By Michael Zhou
Numerous successful business owners built their brands from the ground up through bootstrapping their startups. As an entrepreneur, the startup process can be daunting, especially if you are financing it yourself. The term “bootstrapping” comes from the old saying “pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps.” This is essentially what you are doing as you build your brand without any external monetary assistance. While it can be difficult, you can still achieve your entrepreneurial goals. Read on to uncover the best ways to build a brand from bootstrapping your startup.
Work From Home
Entrepreneurs who jump start their businesses within their own homes efficiently build brands from bootstrapping. While many business owners invest in office spaces for their companies, they can be costly. You probably do not have the finances to rent out an office space while bootstrapping. However, you do not need one during your startup process. By taking care of all the things to know before starting a home business, you can work from the comfort of your own home. You will save money on a workspace. Use that money to put toward branding startup essentials. Then, you will be able to bootstrap your startup well.
Limit Outsourcing
Another method for building your brand from bootstrapping your startup is to limit your outsourcing. Rather than hastily hiring out for jobs, consider yourself as your best employee. Learn to wear multiple hats during your startup to ensure you do not lead yourself to a financial downfall. Hire yourself to be your own HR team, marketer, salesman, and manager. In doing so, you will ensure that you make the most profit possible. Additionally, you will have full control over the quality of your startup. To successfully bootstrap your startup, only outsource jobs once you have maintained a steady cashflow for your business and can control the product quality for customers. This is essential to building your brand for the long term.
Choose The Right Co-Founder
Also, select the right co-founder for your brand during your startup process. A co-founder can significantly lessen both your financial burden and support your brand building efforts. With an experienced co-founder, you can focus your energy on important marketing objectives without worrying too much about your financial status. However, finding the right person for the job is the difficult part. Look for a serial entrepreneur with skills that complement yours. For example, the founder of Livible, a west Seattle storage company, “Terry Drayton has taken nine start-ups from ideas to hundreds of millions in revenue across a broad range of industries.” Of course, an experienced partner can help build your brand from bootstrap to multi-million dollar revenues.
Use Social Media
Since you will be taking on the marketing components of your business, consider social media while on a budget. Social media platforms are simultaneously effective marketing platforms. As an entrepreneur bootstrapping your startup, understand the marketing power social media provides. You can follow these social media tips that will boost your brand. By posting and engaging via social media, you create a marketing portal to consumers all over the world. Furthermore, it is all free. You can inexpensively market your brand during your startup to build an audience for your products and/or services.
Create A Blog
As you start to build an audience, create a blog to build a brand. Consumers read through blog posts on a daily basis, making them another great marketing strategy. Similar to social media, blogging requires little-to-no payments. You can build yourself a unique, custom website through a website builder for free. Once you have done so, use your blog to generate content that will persuade potential customers to purchase your products. Link your social media pages to your site and vice versa to increase your chances of reaching more consumers. Stay on budget while building your brand by marketing through a blog.
Entrepreneurs like yourself thrive through bootstrapping startups if done effectively. To do so, work from home to save money on a work space. Limit outsourcing jobs and, instead, look to yourself to take on more roles. This ensures quality delivery of products while you start to establish expectations of your brand. Choose a co-founder whose skill set complements your own. If possible, find someone who has grown a company successfully in the past. Recognize the free marketing benefits social media provides. In addition, utilize blogging as another free marketing strategy. These are the best ways to build a brand from bootstrapping your startup.
Michael Zhou is a Senior VP of Business Intelligence Development and has assisted the Fortune 1000 company with expertise in the web as a whole, including ground-zero marketing efforts that benefit both consumer and vendor. He is also contributor on Esprittoday.
Brand stock photo by onmyvespa/Shutterstock
