How to bootstrap your business

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Though they specialize in launching business without outside backing, bootstrappers are not necessarily loners.

As bootstrapping advocate Bijoy Goswami explains in this rational for the founding of the Austin-based Bootstrap Network and in the below video, teamwork and community can be key in sharing resources and forming the teams that can be so integral in many ventures.

If you can’t rely on your immediate face to face community for the necessary resources to launch your venture, other options may include the following:

• LinkedIn—Pretty much the ultimate network for forging long distance business relationships in a variety of fields with online groups in a variety of entrepreneurial areas.
• MySpace—Though often thought of as the first choice for hook-ups, sometimes questionable business ventures and promoting your band, the fact is that the community remains one of the largest on line and offers a much less restricted way to meet new contacts.
• Yewie—Sort of like MySpace but with a share of the advertising revenue going to the creator of each profile. It also seems to have some of the same drawbacks and a much lower membership hence less potential contacts. The future, however, remains uncertain.
• Facebook—One of MySpace’s great competitors with some differences thatg may make it somewhat more discriminating in the kinds of contacts made.
• Squidoo—Seth Godin’s website creating community, it encourages websites developed around expertise and thus the potential of more select contacts. The actual community aspect of this site, however, is somewhat less defined and thus each site is more like a blog than a profile page.
• MyBlogLog—A community developed to promote and connect the readers of specific blogs, it has evolved into a high volume network driven more around profiles but is more focused in terms of shared interests because those who read similar blogs often share other commonalities.
• Bootstrap Network—The site co-founded by Goswami, it is much like Facebook but much more tightly focused (too tightly for some perhaps.)
• Second Life—A weird virtual reality community. Believe it or not there is actually a book out on how to do business on this site. It may turn out to be very effective for spreading certain ideas.
• Flickr—The best known image sharing community on Earth, unfortunately, as I have found recently, somewhat slow in responsiveness on technical issues. Naturally, posting images of any press conferences, products or launch parties would likely generate interest for your company from unanticipated quarters.
• YouTube—As Flickr is to still images so YouTube is to video. Some companies seem to actually be using this site to launch their product or service with a podcast-style profile page dedicated top their efforts. Immitators have spring up in the form of Revver, Blip.tv and LiveVideo (with elements of MySpace mixed in).
• Two sites I’ve recently profiled include LeadVine (a social network that turns it’s community into a sales force for new products, services and opportunities) and ZooQ (a sort of problem solving network.)
• Others I’m less familiar with but which have been recommended to me include Xing (another business networking community) and Virb (a kind of everything but the kitchen sink sharing space.)

Think we’ve missed something truly incredible? Please add it in the comment section below or e-mail me and we’ll blog about it in a future post.

Thanks to Greg Cruey at BootStrapMe.com for recommending John Jantsch’s Let's Talk: Social Media for Small Business, a guide to this new frontier, available free here.

Accounting application a bootstrap in progress

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(Editor’s Note: In conclusion, Bootstrap co-founder and CEO Kevin Reeth wraps up our four part interview with these observations about the bootstrapping roots of his company and how the approach has kept he and co-founder Ben Curren close to customers and on top of the market they serves.) 

Q: Is your company a bootstrap startup too? Tell us your story.

A: Yes we are.  Everything that's gone into Bootstrap has come directly from my partner Ben and I.  We ran a web development firm for a while to save up the cash to put toward our own products.  Bootstrap is actually our third product.  We never launched the first (it was an internal time & billing application for our contract development company), Paybackable was the second, and now we have Bootstrap.  I think it's safe to say that we've learned a lot and gotten much better over time.

Q: Anything else to add?

A: I guess the only thing I'd add is that the best part of our day, every single day, is when we get emails from customers saying how much they like and appreciate Bootstrap.  We even love when they point out all the things we still need to add or do better - it shows that they really care.  There's no better professional reward than having real customers value your efforts.  I think that's very common among small business owners - we know how important our customers are because we work with them every single day.

(Image Credits: Thanks to gobootstrap.com for all the great screen shots included in these posts.)

READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW BEGINNING HERE

Launching a bootstrap business app

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(Editor’s Note: From our ongoing interview with Bootstrap co-founder Kevin Reeth, here’s more about how he and partner Ben Curren got the idea for the on line accounting app well suited to startup businesses.)

