5 key bootstrapping strategies

December 5, 2011 Leave a comment

I have been a bootstrapper from day one since I got bitten by the entrepreneurial bug. I learnt important key lessons from my first Startup that I applied in the next to optimize the chances of its success. Based on my learning, am sharing the following strategies for bootstrapped startups,

  1. Network hard and get connected, but work the ways on your own. Look for business mentors, hire experts, and the rest ‘Do It Yourself’. Remember that all other kinds of help and support costs money that you don’t have. It’s fine that you are a rocket scientist, a specialist, but you can train yourself to do marketing, sales pitch, finance, websites, and other work that will help your Startup grow.
  2. Rent for office space is one of the biggest expenses for any Startup. Till you start making money from your business, try to work from a home office. Rent that garage the Bill Gates way. Work virtually. Spend the rock bottom minimum money to keep your Startup running. Look for innovative ways through which you can cut down your costs, be it setting up fees or the operational costs.
  3. You don’t need to start taking huge CXO salaries the moment your Startup starts making money. Take out survival money and re-invest the rest of profits back in your Startup. Before you get into the bootstrapping mode, plan your survival finances for 12 months, instead of the mythical 6 months break even period. Believe me, in most of the cases you are not going to see any real money coming to your Startup in its first year.
  4. You will have to constantly find ways to market your Startup creatively. Use social media to its fullest. Don’t go for the glittering marketing expenses, which are huge and will eat up your initial money that may not bring results to keep you and your confidence afloat for a long time. Either find interns from graduate schools around who can do marketing for you through twitter, Facebook, e-mail, LinkedIn etc. or just do it yourself.
  5. They key to any bootstrapped Startup is perseverance. If you don’t have patience and want to strike the jackpot from the word go then either you have to be the luckiest person around or you are living in a utopian world. For the real people, steady persistence with focused course of action leads to desirable results and success.

So keep a tight lid on your costs, trust your gut feeling, and march forward with all the passion in your dream. The growth may be slower with bootstrapping, but it’s all yours. All the very best in your endeavors!

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4 keys to startup advertising

December 5, 2011 2 Comments

Startups usually don’t do much advertising in their early stages. Entrepreneurs either think that it will be very expensive, or they don’t get this idea at all to advertise their startups and related offerings. Advertising does have the potential to make your biz get more eyeballs and hence more business. Advertising is an integral part of your overall marketing strategy . It can be done through either or a judicious mix of search engine advertising, banner advertising, magazines, newspapers, business directories, radio ads, TV commercials, billboards, mail campaigns, flyers etc. However you need to plan well before using advertising as your tactic for your Startup.

Well planned advertising can help you achieve the following,

  • Attract new customers
  • Enhance your reputation by building credibility in the market and establishing your brand image
  • Promote your product or service and boost your sales over time

Keys to successful Startup advertising,

  1. Research: The key step in your advertising is to research and know your audience. Whom do you want to target through your ads. Research into the demographics of your target customers. You should know this segment well and what mediums they generally use. That will cut down on your advertising costs and also will make your advertising focused.
  2. Planning: The mantra here is creating ‘to the point’ message that you are planning to convey, and keep it simple. You have to ensure that you are not putting across confusing messages to your potential customers. Plan your advertising carefully and use the right medium.
  3. Uniqueness: If your advertising is a boring one, it will not be effective. Try to make it distinctive and visually appealing. Also, frequency of your ads will deliver better outcomes.

Patience: And last but not the least, you need to have patience to see positive outcomes of your advertising. It will take time and effort before your targeted audience turns into your customers.

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Business mentoring for your startup

December 5, 2011 1 Comment

Even though you may have a constant stream of info through various sources based on which you make your startup decisions, but you may need wisdom of a business mentor to give the right direction and vision for your startup to steer towards the growth path. Mentoring can help improve productivity, build better business relationships and help to retain staff. Remember, a business mentor has more entrepreneurial business experience than you as they have ‘been there done it’ before. Read the full post HERE

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Sales forecasting for your startup

December 5, 2011 Leave a comment

Most of the smaller and early stage startups do not take Sales Forecast for their businesses seriously. Your sales forecast also forms the backbone of your business model. Without a sales forecast for your Startup you cannot get the real picture of cashflow (expenses, profit and growth). Remember, Cash is the key to keep your Startup afloat! Read the full post HERE

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