Security number (or your country's ID). It may ask for a photo of your ID. Do it now. It takes Stripe 1 to 3 days to confirm.
Click Submit. You'll see your Stripe dashboard. It may say "Pending verification." That's fine; check back in a few days.
Your email tool
A free account with [default email tool]. Nothing set up yet. Just the account.
Why. Module 2 (Oct 12) builds your welcome email in it. Launch Week sends from it. An "email tool" is the program that sends one email to your whole list at once and lets people sign up on their own. Gmail can't do that.
Go to [tool website]. Click Sign up or Get started free.
Type your email and a password. Let the browser save the password.
Check your inbox and click the confirmation link in the welcome email.
It will ask questions about your business and offer to walk you through setup. Skip everything you can. Look for "Skip" or "I'll do this later." Stop when you reach the main dashboard.
Close the tab. That's it for this week.
Your art Instagram
An account for your art, separate from your personal one.
Why. The First Yes runs from it. The Show Your Face challenge posts to it. Module 2 grows it.
On your phone, open the Instagram app. (No Instagram at all? Get it from the App Store or Google Play, open it, tap Create new account, and follow the prompts with your art email. Then skip to step 5.)
Tap your profile picture (bottom right). Tap the three lines (top right). Tap Settings and activity.
Scroll all the way down. Tap Add account, then Create new account.
Pick a username. Use your name or your studio name: janedoeart or bluefoxstudio. If it's taken, add a word like "studio" or "art." Make a password, add your art email, and finish.
Switch it to a business account: profile → three lines → Settings and activity → Account type and tools → Switch to professional account → choose Creator or Business. Pick a category like Artist. This unlocks your stats.
Start the Show Your Face 7-day challenge. It's in the classroom, right above this Quick Start submodule in Prep School. Day 1 is your first post. Seven days, seven posts, all this week.
Canva and Zoom
Canva free account. Zoom installed and tested.
Why. Canva: Build Week posts, and the tear-sheet template in Module 4. Zoom: every Thursday from Oct 1.
Go to canva.com. Click Sign up. Click Continue with Google and pick your Google account.
It asks "What will you be using Canva for?" Pick Small business or Personal. If it offers a free trial of Canva Pro, click Maybe later or the small "Skip" link. You do not need Pro.
You'll see the Canva home page with a "Create a design" button. Done.
Go to zoom.us/download. Under "Zoom Workplace" click Download. When it finishes, open the file and follow the installer (Next / Install / Finish).
Open Zoom. Click Sign in → Sign in with Google → your Google account. (You can join calls without signing in, but signing in saves time.)
Test it: click the gear icon (Settings) → Audio → click Test Speaker (you should hear a tone) and Test Mic (speak, then hear yourself). Then click Video and make sure you can see yourself.
On a phone instead? Install the Zoom Workplace app from the App Store or Google Play and open it once.
My Art folder
One Google Drive folder with 10 pieces of your existing work as digital files, plus two photos.
Why. Module 1 asks you to look at 5 to 10 pieces to build your Brand Guide. Module 3 picks your product from them. Module 4 builds a portfolio from them. If your work isn't digital yet, this is the most important lesson this week.
Already digital (drawn on an iPad, or scanned before)? Skip to Part B.
Physical art, no scanner? Take it outside or next to a big window in daylight, not direct sun. Lay the piece flat. Hold your phone directly above it, parallel to the paper. Tap the screen on the art to focus. Take three photos and keep the sharpest. Phone photos count this week; scans can come later.
Have a scanner? The "How to Scan Your Artwork" lesson in the Prep School Vault walks you through it. 300 dpi, saved as JPG or PNG.
Do this for 10 pieces. Pick your best, the ones people compliment.
Two more photos: one of you and one of your workspace (desk, table, studio corner). Hold the phone sideways. Daylight. These go on your page later.
On a computer, go to drive.google.com (signed into your Google account). You'll see "My Drive."
Click + New (top left) → New folder. Name it My Art. Click Create. Double-click the folder to open it.
Get the photos from your phone to the computer: email them to yourself and download them, or AirDrop (iPhone to Mac), or plug the phone in with its cable. If your phone already backs up to Google Photos, skip this: in Drive click + New → File upload and pick them.
Drag the 12 files into the open My Art folder in the browser. An "Uploading" box appears at the bottom right. Wait until it says done.
Rename each file so you'll know it later: right-click → Rename → something like fox-print.jpg, not IMG_4471.jpg. Name the two photos me.jpg and workspace.jpg.
Get the folder link: click the folder name at the top → Share → change "Restricted" to Anyone with the link → Copy link → Done.
Kick-off Call · Thursday Oct 1 · 2 PM Central
The first live call. With Stacie. About an hour.
Why. Your sentence gets reviewed live. The Kit gets a tour. Ten minutes on "which product, which path." Bring your First Yes sheet.
Find the Zoom link in the classroom lesson (it's also inside the calendar from Lesson 9). Copy it into your Kit now.
Work out 2 PM Central in your time zone. Eastern 3 PM · Mountain 1 PM · Pacific 12 PM · UK 8 PM · Central Europe 9 PM.
Five minutes before: click the link. Zoom opens. Click Join with computer audio. Camera can be off; nobody minds.
Questions go in the Chat (the speech-bubble button at the bottom). Guides answer there during the call.
Can't make it? The replay posts within a day in Replays & Live Calls.
Load the calendar
Every date in the program, in one file, so you never copy a date by hand.
In the classroom lesson, click the calendar file (it ends in .ics). It downloads.
Mac or iPhone: double-click the file. Calendar opens and asks which calendar to add it to. Pick one, click OK. Google Calendar: calendar.google.com → gear icon → Settings → Import & export → Select file → choose the .ics → Import. Outlook: File → Open & Export → Import/Export → Import an iCalendar file.
You'll now see every call, every module open, the refund close (Sun Oct 18), price lock (Oct 22), reveal (Oct 23), Launch Day (Fri Nov 6, 10 AM your time), and Graduation (Nov 12). Every live call has its Zoom link inside the event.
My Links
Eleven bookmarks you'll open every week, saved in one place.
Classroom (the Leverage course home page)
Community
First Yes wins thread
Quick Start thread
Thursday Zoom (from Lesson 8)
Replays & Live Calls
Idea Check (ideacheck.leverageyourart.com)
Your Stripe dashboard (dashboard.stripe.com)
Your email tool (wherever you log in to it)
Your expense tracker (from Prep School)
Your First Yes sheet (from Prep School)
Password check, and your First Yes check-in
Why. You made five or six new logins this week. And The First Yes doesn't pause for Quick Start Week.
Passwords. Open your Kit's Logins tab. For every row with a ✓, make sure you can log in. If a password is lost, click "Forgot password" on that site and reset it; your browser will offer to save the new one. Never write a password in the Kit.
First Yes. Open your First Yes tracking sheet (Prep School). Count the Message Ones you've sent. If it's five, good. If it's fewer, send the rest today; the script is in the lesson. Log every reply, even "no."
Nobody replied? That's normal. About 1 in 5 replied to us. Send the next five names from your list.