Good tips for bootstrapping your startups or new business venture via Breaking Free46 Ways to Start a Business with No Money. Thanks to Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) for both the reminders and new ideas for starting a new venture with little to no money. We know from the Kauffan Foundation that most entrepreneurs start with their own resources and/or borrow from family and friends when starting a new biz.
New businesses need services and Brian offers tips on the best bang-for-the-buck.
Don’t hire employees
Don’t pay rent
Get free legal advice
Get 250 free business cards
Build a free website
Those are a few on his comprehensive list. What tips would you add?
Though not a comprehensive list, these 7 truths represent the foundation of my Leadership-dad philosophy. I strive to model these behaviors, as well as reinforce them through stories and lessons.
Curiosity fuels an interesting life. The day you stop being curious, you simply stop being useful. Don’t just ask why, figure out how. As Dr. Bruce Perry, MD, PhD (@bdperry) posits, curiosity leads to experimentation, which leads to mastery and finally confidence.
Problem Solvers = Entrepreneurs.
Image via Indrasis Blog
OPTIMISM
You are going to fail. Seek out new experiences like they are gifts on Christmas morning. In time you will fail less and win more, but without the failures you won’t know how to appreciate the wins.
Positive Attitude = Positive Influence
thriving lone tree in the rocks
Resilience
Life is hard. The older you get the harder it gets. When you are a kid, you can’t wait to be an adult so no one tells you what to do. Unfortunately, those rule making teachers and parents don’t go away, they just turn into police, politicians and spouses.
As Catherine McCarthy, PhD. posits in her blog post How Can You Thrive? The difference between success and failure is attitude.
Attitude = Prosperity
Courageously Tackle the Lego Fire Walk?
BE COURAGEOUS
Don’t be stubborn or fool hardy, but never compromise your core values. Few things in life warrant risking your life, everything else is negotiable. That doesn’t mean you just roll over either. The art of negotiation is that the other person walks away feeling they won, too. Don’t fight to win, fight for what’s right.
Courage = Strength
Fairness
FAIRNESS
Life may seem unfair at times, but focus on those things within your immediate control (e.g. your treatment of others). Follow a higher sense of fairness. Treat others with equal or greater respect than you treat yourself. And, remember that all people are created equal. Never treat another less than you and never allow others to treat you less than them.
Fairness = Equality
Image via faithforsinners.com
FAITH
Faith in God, faith in yourself, and faith in love. These three things pulled me through most of my life. Many would ask me about my confident positive attitude and this would be my answer. I know that God has my back, that I can do anything and that I my loved ones are my safety net. These beliefs never let me down. My biggest failures occurred when I didn’t trust in all three.
You may not ever discover your purpose. You will not know all the people you influence. If you seek meaningful work that allows you to contribute to something noble, then you will fulfill my dreams for you. More importantly count your blessings because faith in God will take care of your needs. You can concentrate on creating abundance within your family and others. Wealth does not mean financial gain, as much as it means financial well-being providing you the means to follow your passions.
I am becoming a fan of this website – The Art of Manliness – because it is entertaining and a good source of manly content. This post about a bootstrapped moonshine business for is a great story of business success.
This article posted there chronicling the one year business journey from idea to product launch is truly inspirational.
I’m not talking about illicit liquor, but a new cologne by three guys that challenged each other and brought their idea to market. It takes chutzpah to follow your ideas. And, it takes more to become a success. The story got me thinking right away about all of my hair brained ideas. Most of my entrepreneurial success has really been as an intrepreneur (entrepreneurial activities within an organization) = Less risk and less reward. But, I have other ideas simmering that may one day allow me to test the more dangerous entrepreneurial waters.
Helen Keller said, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” As I sit waiting to meet my third child, I reflect on the beauty of unseen things. The Zen of Fatherhood.
ENLIGHTENMENT
Enlightenment through deep thought. Reaching higher levels of understanding through a natural progression of experience. Fatherhood allows me to reach higher levels of understanding about things I thought I already knew.
LEARNING – My first son changed my life forever. Not that I wasn’t prepared for that, but I did not know to what extent. I learned to love their learning process. Watching the wonderment in their faces when they discover something new is priceless. If only I could remember to learn with such enthusiasm.
PATIENCE – God knows, one of my greatest flaws remains impatience. I often forget how unimportant spilled milk really is in the grand scheme of things. Usually, the dog will lick it up anyway. I think being a father has made me a more empathetic person and leader.
LOVE – Experiencing the love a parent feels for a child is like nothing I have ever experienced. Sure, I love my spouse, parents, siblings, friends, etc, but nothing compares. I know there is very little I wouldn’t sacrifice to ensure they are safe and successful.
WEALTH – I suppose I’m less motivated by money than some and more so than others. However, fatherhood has brought more wealth into my life in the last 5 years than the previous 30 combined. While I won’t stop developing myself and looking for ways to build financial stability for my family, I have nonetheless discovered the wealth of blessings I already possess.
NIRVANA
Yes, fatherhood brings a form of zen into one’s life. Multiple paths exist toward enlightenment for all, but my path led me to this higher level of understanding. I look forward to reaching ever higher levels in the future and passing as much as possible down to my descendants.
A report by the Kauffman Foundation confirms 40% of 8-24 year old youth would like to be kid entrepreneurs or adult entrepreneurs instead of employees. The 2010 study shows a slight increase over the 2007 survey.
It could be that today’s wannabe entrepreneurs have more high-profile Internet kid entrepreneurs to encourage them. Perhaps, they also recognize that the knowledge and tools to create wealth are more readily available than at any other time in human history.
Whatever the reason this is a great trend for the USA, as well as the globe. Maybe one day we’ll all be working for our kids.
Good tips for bootstrapping your startups or new business venture via Breaking Free 46 Ways to Start a Business with No Money. Thanks to Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) for both the reminders and new ideas for starting a new venture with little to no money. We know from the Kauffan Foundation that most entrepreneurs start with their own resources and/or borrow from family and friends when starting a new biz.
