The Automation Quotient Scorecard

Score your idea before you build it

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September 3, 2026 I built a free scorecard that's allowed to tell you not to build your idea

Most "test your idea" tools are built to make you say yes — collect the email, show an encouraging score, move you toward checkout. I built the opposite: a 5-question diagnostic that scores whether a side-business idea can actually run without you, and is willing to say "walk away" when that's the honest answer.

It's the Automation Quotient scorecard, Chapter 2 of a book I'm writing about running a business on four hours a week. Five questions, about four minutes, full score and diagnosis shown without an email gate.

Built it the way the book teaches building things: Tally (form) → Make.com (orchestration) → Claude (writes the personalized verdict) → Kit (email/tagging) → Airtable (logging). No custom code.

the4hoursidehustle.com/scorecard

4 Comments

  1. 1
    The “walk away” constraint is the interesting part. Have you seen what people actually do after getting a low score—abandon the idea, change it, or mostly disagree with the verdict?
    1. 1

      Few, unfortunately, do the right thing. Most get emotionally attached and talk themselves into that it does not apply to their idea. They do this, and walk away later after spending many hours they will never get back. The smart one's change things to shift the manual burden of time to other solutions, if possible. The book actually takes you through a story like this that made the business idea fully-automated after shifting responsibility on a particular constraint to the client.

      1. 1
        That distinction between emotional resistance and actually changing the idea is useful. Have you seen any cases where someone changed course specifically because of the scorecard, rather than reaching the same conclusion later?
        1. 1

          Yes, and that actual story is told in the book, scheduled for release on Nov. 1st. There will be a pre-order link on Kindle soon, which will discount the price prior to release date. If you submit your email on the form, I will notify you when pre-order is available, plus you'll get all the tools and resources available from the book, FREE, when you subscribe. No strings attached.

About

I'm writing a book on running a business in 4 hours a week. This scorecard gives the honest answer every reader needs first: can your idea run without you, or is it a second job in disguise?