Garage-Sale Playbook – First-Principles Edition (Applies anywhere, tuned for Lewisville, Texas) 1. Objective Maximize net profit (sale receipts – all costs – opportunity cost) while staying within legal and social constraints. 2. Universal Constraints A. Legal: city ordinances, permit limits, property-line rules, signage rules. B. Social: neighbor tolerance, safety, customer trust. C. Physical: driveway size, daylight hours, weather. 3. Core Levers (first principles) · Traffic Volume (# of qualified buyers who see your goods) · Conversion Rate (% of viewers who purchase) · Average Transaction Value ($ per buyer) · Operational Cost (time, money, risk) 4. Mapping Lewisville Rules to Levers Rule → Lever Effect - Free two-per-year permit → caps Traffic Volume (max 2 events) - Must be on private property → constrains Traffic Volume (no street spill-over) - Online permit by Friday 10 a.m. → adds Operational Cost (deadline risk) - Signage only on your lawn → caps Traffic Volume; mitigate with digital ads 5. Optimal Tactics (derived from levers) Traffic: • Schedule on high-footfall weekends (weather app + local events calendar). • Post to zero-cost digital channels (FB Marketplace, Nextdoor) the moment permit is approved. Conversion: • Price anchoring: big bold “$1 table” draws eyeballs → higher walk-up rate. • Power strip on site → buyers test electronics instantly → removes friction. Transaction Size: • Bundle pricing (“3 books for $5”) pushes unit economics up without extra traffic. Operational Cost: • Use existing tables/chairs, borrow folding racks → cash layout near zero. • End-of-day donation run to Goodwill → converts unsold inventory into tax deduction instead of storage cost. 6. Day-of Execution Checklist (minimum viable) 07:30 Permit printed & taped to front window (legal compliance). 08:00 Two signs max on lawn facing both traffic flows (traffic). 08:15 Cash apron on + $100 in small bills (operational). 08:30 QR code taped to table linking to digital price list (conversion). 14:00 “Half-price last hour” call-out (transaction size). 14:30 Signs in, lawn swept, leftovers in car for donation (social constraint satisfied). 7. Post-Mortem Template Net profit = Gross – (permit $0 + ad spend $0 + time 8 h × self-wage $15) – unsold write-off $0 (donated). If profit ≥ target, replicate. If not, adjust Traffic (better ad copy), Conversion (pricing), or Transaction Size (more bundles). Document once, reuse forever.