One step ahead of competition

Posted in: Bootstrapping Tips

Are you wishing you were one step ahead of the competition? Well, if you are a bootstrapper, then you already are. Most people believe that being a bootstrapper is a disadvantage, and a funded company from lenders is the major advantage that they need. This is the farthest statement from the truth that there could ever be. Let me explain to you why in the following article.

Being ahead of the competition can give you very needed tools to outsell, and out perform your competition that may have outside funding. There are many things that form together to give this assumption some truth. They are as follows:

1. Determination - Starting with no money / little money gives you a burning urge to get out there and get the money. If you are funded by a company who tosses 10,000+ dollars in your lap, yes, you have money now, but your urge to earn is 9 times out of 10, gone.
2. Ability to Sell Now - Most companies with outside funding have to gain control over the money, and present all sorts of forms and documents which can take months or years to accomplish. Not the bootstrapper. You can start cold-calling potential clients now, even before you have a product. Yes, this can be done, and we will cover how and why in a future article.
3. Fear of Failure - Even though we try to believe that no bootstrapper has fear, or any person for that matter, this is a lie. Embrace your fear. The fear of failure will push you to strive harder then the company with a million dollar cushion and in turn, your company will succeed faster then theirs.
4. Less Overhead Costs - Starting a business yourself? Have no other employees except your husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend? Guess what? That’s a very low overhead cost for your business. Buying a laptop, and a desk is the essentials you need, along with maybe a filing cabinet and some office supplies. But even those aren’t 100% needed at the beginning. You got a company who fronts you 1 million dollars? Guess what? You have to pay all that back, hire tons of employees to get your business growing at the speeds they want it, and so on.
5. Total Control -By far, my favorite of all five of these reasons. If this was a top five list, this would be #1 as far as I’m concerned. Lets say you get funded 1 million dollars from a firm who wants to help your business get off the ground. Who do you think you are going to have to answer to daily/weekly/monthly for years to come? Thats right, the firm who gave you the funding. Now, lets say you are starting a company by yourself in a spare bedroom. Who do you have to talk to about your business besides your customers (thats who you want to be discussing things with, and be in contact with anyways, right?) NOBODY! Running your own business should be about not having to conform to anyone else’s beliefs or thoughts and by external funding, you cut that all out. Not the way to go in my opinion.

 

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3 Responses to “One step ahead of competition”

• Dhane

  April 19th, 2008 at 3:52 am

  These were great tips. Finally something that validates my thinking. It can be hard starting out. Especially getting over yourself and not becoming a victim of your own fear. Like its said time and time again, Action kills fear!

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