So you want to start a business and have some pretty good ideas of what you want to do.  There is only one slight problem; you have not funds to get it going.  You figure, after gazillion years of relationship with your banker, it is time to cash in.  Armed with your business proposal you head out to borrow funds.  Oops, you find out the bank is not lending.  So you just wasted all those years building a relationship with your banker, which during tough times is pretty much…meaningless!

Well, you say, let me get a home equity line to get my business going.  You fill out an application; submit tons and tons and tons of documents.  Wait for the appraisal to come in and…oops, you have no equity!  And your credit is not as perfect as the banks now want it.  Hum, you think, I have to get my business going, what do I do now?

So, you decide you are going to raise private funds.  Attracting Angel Investors sounds like a pretty good strategy.  So you buy the latest “Business Plan” builder software, a few books on angel investment and private equity funding and off you go.  You spend precious weeks, maybe months aligning your strategic documents to make a sales pitch to some deep pocket angel investor.  You are absolutely 100% sure, he will open up his wallet the second he hears your wonderful business pitch.  Time keeps on ticking and no angel investor has gotten back to you yet.

By now, months have passed and you still do not have a business, or funds or really nothing but a burning idea.  Your savings are depleting fast.  Your credit cards are maxing out.  Panic sets in.  Reality is not looking good…now what?

Well, first of all, the biggest misconception out there — which I believe comes from outdated books and information from the dot.com era – is that no one will even bother to look at your business unless YOU make it successful first.  It does not have to be in a large scale.  In all fairness, why should people risk their money on you, if you have no track record?  Would you invest in someone without proof that they can succeed?  You have to prove yourself first.  The time when you just wrote a compelling business plan, approached investors, and got money are looooonnnnngggg gone.  And for the looks of it, it may never come back.

So you may be wondering, what can you do now?

1. If you do not have money or business training, start with the lowest possible risk.  Selling online affiliate products is probably the best way to start a business while reducing risk and building business acumen.
2. Set money aside before you start your business.  Save enough to cover all your expenses for at last 6 months to a year.  This way you do not panic 3 weeks into your business venture because you do not have money to pay the water bill.
3. Start small, build up.
4. Start on a shoe-string.  Forget about the fancy offices, or the latest phone system.  Watch you expenses like a hawk.  Costs have a funky way to get out of control when you are starting out.
5. Use all the available free tools.  There a numerous, powerful open source applications you can use to build and grow your business.  All you need is a computer and internet access.
6. Once you start bringing money in, and as soon as you can afford it, hire help and start delegating.
7. Bringing customers AND retaining them should be your number one priority at all times.
8. Concentrate on working ON your business, not IN your business.  Build systems.
9. If you have something that is patentable…go for it.  Investors love patents.
10. Once you have sales coming in.  Patents if possible.  And proof that your business has growth potential…then and only then, approach private equity investors.

If you are interested in learning how to build a VIRTUAL BUSINESS so you can start your business on a shoe-string, then just enter your email address in the form below for instant access to the ““How to Build a Virtual Business Architecture” training video…

Email:

Business Bootstrap