Bootstrapping your startup means relying on your own savings and revenue to operate and expand. It’s not easy to do, but it’s incredibly rewarding. Having 100% ownership of the business and not giving up an equity stake to an investor is on the wish list of every entrepreneur. This way you won’t be under pressure to pay loans and won’t be answerable to your investors. When you bootstrap your startup, and little profits are realized, you need to plough them back into the business. By doing so, the business would experience growth. Here are some tips that you need to know about bootsrapping:
• If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, look for a business idea that needs less start-up capital and generates cash fast. The same start-up will grow eventually into a big business.
• If you know some skills that will help you generate side income, become a freelancer. Or if you already are doing a job, do not quit it at once thinking that your startup will be an overnight success.
• Cut down daily expenditures: If you are planning to successfully bootstrap your business, one of the best methods is to cut down your daily expenses. Keep a record of daily expenses and that will surely help you save a lot of bucks for important things.
• Work from home: If you can comfortably work from home and provide all the services that your clients need, then you will be able to save a lot of cash and plough that back into business.
• Co-working space: If you’re not ok with using your home as office space, then coworking spaces are for you. Many big companies like Instagram have started with a shared work space.
• Contractors and freelancers: Keeping permanent employees has its own benefits but comes with too much of expenses. So outsource whatever you can to an agency or a freelancer to get work done on project basis.
• Go for DIY marketing strategies: A lot of DIY marketing resources are available online, among them social media is the most common way to reach your consumers.
• Lean startup approach: The basic idea of the lean startup approach is to move quickly, get a product out in the world as soon as possible, and respond to consumer needs with dynamic changes.
