Nuts and Bolts of Bootstrapping Business
Bootstrapping is the process of building and growing a business with no external funding, relying instead on personal savings, and revenue from early customers.
Here are some lessons learned:
Diversify & Innovate – Personally, I was in awe of my initial ideas and got stuck moving on from them. Focussing on one or two services may limit your potential to scale. As external scenarios may not favour a specific service, founders need to look at the market size and revenue potential of services, and then innovate to build alternative revenue streams.
Persistence – As a start-up founder, we should be ready to deal with setbacks and see them as opportunities to grow. Learn from failures, and embrace challenges to navigate through tough times.
Talent War –There were instances where we had a lot of work, and few hands to deliver, and there were instances when we were low on projects. Therefore, it became imperative that we adopt an agile “just in time” hiring, but not one strategy fits all.
Operational Efficiencies –As a small business, we have to wear multiple hats and you don’t have much time for manual tasks. I am obsessed with technology, and we have automated operations from payroll, to hiring, to marketing that really helped us become lean and agile.
Cash Flow Maintenance – Planning for the next few month’s payroll is a lesson for anyone new to small business. So I would suggest optimizing operational cost for a healthy cash flow.