10 reasons for a bare bones business start-up
Jeff Hester has these observations about whether the current trend in the Web 2.0 world constitutes too much money chasing too few sound business ideas.
Here are 10 reasons to keep your business start-up (whether online or off) lean and mean at least in the early years.
1. If you can cobble it together on a home PC, there's probably no reason to take $1 million in Venture Capital to launch
2. That $300,000 you've got down for third year earnings in your big professional looking business plan isn't in the bank yet. You and your SBA advisor just made it up, remember?
3. I don't care how cool the idea of stereophonic underwear sounds when you pitch it. There may just be no market for it.
4. Conversely, just because you've picked what you think is a nice conservative business to start, doesn't mean you'll make a killing as the umpteen millionth company selling brass door knobs.
5. The money from a satisfied repeat customer will always last longer than the money from that incredulous bank loan officer, and there's no interest attached.
6. There's only one business plan that guarantees you've found a thriving market and that's last year's sales receipts.
7. Projections will not buy you so much as a cup of coffee at Dunkin' Donuts let alone pay your grocery bill for the next six months.
8. Imagine how nice it would be after making $100,000 on a really good business idea to be able to keep most of the money
9. Sure, your business advisor thinks your plan can't miss. He's already got a job.
10. Whether on the Internet or in a busy downtown or suburban shopping mall, traffic does not equal sales. To test this axiom, try to find a 100 percent occupancy rate in any business district.
January 21st, 2007 at 8:36 pm
All excellent points. A business that wont survive as a brick and mortar, will probably not survive in cyberspace.
June 30th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
This is only your opinion. It can not be entirely true. Bones are good only for dogs. What can a man do with them? drug interactions
October 26th, 2007 at 5:47 am
Thanks for sharing this with us, your points are very direct and relevant. I will sure test that axiom as I am deep involved in starting my own business.
November 10th, 2008 at 6:46 am
Hi,
If you like my post here, please join me at my new blog “How to bootstrap your business” by following the link at the top of this comment.
August 1st, 2009 at 5:56 am
Thx for the LINKS ther are some interesstet links there!
August 1st, 2009 at 5:56 am
Thanks for posting about this, I would love to read more about this topic.
September 24th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Great content,
You build your future leadership muscles in bootstrapping as I discuss in my blog at http://nosmokeandmirrors.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/when-bootstrapping-leverage-what-you-have/
mark allen roberts
http://www.outbsolutions.com
July 7th, 2010 at 11:07 am
I started my business http://www.online-english-lessons.net with only $300.00 U.S. and now I am able to live comfortably on it. It can be done!
August 10th, 2010 at 6:10 am
Thanks for your post it’s interesting. Well, I started my own business with http://www.rxheads.com.It was really hard, to sell medicines online, but I used this rules, and its really works.
September 6th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Web technologies allow you to operate “virtually” and create a real light weight startup.
September 10th, 2010 at 6:22 am
Nice points,
Just to add to this, point 11 would be that one happy customer means two potential customers
September 28th, 2010 at 11:23 pm
I am attending an accredited online RN to BSN degree program and when I graduate my goal is to one day own my own healthcare facility.
December 22nd, 2010 at 8:52 am
nos
February 16th, 2011 at 4:22 am
Right on the money. Many people start a business and immediately think the cash will start rolling in. They begin to spend money they do not currently have because they think they will make it up in the near future. If they are smart they will take your advice and boot strap it until they really have some revenue poring in.