Image by cosmic aether via Flickr
Our Merchant Cash Advance product is in greater demand than ever. Often our clients need more funding than we can qualify them for. They use our funding for the most mission critical needs then boot strap for the rest, because failure is not an option
Their are five successful keys to bootstrapping:
1. Focus on cash flow! Most small business owners focus on profitability and that's a good theory. Unfortunately theories don't pay the bills, but cash does. Focus on clients/products that pay promptly or even prepay, stretch your suppliers terms to the limit and conserve every cash expenditure.
2. Forecast from the grass roots, not from the top-down. Example, we add an additional shift we can install 15 more units a week versus we need to gain 3% points of market share in our market. The first in much more tangible and easy to focus on and become attainable.
3. Forget the "big league" players to staff your team. Hire starving, talented young kids that will not only bust their butt, but also foster creativity and new solutions. The key is directing all that energy towards the goal of generating cash!
4. It doesn't need to perfect! Your product or service will never be perfect and once you think you have it perfect, clients will most likely not. Its a constant revision to deliver a great product or service that provides value. Just get it out there and refine from there.
5. Understaff and add staff only when the breaking point is near. You get to sleep when you're six feet under, plus the growth your forecast may not happen for another six months so why pay for extra staff until you need them.
Sure there are other ways to save your cash and build your business. The above are the biggest items that will suck up all your cash. Don't focus on the pennies of profits and let the dollars of cash slip through your fingers!
