Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Andres Peiro Palmer


This is the first in a series of posts of what I'm calling the "BIG WHYS" here at BootStrapMe.com.

Briefly, the idea is to ask a couple of questions about the bootstrap process both rhetorically, in the sense that I'm going to try to answer them myself, but also in the hopes that we can get some responses from readers, so I'm hoping you will participate below.

Our first question is listed above and I'd like to answer it with a few points below.

Bootstrapping is so damned scary because:
• It means working without a net. Without big investors no revenue means no business and even though you could startup a bootstrap business tomorrow, you could out of business the next if you don't bring in revenue.
• It means looking for the business model. That's right. It's time to throw that business plan in the garbage and look for what really works. What are the chances projections on a couple of pieces of paper can adequately predict a non-existent market? Bootstrapping makes you prove a model not just plan one.
• It means letting the customers decide. Read what Guy Kawasaki has to say about the true nature of marketing. Many entrepreneurs are dreamers with a vision they hope to realize. But bootstrapping is about realizing that beautiful website you've designed is being used not by academics and artists for lofty discourse but for teenagers trying to hook up...and being cool with that.
• It means assessing your strengths...and weaknesses. Since you will be the one doing much of the work in the beginning, it's time to separate reality from fantasy. What can you realistically accomplish if you must hold down a full-time job while running your business on the side. What are you prepared to do and where do your skills lie.
• It means being the salesman. Remember, you will be bootstrapping so you won't be hiring a sales staff. Greg Gianforte insists sales is the most important aspect of business and bootstrappers must get to it early. So if sales is something that freaks you out, get over it fast. (Read more)

If you've got some other suggestions that would fit into this list, leave them in the comment section below and join us next post for part two of our series "Why is bootstrapping so damned sweet?"

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, kutay tanir


It's something I've seen plenty of with my current employer.

Smart growth even at most established companies these days often means using existing resources, or bootstrapping, at first with the idea that great revenue will allow for growth.

So here, from my own experience, are some tips on how to expand your existing business through bootstrapping:

• Invest time, not money-Don't immediately assume that growth is tied to financial investment. Taking the time and energy to simply divert resources to a new project can sometimes prove much more rewarding.
• Use staff efficiently-Can you add new services or products to your existing business simply by changing the way your existing employees do things? Ask the employee who answers the phone in the office to also field product orders from the website or see whether some additional drop shipped items could be added to your existing goods and services.
• Cut unnecessary expenses-Nothing is more sobering than seeing how unnecessary, or worse yet wasteful, spending is draining your company of the ability to expand. Don't keep spending money on things because that's what you've always done. Resources spent on wasteful, unprofitable projects are the ones best redirected to your bootstrapping growth.
• Try anything. That includes conventional websites, e-commerce and blogs, of course, but also lots of conventional goods and services you haven't tried offering before, including perhaps some that have little to do with the company's core business.
• Believe in results. Track results of your experiments meticulously and believe the message they send you. If something works, don't drop it because you can't see how it fits in with your overall business model. If it doesn't, don't hang on trying to win a clearly lost battle.

Like startups, established companies can often find ways to expand in the most fragile economies simply by using available resources instead of riskier financial investment.

When planning your company's next expansion, consider a bootstrapping approach. Using available resources instead of new investment to fuel your growth is a great way to find out immediately what will work out and what won't without spending a nickel for the learning process.

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 5822932


The action has cooled down somewhat on our Bootstrapper's Group over at Yahoo!, but the possibilities are now better than ever with a new Rich-Text Editor Beta.

This allows you the same kind of linking possibilities available in most blogs and really opens up the possibilities for what we can do on the group.

I'm hoping to get some more people from the entrepreneurial community involved, especially bootstrappers, so that we can share our projects, exchange resources, link to new products etc.

Please join up (it's free) and share your thoughts, ideas and even links to your sites and projects with the whole group...and tell a friend to join too.

There's also a group over at MySpace that I hope to do much more with in the coming weeks and months, so please consider joining both of these.

I can guarantee you'll be hearing more about my own bootstrapped startup PostRanger.com in the coming weeks too, plus maybe some valuable services for bootstrappers we may be providing soon.

More later...

