Finally, some sensible advice on very early start-up for those of us with mouths to feed and Mortgages to pay until that new venture starts really humming.

Ignore the first few graphs of this bootstrapping post from AllBusiness.com. For regular readers of this blog, it's old news.

But don't miss that first highlighted point. It's important:

Keep your day job - for now. You might be able to start your business by working on it during weekends and evenings. That way, you can afford to experiment with different versions of your business until you find one that seems likely to succeed. Ideally, you can get your business on track and accrue a healthy backlog of orders before you quit your job.

Not long ago, I read and even blogged on this entry by Brad Feld, managing director at Mobius Venture Capital, laying out a top ten list for bootstrapping.

Feld, perhaps like many VC's, started out a bootstrapper (my first business raised $10 - we had 10 shares of stock at $1 each - and - when we sold it - each share made a share of Google seem like a penny stock - although we only had 10 of them).

In the post, Feld recommends bootstrappers look at the amount of money they have to spend on their new venture first and then the amount of time, reasoning that time is money.

Fair enough. But then Feld makes the following comments:

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.

Huh? The second part of this comment is easily understandable, but is Feld suggesting working a day job to support yourself and your family while building that new venture is a bad idea? That would exclude a substantial percentage of us who have no financial backing and no way to live without a job.

A more sensible approach is to keep that day job regardless of the demands, unless you have a means of living off a spouse's salary and benefits (See point number three)

I'm assuming this is one alternative Feld had in mind. Another variation is to live off savings or severance packages as described by bootsrapper Denise Aday here, but this only works in specialized circumstances.

Other options mentioned for financing that bootstrap start-up are:

• Work part-time. Try shifting from full-time to part-time work when you start your business.

• Turn your employer into a client. You might be able to start your new business as a consultant or supplier to your old firm.

• Get creative about financing...Be wary of tapping into retirement accounts; you probably can´t afford to risk these funds. Instead, design a budget that will boost your savings rate, and set that money aside in an account for your new business.