I was sent this great article that Guy Kawasaki wrote way back in 2006 about bootstrapping that I just have to share.
At it’s essence, Bootstrappers are business owners that start and grow their business without any outside funding. That means no angel investors and no VC deals. You don’t hear about it much because it’s not glamorous, but it’s the way that most businesses are started.
I am a hard-core believer in bootstrapping, and I know for a fact that I have learned a lot of lessons the hard way that I wouldn’t have learned as easily if I had not been a bootstrapper. (Mo’ money, mo’ problems anyone?)
Especially when you start your first business (and if you’re like me, your second as well), you WILL make mistakes, and lot of them. I still make mistakes, but I like to think that my hard-fought experience has saved me several times. Sometimes I can get out of the way in time, and sometimes I still get run over. But I’ve become better and better at keeping the damages small and keeping the business agile.
If you’re in the Columbus, OH area, come out to a meeting of the International Bootstrapping Association and say hi! Our next meeting is Dec 9th, 2009 at TechColumbus hear Ohio State University. RSVP at the link below:
http://www.bootstrappingassociation.org