Ash Maurya wrote and i quote “getting hit by an idea is like falling in love”; This was my case and as with most new entrepreneurs,i was bursting with energy,super passionate and ready to conquer .I made huge projections.I was so in my business honeymoon phase .
My dear brother was the first person to invest cash in my business in its early days. He gave me half of the bursary he got from the government when he was admitted to Law school. I immediately spent his money developing products and acquiring customers for the business.Sooner than expected,i ran out of cash. During this period i sought out investment from different channels; angel investors,venture capitalists e.t.c.
Nothing came forth so i resorted to bootstrapping (learn more about bootstrapping here https://biznessvirgins.blogspot.com.ng/2016/11/bootstrapping-tips-on-how-to-self-fund.html).
Bootstrapping means relying on personal savings/finances (and revenue generated within the business) to fund a business.
Once i started to bootstrap my business ,i began to fully discover, understand and successfully plan and achieve sustainable structure for my business.Bootstrapping is tough but rewarding ;when done right, the rewards are well worth the trouble.
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| photo credit : www.themanager.org |
Here are a few personal mistakes i have made bootstrapping ,i will share personal benefits too.
MISTAKES
– Operating a business model that was not designed to generate cash quickly.
– Not monitoring my cash flow closely enough so i was always out of cash.
– Outsourcing and hiring for tasks i could have handled personally thereby saving on cost.
BENEFITS
– I became more creative and resourceful.
– keeps me close to my customers ,this provides me an insight on creating the right product and brand to suit them.
– l get to retain complete control and ownership of the business.
– I have learnt to monitor my cash flow more closely.
– Its a learning experience for me,as i am involved in all aspects of the business ,this lets me have an in-depth knowledge of the business.
– My taking time to understand the business helped in the creation of sustainable structure and processes which i am able to tweak and improve on as i scale the business up.
Overall,my advise to MSME business owners is this, except your business is capital intensive,try to gain traction before seeking financial investment from organizations. Bootstrap till the business is ready for scale up in very large numbers ..
*MSME stands for Micro,Small and Medium Enterprise
Learn to bootstrap here – https://biznessvirgins.blogspot.com.ng/2016/11/bootstrapping-tips-on-how-to-self-fund.html
Yours truly,
F.O (The Entrepreneur)
