Bootstrapping advantages

Filed in archive Bootstrapper Tips on July 5, 2008

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 6191773


I was recently reminded of the competitive advantages of the bootstrapping approach after coming across a recent reposting of one of the articles here at BootStrapMe on NewsMediaSpan.

Many of you already know that I am currently bootstrapping my own startup at www.postranger.com and I have found that more than a few of these advantages definitely hold true.

The ideas are in some ways a synthesis in turn of some Greg Gianforte's own thoughts at Bootstrapping Your Business. Here they are again in the hopes you'll find them useful:

• The power of instant gratification. Well backed businesses can go for a while without making a buck or turning a profit. The good side to that is that they can wait to develop a market. The bad side is that it will take them longer to realize there isn't one.

• The power of concentration. Trapped in the Wilderness with limited food or water will force you to conserve. Limited money and resources will make you use what you have most efficiently.

• No need to make a phone call. While a better funded business is contacting the board of directors to discuss a trend, you'll already be exploiting it and moving on to the next.

• The best products sell themselves. And you'll need these because you've got no money for marketing.

• Nobody likes a know-it-all. Investors will be sure at some point that they know better than you how to proceed. If they're right, the tug of war may cause funding to dry up. If you're right, your business will go downhill listening to their advice. Bootstrappers succeed or fail based on just one thing. The success of their business model.