Bootstrapping in business, whether you run a startup or a brewery, means doing everything you can with your own hands and skills before you pay someone else to do it.
Starting a business and making sure it survives the initial stages is never easy–for anyone. However, it’s become easier. As time goes on, technology and the resources at our fingertips enable all kinds of creative thinkers to come up with an innovative and successful business. Depending on what you want to do in your business, there are a lot of options for getting the business off the ground. When you don’t have much to start with, it can feel difficult. That’s not a good reason to abandon your dreams. Below are a few of the tips for starting a small business with few resources.
Come Up with an Original Idea
Let’s say you have a startup that aims to change the world for growing more food, saving water, solving health problems. Start with an original idea and grow with resources at hand.
The most important thing you can do when you are starting a business with few resources is to make sure that your idea is original. When you have an original idea, you will be able to find the funding and resources to get it started. What kind of business are you starting? What will you focus on? Is there a specific service or product you are trying to push?
When it comes to starting a business these days, you need to make sure it’s original. Not only should you know who a similar business has done before, you should know exactly why your business is better and what you offer that they don’t. If there are no competitors, that’s even better.
Keep Your Overhead Low
With few resources, you can’t waste anything. We all know someone who started a business and expanded too quickly. When you have little to start with, you need to maximize profits in any way. You need to keep the overhead low to keep as much money as possible coming in. Then, once you have some profits you can add to the number of resources you have. What are you working with? What can you do with these things? The number of employees, space, and equipment you are paying for quickly adds up when you don’t start with much.
Use What You Have
In the spirit of keeping your overhead low, you also don’t want anything to sit there unused. You need to utilize what you do have. Think about what you have personally and what you can borrow. What space can you use? Who can help you for cheap or free? A company isn’t defined by its beginnings. It’s defined by its success. When you make the effort to use everything that you have at your disposal, you will be able to feel better about what you are doing. A huge part of this is thinking outside of the box.
Use Google Workspace Products
When you’re on a budget, the costs add up: registering a website domain, setting up a website, setting up email, picking word processing and spreadsheet software, paying for file storage, and so on. That’s why many businesses turn to Google Workspace. It’s like all of the free Google products that many people use–but you pay a small fee to get a professional version.
Google Workspace includes cloud storage, shared calendars, meeting tools, word processing with Docs, spreadsheets with Sheets, presentations with Slides, and even the capability to set up Gmail with a custom domain. In other words–so many of your technical needs can be met at relatively low cost. It’s worth investigating before you shell out money for each of these services from other providers.
Grow Slowly
Finally, few people who start a business want to hear this but it’s true—you need to grow slowly. There are only a couple of types of businesses that can grow very fast sustainably. You should be aiming for long-term wealth, not short-term. Whatever field you are in, you should make sure to grow slowly so that you don’t burn out like a flame. When you grow steadily, it’s a lot safer. When you don’t have much to start a business, you need to consistently add to what you have.
When you are trying to start a business and don’t have much to get it going, you are in a unique position. However, with this position you can utilize what you have, think outside the box, and grow slowly. You should keep your overhead low. As you work towards growth and prosperity, you will be able to overcome challenges and work towards doing something great. When you are trying to be successful, you need to be patient. If your idea is original, you can create something special.
