Self-paced course

First 30 Days

Turn "I'm thinking about running" into a real campaign: get on the ballot, get yourself and your family ready, build the people around you, and go public.

$47
First 30 Days

The first 30 days decide whether you have a real campaign

Most first-time candidates start with the fun parts: a logo, a slogan, a launch event. The ones who never make the ballot skipped the boring parts. A missed filing deadline or a short petition ends a race before it starts.

What you’ll do

You’ll make sure you’re eligible and know every deadline, set up your committee and campaign bank account, and take an honest look at your time, skills and finances. You’ll talk to your family, find your why, and check how hard your race is. Then you’ll build your kitchen cabinet, your community connections and your team, set up your website and email, and announce.

No big plans and no big budgets yet. Just the setup every real campaign needs.

Where it leads

When you finish, you’re ready for the message in The Message Lab, the money in Call Time Fundraising, the voters in Field and the team in Volunteer Ops. All five courses come together in Campaign Bootcamp.

What you get

What's included.

Built around the 40 questions in the Campaign Readiness Checklist. Take it on day one and again at the end.

  • 14 self-paced lessons in five sections: Get on the Ballot, Get Ready to Run, Build Your Support and Go Public
  • Eligibility, your filing calendar and petition signatures, so nothing keeps you off the ballot
  • Your committee, EIN, campaign bank account and treasurer, set up the right way
  • An honest personal inventory, the conversation with your family, and finding your why
  • A quick check of how hard your race is, your kitchen cabinet, your community connections and your team
  • Your domain, email, website and social channels, then a campaign announcement that lands
  • Access to the Planning & Strategy and Digital Operations community spaces
Get the whole campaign

This course is part of Campaign Bootcamp.

The Bootcamp is all five courses together (First 30 Days, The Message Lab, Call Time Fundraising, Field and Volunteer Ops) with all four workbooks, plus the Campaign Plan Template and the Win Number Calculator, for $279.

See the Bootcamp

First 30 Days

Start with the setup every real campaign needs, before you ask anyone for a vote or a dollar.

$47