Set Up Shop

Most creators don't pick the wrong product. They pick the wrong platform. Etsy, Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, and Whop each solve a different problem. Etsy brings buyers to you through marketplace search. Gumroad turns an existing audience into customers with the least possible setup friction. Lemon Squeezy handles international VAT and sales tax so sellers of software and digital products don't have to. Whop sells access — to a Discord server, a paid community, a gated tool — not just a file. Set Up Shop is a decision-first guide to all four. It opens with a clear framework: platform choice is a function of what you're selling, who your buyer is, and how you want to get paid. Each platform chapter walks through setup sequence, fee shape, payout schedule, and the exact tradeoffs — ending with a plain-language "when to choose this" and "when to skip it" callout. Later chapters cover the numbers side (fees, refunds, tax handling, merchant-of-record vs. DIY), a per-platform launch playbook for the first 100 sales, common multi-platform stack patterns, and how to migrate without losing your customer list. No hype. No revenue promises. No padding. If you have something to sell and need to know where to put it, start here.