a bootstrapping startup chick

Bootstrapping has been my game since I’ve started working on startups – and as you know in July, I was no longer part of the luxurious-salaried-with-benefits world. In an effort to live more frugally and off of my savings, I cut down on quite a bit of my extravagances in dining out and shopping. I consolidated bills, got rid of my Comcast cable TV, decreased my phone plan minutes, rode the bus/walked around town, met up with friends for coffee in lieu of lunch and dinners, and cereal (particularly Honey Bunches of Oats – with almonds)became my blood sugar saver. I still have a bunch of expenses going out the door: rent, food, utilities, gas, biz insurance, health insurance, home insurance, car insurance, …

The past two weeks have been crazier for me since I decided that I needed to hustle (as my very close and talented friend, Kate recommended to me) – and picked up a short term gig to build up more savings via some freelance projects. Time was tight back in August/September as it was, see previous post, but now … time is just flying by in the blink of an eye (another post on managing all the different balls in the air coming soon).

Bootstrapping Tips from a Startup Chick:

Here are some tips I’ve picked up along the way on being a bootstrapped startup chick:

1. Don’t be lazy = take the time to look presentable. Being a startup chick = I can dress with more bang and flair – it means I can now shamelessly throw my colorful persona into my wardrobe. [I’ve actually had colleagues/mentors in the corporate world tell me to wear more grey/black/navy/brown – and less pink/purple/red…. = yes… BARF on that!!!]
2. Going along with point #1, before walking out your front door – give yourself a pep talk if you need to, but always go out into the world with a smile, good posture, and determined confidence. I have this note on my door [see picture above].
3. Get some cheap simple business cards – and lots of them. I’ve already run out – unplanned, so now I have to find time somehow somewhere to go order some more. Woot!
4. Coffee and happy hour are the best times to meet up – and that covers the entire day. Just because I’m on a budget does not mean I cannot meet up and be social. Come on – tea costs under $2 even at Starbucks! Happy hours are going on all over town from 4pm to 2AM.
5. Get rid of the cable TV (saving me $65/month) – I didn’t have time before, I certainly don’t have time now. If I’m going to sit and watch anything pop-culture, it’s going to have been curated and recommended by a brilliant connoisseur of media. This means, all the stuff I should watch will already be on Netflix, Hulu, or something of the like (except Glee – which I can watch a day later online).
6. Walk. Take public transportation. Carpool. And for me… ride the scooter after hours because I can park that cute sucker anywhere. Walking will burn those old calories I picked up while glued to the desk in a cubicle when I was once salaried. Public transportation is convenient – and taking it supports our community’s ecosystem.
7. Don’t be cheap, be smart. Budget = yes, cheap = no. Do the right thing when it comes to your family, your friends, your clients, etc…
8. Join the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club. http://bit.ly/Gi1SM.  Serious.



Anyone else have ideas or tips you’d like to share with me?

Hugs,
Arry
[PS also posted on http://www.arryinseattle.com/blog.html]

did you know? part II

One thing that seems to be "common wisdom" about start-ups is this(at least among the young budding entrepreneurs I spend a lot of time with) : 90% of companies fail in the first year. I say, "Really? With odds like that, you still want to start a company?" Of course, failure can be defined in many ways, and one person's failure may be another's success, so it's hard to talk about what the accurate failure rates are. With that caveat, here are some survival rates, according to census data as reported by the SBA:

69% of new firms survive at least 2 years
51% survive at least 5 years

Better than common wisdom, but still somewhat bleak.

Scott Shane's book The Illusions of Entrepreneurship has a great table with more detailed survival info.

-Mina

did you know? part I

Since I come across a lot of studies and statistics on various aspects of entrepreneurship, I thought I would start a series of posts highlighting some of the more interesting ones (me being the judge of what is interesting, of course). To start off, let's start with how important start-ups to the economy.

Number of businesses in the U.S.: 6 million + businesses with employees; 29.7 million self-employed

Size of businesses: 60.9% have <4 employees; 89.7% have < 20 employees; 99.7% have <500 employees

Number of businesses started each year: 649,700 new employer firms (another 2 million struck out on their own) (in 2006)

Number of closures each year: 564,900 (in 2006)

VC money received: In 2007, a little less than $30 billion in VC was given to 3800 firms. Of these, 415 were for seed funding (about .06% of new firms)

Angel money: About 50,000 businesses receive $20-25 billion angel money per year

These numbers are from the SBA, the NVCA and the last number is from a magazine article I read (can't remember the source now).

-Mina