by 4 people |
Bootstrapping is starting your business up without outside funding.
Nowadays technology is making it cheaper to start businesses and VC's are increasingly seen more as an unnecessary distraction.
I myself am bootstrapping my business, which is a micro conglomerate of tiny web 2.0 apps.
Great articles to get you started
- Top 10 bootstrappers anti patterns
- I've been writing these anti patterns since I started this blog and in honor of Evhead's 10 rules for web startups I wanted to create an overview over them mostly for my own sake but also for newer readers of my blog.
- Ten rules for web startups
- Great list of rules for web startups.
- Signal vs Noise blog
- This is 37 Signals of Basecamp fames excellent blog. There are many great posts about bootstrapping.
- Legal structures for bootstrappers
- In this article I give some not so common advise on picking legal structure for your bootstrapped business.
- The Venture Capital Squeeze
- Paul Grahams great article on why the VC business model is under pressure. It contains several great reasons for why you should be bootstrapping.
- The Bootstrapper's Bible
- This great ebook by Seth Godin is also available in print on the link below if that is what you prefer. Required reading.
- 6 simple rules for micro ventures
- This is an older piece I wrote about changing the way people think about micro ventures.
- StevePavlina.com Podcast - Kick-start Your Own Business
- Another great podcast from Steve Pavlina. He mentions many of the same things that I recommend, such as avoiding business plans and just taking the leap and doing it.
- CEO & Chief Executive Janitor: Bootstrapping a Company
- If you forgive me for linking to more articles that repeat what I say. Here is another one.
- A guide to starting your business
- This is a good quick guide to the paperwork part of starting a business. It has generally good advice and pointers for more.
My only real comment is that most bootstrappers should only really start worrying about these things, when they are doing real business. Their advice is for creative freelancers and they would generally tend to get into real business straight away. The same is true for IT Consultants/Contractors.
However when starting your web or software startup where there is real ramp up time, wait until you are seeing real steady income for incorporating, tax, legal etc advice. The only exception for this is if you want to take deductions against other income (eg. salary). - Global bloggers bootstrap guide
- An attempt to create guides for startups and bootstraps around the world.
- Startup guide for Panama
- How to startup your business in Panama
StakeVentures
My bootstrapping blog.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byStartup Fever
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byTools for bootstrappers
There are many great web based applications out there, that you can use to manage your fledgling business.
- WideWord
- My own service for writing and sharing private documents. Use this for writing your business ideas.
- Project collaboration, management, and task software: Basecamp
- Basecamp is a web-based tool that lets you manage and track projects (or simply ideas) and quickly create client/project extranets. It lets you and your clients (or just your own internal team) keep your conversations, ideas, schedules, to-do lists, and more in a password-protected central location.
- NumSum
- A great little web spreadsheet.
- SoapBX
- This is a tool I wrote which allows you to create PowerPoint like presentations on the web. It is due for a full rewrite and will change it name to WideSlide. Just like WideWord it is free to use, but you do have to sign up. I promise I will make it as easy to use as WideWord.
- Blinksale | The easiest way to send invoices online
- This is a great looking invoicing application. My only concern is that there is only SSL connections on the most expensive package. Nevertheless you can invoice freely if you have 3 or less invoices monthly.
- WideBlog
- WideBlog lets you create private internal blogs for your startup and investors.
Bootstrapper blogs
I think it is extremely valuable following other peoples experiences in bootstrapping. After all many of us may be surrounded by very unentrepreneurial people every day who will never understand what we are doing. Send me an email if you think your blog should be listed here.
- StakeVentures
- My blog where you can follow my own adventures bootstrapping my micro conglomerate.
- Bootstrapper Notes
- Follow Burkes adventures in bootstrapping. At the moment he is trying to reach a goal of $100/day.
- Paul Graham's Essays
- While not really a blog, Paul Graham writes a steady stream of often controversial essays on the entrepreneurial process as well as software engineering.
- Steve Pavlina's Personal Development Blog
- This blog is about personal development in general, but in particular about personal development for solopreneurs. Starting a business can be a mental battle with yourself and Steve has great advice for us all.
Non-free ebooks for Bootstrappers
There are many get rich quick ebooks out there. While I doubt most people will be able to reach the riches the authors promise, I do think it is useful for someone like me without much marketing experience to pick up a few tips to increase cashflow. After all reaching breakeven is more important for a bootstrapper than for VC funded startups.
You probably should only really buy one of these. If you are already experienced with sales techniques etc on the web save your money. Disclaimer as with the amazon links below I will receive an affiliate commission if you buy the books via these links.
You probably should only really buy one of these. If you are already experienced with sales techniques etc on the web save your money. Disclaimer as with the amazon links below I will receive an affiliate commission if you buy the books via these links.
- Rich Jerk
- This guy seems to be causing a lot of controversy on the web right now. He is obnoxious beyond belief (which is ofcourse his gimmick). I still ordered it and all I can say is that it paid for itself in a couple of days. I reviewed it on my blog where you can see a full table of contents. While much of the real practical advice is available for free I think the real force with the Rich Jerk is that he kicks you in the ass and forces you to think a bit differently in looking for cashflow.
- Wealthy Butler
- After posting about Rich Jerk on my blog I was recommended this in a comment. I have to say that I haven't bought it myself as I will probably only buy one of the genre.
Bootstrappers bookshelf
The Bootstrapper's Bible: How to Start and Build a Business With a Great Idea and (Almost) No Money
Great book by Seth. See the link above to the online version.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/18/2009) 
The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything
Fantastic book filled with many great ideas and advice. It is in my opinion a bit too focused on pitching VC's but besides that it is invaluable.
Amazon Price: $17.79 (as of 12/18/2009)
by pelle
My main interests are web technology, crypto, Ruby on Rails, startups, economics, libertarianism, travel, food, drink and music.
I run a couple of bl...
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