From Bootstrapping to Capital Readiness
I know what it means to “bootstrap” my existence. From my own experience and that of the thousands of entrepreneurs I’ve worked with globally who have bootstrapped their businesses, I’ve learned that transitioning from a bootstrap strategy and approach to a capital-ready company or entrepreneurial venture takes some time and effort.
When you are bootstrapping it’s simple — but not easy! You earn as much as you can and you keep as much as you can so you can survive the next month or two. You keep doing that, thinking about the day or two or week or two that you are in, and having some long-term strategy of wanting to continue to do that repeatedly.
Being profitable is the last thing on your mind! Although you’d like to make some money, the idea is just to have some kind of cash flow and a little bit of profit. As long as you can pay bills and continue your business you are fine, for the most part.
On the other hand, being “Capital Ready” is having an understanding of income statements, balance sheets, the cash flow statement, operating expenses, net profit, gross profit — and many other terms funders and lenders expect you know.
To move forward from the bootstrapping mindset to a “Capital Ready” mindset, consider exploring the following:
