The opening report · October 2026
We turned MenFem into a consulting business in October, and it has not taken a pound yet.
We're going to run MenFem in the open. Every quarter we'll publish our real numbers, every decision and why, what didn't work, and what we're aiming for next, with a short update in the newsletter every month in between. This is the first one, and the numbers are mostly zeros. That's where we are.
The numbers
| Measure | Before | As of | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | £0 | £0 | Site ledger, read 2 Nov. No Review could be paid for online and the company has no business bank account, so nothing could be sold |
| Goal | £100,000 a month | £100,000 a month | The consulting plan, 9 Oct |
| Consulting seats filled | 0 of 10 | 0 of 10 | /consulting, read 2 Nov |
| Consulting notes sent, replies, calls, paid | 0, 0, 0, 0 | The practice count, 27 Oct | |
| Ways to pay for an Operating Review online | 0 | 0 | Site code on main, 2 Nov: there is no payment link yet |
| Rungs of the offer with a price | 2 of 5 | /consulting, 2 Nov: the Review (£5,000) and a seat (from £10,000 a month). The Scorecard is free; the download and the Operator say "opening soon" | |
| Newsletter subscribers | 13 | 13 | Site database, read 2 Nov; 0 added in the last 7 days |
| Stories published | 0 | 2, both on 27 Oct | The site feed, read 2 Nov |
| Views of those 2 stories in their first week | 11 | Site database, read 2 Nov (9 and 2) | |
| Company pages on the site | 793 | 789 | /consulting, read 2 Nov |
| Market calls open | 12 | 12 | Site database, read 2 Nov |
| Changes to the site's code | 1,580 commits, 151 merged pull requests | Git history of main, 1 – 31 Oct | |
| AI agents reading the site | 5,983 reads in 7 days | Agent log, read 2 Nov; 172 calls to our agent connector from 5 clients in the same week | |
| Running costs, October | Not totalled yet | The known bills are Hetzner ($48.73, September hosting) and Cloudflare ($5.00). The rest are on Connor's own cards and not added up yet. He pays them personally while the company is dormant |
The honest line is the gap between building and shipping: about 1,580 changes to the site in October, and two stories a reader could read, both on the same day.
What didn't work
- The till: someone can pay for an Operating ReviewMissed
Target 1 way to pay · Result 0. The payment link waits on a business bank account
- The weekly send: an email every weekMissed
Target 14 subscribers · Result 13
- The weekly publish: a finished story every weekMissed
Target 1 a week · Result 2 in the month, both on 27 Oct
- This report was late too. Its newsletter update was due on Sunday 1 November.
- One thing went right on admin: HMRC removed a £400 late-filing penalty from a period when the company was dormant.
Next
Checked on .
- 1. The till: A Review can be paid for online. Today 0 ways, goal 1.
- 2. The weekly publish: A finished story every week. Today 2 in October, goal 4 in November.
Risks and one ask
- Building keeps feeling like progress. 1,580 changes in a month and two stories says it still does.
- No bank account, no sale. Every way to take money, the Review, the shop and the Stack Book, waits on the company's bank account.
- Too few people to sell to. Thirteen readers won't fill ten seats.
The ask: If you know an owner-led business that is busier than it is profitable, reply and tell us. That's who the Review is for.