Miriam schwab over at BizzyWomen has this observationin her review of the first five points from Dane Carlson's often controversial 20 Things Not to Do Before Starting A Business.

Dane's post is a great exercise for the bootstrap entrepreneur since it helps examine just what is really needed (and what is not) when starting a business with little or no outside funding.

While Miriam agrees with what many might consider Dane's more unorthodox suggestions-not bothering to incorporate, open a business bank account, rent an office or hire an attorney-she disagrees with one of the most fundamental: Don't quit your day job.

Miriam insists:

This is advice I see repeated for entrepreneurs, but it's not necessarily good advice in all situations. If you really believe in your business and want it to grow, this is more than a full time job. Aside from the actual work ordered by clients, you have to spend a lot of time on marketing, networking, administration and more. If you don't quit your day job, your business might not get anywhere since you won't be able to give it the time it needs.

She isn't alone. In his own bootstrapping top 10 list, VC Brad Feld suggests:

Often, entrepreneurs overestimate how much time they really have, either by only partly dedicating themselves to their new business (e.g. working a full time job and trying to start the business on the side) or setting expectations that the business will be up, running, and generating enough revenue and income to pay full salaries within an unrealistic period of time. In almost all cases, an entrepreneur is going to have to invest substantial time in a startup to get it off the ground.

While I agree there may be a time to jetisson your day job when your bootstrapped business is up and running, I don't think that time is necessarily during the delicate startup phase.

Here's why you might want to hold on to that daytime gig just a bit longer even while bootstrapping a startup venture:

• Employers have the money. You don't. This may seem an intuitive point but it is true none the less. Unless you've got investments or some other outside income, the life of a part-time entrepreneur has real benefits. (Read more here.)
• Until there's revenue, there is no business. Dane's main point, it seems to me, is that until you've got someone willing to pay for your product or service you have no business to leave your job for. Don't put the cart before the horse. Be practical.
• Excessive marketing can be overrated. As pointed out in the previous post, providing great service to customers can be the best marketing and quitting your day job and a good stable income so you can spend time passing out business cards and networking at mixers could be counter productive in the beginning.
• Today's employer may be tomorrow's customer. It's true. Read the story of software and web design entrepreneur Cristian Dorobantescu to see how good relationships with an employer may help launch a new venture even while you still have a full-time job.

Here is my own review of Dane's great 20 points for business start up. Make the posts part of your on line bootstrapping resource library.

Photo Credit: Kevin, Morguefile