Q: Can you give us some idea of how you got the idea to create this service?

A: We actually started out planning to build simple web applications that could work on top of other accounting products.  For example, we launched a lightweight expense reporting web site called Paybackable.com last year.  It tracks out of pocket and mileage expenses for employees, then exports them in a QuickBooks readable format.  But in talking to lots of other entrepreneurs, the number one question we heard was "why doesn't somebody build a much simpler, web-based accounting program?"  Most of the software out there is just overkill for these really small businesses.  So we started mocking up some concepts, showed them to a bunch of our self-employed friends and business partners, and it just grew from there.

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Bootstrap app simplifies bookkeeping

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(Editor’s Note: Here is more from Bootstrap co-founder Kevin Reeth about the on line accounting app built with bootstrap entrepreneurs in mind.)

Q: The idea behind Bootstrap seems to be not only elimination of a lot of additional cost on the accounting side for a startup business but also creation of a process that is as simple to use as possible. Could you give us an overview of what functions the application provides and how it works?

A: The Bootstrap web site is designed to simplify the most common bookkeeping tasks required of a small business owner.  These are: one, getting your financial records organized for end of year taxes (i.e. for filling out your Schedule C); two, tracking your income and expenses so you can always see how your business is doing; and three, helping you remember to pay estimated taxes on time (and giving you some guidance on how much to pay.)  We're also working to greatly simplify the end-of-year burden that comes from hiring and using independent contractors (e.g. sending 1099s.)

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Bootstrap accounting may be way of the future

(Editor’s Note: Bootstrapping has always been about figuring out how to do more with less and by implication finding ready made tools that can accomplish tasks outside your core product or service without much cost or effort. In the next few posts co-founder Kevin Reeth of the appropriately named Bootstrap—no connection to this site—talks about how his company’s application does just that in the world of accounting.)

Q: The name of your service is simply Bootstrap. Did you conceive of it specifically as a tool for bootstrap entrepreneurs?

A: The name of the product was absolutely inspired by the people for whom it was designed - the more than 20 million people who run very small businesses, whether they be single person shops, or small firms that file a Schedule C for their taxes.  These are folks who have to handle all kinds of different challenges to make their business successful, including the accounting.  We thought the name Bootstrap did a great job of capturing the spirit of these entrepreneurs.  And when we shared it with some of our prospective customers, the reaction was very enthusiastic.

Q: I think in your launch back in July, you had started with all accounts free as part of a beta period.  Do you plan to start charging for Bootstrap?

A: First, we will keep the web site free through the rest of the Beta period because we need to add some additional functionality before expecting people to pay for the service.  Second, we plan to continue offering a free version of the web site beyond the Beta period -  we believe everyone should be able to use parts of the software, free of obligation, so they can see just how much time and hassle it can save them.  Third, we do plan to charge for access to certain features once the Beta period is over.  I can't say for certain when that will be, but I can tell you that we will notify users by email of any changes well in advance.

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More on bootstrap accounting application

Back in early October, Kevin Reeth co-founder of Bootstrap, a great startup accounting program that is in no way connected to this site, sent me this in an e-mail about his new application which we profiled briefly back in July at BootStrapMe.com:

Hey Shawn, I wanted to drop you a note about a new release that will likely be of interest to readers of Bootstrapme.

Our service, Bootstrap (www.gobootstrap.com), which provides online accounting and bookkeeping for very small businesses, just released integration with FreshBook's leading online invoicing application.  This is important for two reasons:

1. Both customer bases have been repeatedly asking for functionality provided by the others' application.  FreshBooks customers want help with their bookkeeping (especially the deduction side and at tax time) and Bootstrap customers' #1 request has been support for invoices.  It's one of the most complimentary pairings of web applications that you're likely to find.

2. Historically, most back-office solutions end up being too complex because they try to support every possible need, resulting in lots of unused functionality and customization.  By applying Web 2.0 principles though, we're making it possible for small business owners (those with the least amount of time and money to deal with complexity and customization) to build the back-office system that works best for them.

There’s more on the company’s blog about this new functionality and keep reading for my extended interview with Kevin in coming posts about his company’s own startup and how his application can lend a helping hand to other bootstrappers too…