Quebec entrepreneur lists bootstrapping tips to remember (Part 1)

Filed in archive Bootstrapper Tips on September 24, 2006

Some time ago Montreal, Quebec-based entrepreneur Ben Yoskovitz split his IGotNewsForYou blog in two making a split personality just another of Ben's problems.

Ben was one of the earliest commentors on my blog and one of these days we're gonna get around to documenting his efforts as a bootstrap entrepreneur in one of our popular profile features here at BootStrapMe.com.

In the meantime, Ben's new "Instigator Blog", which features a bit more on business and marketing but still carries a healthy dose of the author's sense of humor, has Ben's own list of things to keep in mind when bootstrapping your business.

Ben suggests:

1. Track every single dollar spent.

Just as few people keep track of all the money they spend in their personal finances, Ben says too few do so in business. I used to call this my "money on top of the TV set" theory. If you keep all your money on the top of the TV set so you can grab a little every time you go out the door, you'll always find a way to spend it all. But ear mark a certain amount a month for each budgeted need and you'll soon figure out where your money is going.

2. Force yourself to justify every dollar spent.

Ben suggests that every expenditure should make sense to your bottom line, but in theory, if you follow suggestion number one, I would say number two begins to take care of itself. There is, of course, what we in the Hessinger household call the "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" philosophy where money to pay off one expense is often borrowed from money ear marked to pay another. Pretty soon you've not only borrowed from Peter and Paul but all of the other disciples too and then you're out of luck! Watch this!

3. Do not spend money as soon as you get it.

And I would go one step further on this from experience by remembering a quote from Thomas Jefferson: "Never spend you money before you have it."

(Easier said than done)

4. Always think about cash flow.

Ben says:

Cash flow is key when bootstrapping.

To find out why check out point number one on Guy Kawasaki's post here.

CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST