Rules for Bootstrappers (Part 2)

By Greg Gianforte, Guest Author

People have different reactions to those who are careful with their money. As a bootstrapper you can expect a mixture of admiration, denigration, and even open contempt for those you encounter in business if you push, and push again, for price reductions, cost savings, and expense elimination.

Ignore them all: stay obsessive about costs and expenses. Saving cash is not about miserliness—it’s purely a question of survival, of getting through to next month. It is deadly serious. Whenever possible, keep an account of all the money you did not spend—and put it on your office notice board. Reward generously anyone on your staff who identifies and brings about a significant cost saving in the business. Bootstrappers’ budgets face endless demands for expenditures on all sorts of “essential” items. But many of these are not essential at all. And finding clever ways to avoid big-ticket expenditures is the mark of a dedicated bootstrapper.

If you can pay only 10 to 30 percent of the average market rate for a business expense, you too are well on your way to becoming a Master of Thrift. What are some cost savings ideas you had put in place that helped a bootstrapped business get off the ground?

This segment is part 2 in the series : Rules for Bootstrappers
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