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 3898716


So what is the big deal with bootstrapping? Why should perspective entrepreneurs consider it as a method for starting a new venture? Here are some reasons from my perspective.

• Get rich quick. Well not that quick, but certainly bootstrapping allows entrepreneurs to expand their businesses more rapidly than those who must wait for funding. Whether your business is already operating or just starting out, bootstrapping allows you expand and change direction at will simply by making that next sale and bringing in more cash flow for expansion.
• Make your own choices. No board of directors, no bank presidents or loan officers. Only the bootstrapper decides on the direction of his or her business venture. That decision must be based on customer need, of course, but when it comes to identifying and developing new markets, bootstrappers are masters of their own fate.
• Start where you are. No need to wait until you have the money to start a business. Bootstrapping allows you to start with what you have tailoring an approach that fits your limitations and plays to your advantages.
• Grow with success. Avoid the pitfalls of expanding too fast by borrowing or financing for an unpredictable market. The bootstrapper grows his/her business with growth of revenue meaning the growth is sustainable over time and based on a proven market rather than speculation.
• Own what you grow. Instead of making payments to investors or creditors, bootstrappers are able to keep their earnings and reinvest into growth of the business and ownership is not diluted. What you create with this method belongs to you with no strings attached.

To read more about bootstrapping from one of the seminal posts on the subject and major influence on this blog, read Greg Gianforte's "Bootstrapping your business: Start and grow a successful company with almost no money."

Additional thoughts? Leave a comment below.

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Sean Locke


Here are some questions you might ask to determine whether the business you'd like to start is a good candidate for bootstrapping.

1. Is it a service? A service business can require less initial investment. Starting as a consultant is one option but also any other use of your skills or knowledge base can be much less capital intensive than other businesses.
2. Is it Internet based? Bandwidth and storage online are becoming cheaper and cheaper. Often no storefronts or office space are necessary in the beginning depending on the business. Anything from a retail store to a consulting firm can be run online at first.
3. Can you break it down? If your idea is too big to bootstrap at first, try finding a part of it that could be started immediately. You can add more services or products as your cash flow increases.
4. Can you start it small? Try to think of a way you can use your talents and ideas to start as simply as possible. Think of things you can do now without frills or initial investment.
5. Can you do it part-time? Part-time entrepreneurship allows you to keep your day job keeping a cash flow while you work to establish your business model.

Bootstrapping can work for many business models and is a great way to get started. Evaluate your business idea today to see if bootstrapping might work for you.

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Aliaksandr Autayeu


Managing cash flow is key to any bootstrapping effort.

But how do you take a good idea, no matter how viable, and turn it into a working business model that produces cash flow sufficient for expansion and growth?

Take the example of my own bootstrapping venture PostRanger.com, a blog network focused on niche posts providing a guide to the new media.

The network has been well-received by visitors thus far, but what approach should be taken to make it pay?

Here are some questions you can ask when looking at your own bootstrapped idea:

• What is the value? In the case of PostRanger, would it be to advertisers whether those coming to us through AdSense or some other service or those we sell to ourselves? Or would the site be more valuable to those seeking space on the network, maybe as a way to create posts promoting a website or selling a product? Or is there something else entirely ...?
• Where is the money? How are you going to get it? Of course, the best scenario would be payment through PayPal or some other means upfront. You may want to see whether this will fly with customers and if not figure out how you plan to collect.
• How much does it cost? What will you need to generate this cash flow? You're bootstrapping, of course, so we're not talking about initial investment. What we may be talking about is how much of the revenue generated will need to be plowed back into the business to keep it operating.
• How long will it take? Specifically, this is a time question. It deals with how much time it takes to do what needs to be done and thus keep that revenue flowing. For example, revenue is generated by this blog, but it requires a certain amount of time on my part to maintain it. This is time spent away from family, other endeavors and other everyday responsibilities and in the end is a cost just as real as money.
• How long will it last? A single sale-say of a product on ebay-is not enough to sustain a business and give it the revenue necessary to expand, however, a unique product line that can produce repeated and sustained sales is another story. Think of bootstrapping as an effort to generate a sustainable stream of these kinds of sales or to provide a service for which a customer or customers will pay steadily.

There are doubtless other things I've missed and it is an issue with which I am still grappling, especially connected to my current bootstrapped endeavor, so feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below...