Bootstrappers turn weakness into an advantage

Filed in archive Bootstrapper Tips on December 25, 2007

As mentioned before here at bootstrapme.com much of this startup strategy we call bootstrapping is done out of necessity.

Jeff Cornwall of The Entrepreneurial Mind explains in a series of posts leading up to a new book on the subject of bootstrapping how the technique is often used because outside funding sources for startups are scarce.

However, as this post from Shanna Gale at bootstrapbusiness.org suggests, bootstrappers can also use their limited resources to advantage by focusing on improvements in the areas of their business they can control.

Here are some examples of how lack of resources can work to the bootstrapper's advantage:

• Lack of cash puts focus on sales. Bootstrapping guru Greg Gianforte who launched RightNow Technologies pitching a non-existent product to customers out of a spare bedroom told Inc.com lack of money forces entrepreneurs to concentrate on bringing in the money needed to grow their companies.
• Bootstrappers must design a product or service customers want. Marketing maven Seth Godin advises entrepreneurs to "sell what people are buying". Without the funds for expensive advertising and marketing focus on making a product customers need should lead to a more sustainable business model.
• Marketing must be part of the equation. Godin's advise also implies that the best companies have products or services that create their own buzz without the need for glitzy (and expensive) efforts to spread the word.
• Let the customer be the judge. Startup expert Guy Kawasaki suggests an important part of marketing a product lies in understanding that customers will ultimately "position" your product and decide on its use. It's important to go with the flow here.
• Less investment means less risk. An underlying part of the bootstrapping approach often overlooked by entrepreneurs is that focusing on what can be done with small existing resources removes the need to take big risks with personal assets. Read more about this and other advantages of the bootstrapping approach from Gianforte here.