Advice for the bootstrap start-up
Bootstrap entrepreneur and writer David Worrell offers some start-up advice for like-minded souls in this article reaching back to October 2002 in Entrepreneur.com.
Understandably, Worrell takes it for granted that many successful start-ups will rely on self-financing not outside investors.
Some businesses are built by venture capitalists. Dearly departed Pets.com comes to mind. Other businesses are built by entrepreneurs–Dell Computers and Microsoft are a couple of good examples.
Worrell adds:
Despite the dream of some entrepreneurs to meet a VC with deep pockets, the fact is that 99.9 percent of business owners will struggle alone, pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
A couple of pieces of advice Worrell gives those embarking down this riskier, but, he says, ultimately more rewarding road are:
• Know how much financial risk you personally are able to withstand (every entrepreneur will have a different threshold based on circumstances)
• Do a lot of advanced planning before launching your venture or spending any money on it
• Focus on developing that first sale or customer since every sale will build your confidence and give you better understanding of your market
• Have a strategy, especially for how to maintain cash flow in the beginning when money will be tight
• Don't spend any money on anything your business does not absolutely need