How to Bootstrap your Way to Success for your Start-Up

The first question that haunts any entrepreneur regardless of the commercial viability of the intended enterprise is to have adequate funds in place. There are a lot of options that can be explored, from venture capital to crowd funding to Angel investors to traditional banking channels.

There are many funds too dedicated exclusively to mid-sized start-up ventures. Take the example of S7 group founded by Radly Bates. It is an organisation that raises capital for small businesses and start-ups and invests in them, helping in growth of business. Another goal of S7 is to develop and encourage innovative ventures and have controlling interests in them. This group generally invests in the region of $1 to $20 million though smaller and larger amounts are sanctioned to promising entrepreneurs.

There is another side to the duo of Adam Radly Bob Bates. They have also developed the unique Radly Bates Index (RBI) which is a measure of the self-employed active workforce in the USA. Data of RBI is updated monthly from statistics released by the US Bureau of Labour Statistics.

In spite of all the start-up investment funds available to fledging entrepreneurs, bootstrapping or using own funds should always be the first option. And here are a few tips to make the most out of it.

Keep a check on expenses

Making every cent count should be the priority of your business. Keep a tab on every dollar spent even if you have to start on a small scale. Investing too much in preliminary expenses will only result in a working capital crunch when you get your business moving. Remember, 90% of start-ups shut down in the first year only because of paucity of funds. Keep your expenses down till you break even and become a profit generating entity.

Hire more interns than regular employees

For a start, forget lavish offices and a big team of highly paid executives. The more you hire the higher will be your recurring salary expenses. Keep a core small team of dedicated individuals only who are as passionate about the project as you are and would draw little as salaries till the company is on a firm stable foundation. Instead hire interns which will not only save you substantial amounts of money but will also bring a fresh perspective to your venture. You will also be developing a pool of well trained employees for the future with experience in your organisation.

Market through Social Networks

Regardless of how unique your product is or how zealous you are about it, people will only buy if they are convinced that they need it or it will solve a problem. For this to happen, you have to get through to them through optimised marketing strategies. But advertising in the print media or over television can mean large investments from your precious bootstrap funds. The solution to this issue is to promote your product on various social media platforms and reach a very wide audience at minimal charges.

Follow these simple tips to bootstrap your venture for greater things to come.