Brian Solis over at TechCrunch had an excellent piece early this week on the negativity and fear that comes with a recession. While bootstrappers are probably a little less prone to fear and panic than most other business people, Brian's advice is still timely.

A tidbit from the piece:

Simply said, fear, and the dissemination of distress, slowly erodes hope, vision, and ambition, ultimately killing businesses instead of guiding them.

Fear inspires desperate actions. Hope (combined with clarity and inventiveness) galvanizes action and engenders opportunities.

Now, lest you think that Brian's piece is one long pep talk, let me assure you that there is plenty of practical advice in the piece as well. After he finishes talking you out of embracing the negativity that seems to be engulfing the business world, Brian spends a sizeable chuck of time discussing detailed ideas about how to grow you business during a recession.

You can read Brian's article here.


Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 2548064

Dave Cheong had an interesting piece this week on bootstrapping. It was a nice, simple review of the concept.

"A bootstrapper is someone who uses his own time, money and resources to get a business launched...," Cheong writes. Then he asks every bootstrapper's favorite question: Isn't that crazy? I had to laugh, but I love his answer:

Maybe, but there is a method to my madness. Raising money with outside funds may be appropriate for some businesses, but.... If I was starting a company which required lots of initial funds (eg massive infrastructure, marketing, people, tools etc), then I wouldn't be able to bootstrap.

But the real art in his article was his summation of the attraction of bootstrapping:

When you have less money, you have less bull-crap. We don't have 10 people in meetings that last for 3 hours. We don't spend 2 months writing design documents before we start coding. We don't go on expensive trips to meet clients or chase a sale. We don't need to appease investors.

You can read Cheong's whole piece here.


Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 6324752

Dan Schawbel over at Personal Branding Blog has an insightful interview online at the moment Romanus Wolter, "the Kick Start Guy." And Wolter makes what I think is a very important point for today's world: you don't get to define success all by yourself.

"A person is successful when they realize that they can actually never attain success as defined by themselves," Wolter told Dan Schawbel. "Other people can be amazed by their achievements - but since we are human, once we reach a specific goal we always seek out our next success."

Wolter says that understanding the idea of success in this light can be very releasing for an individual. It frees people up to explore possibilities without worrying quite so much about results that may (or may not) make them feel successful.

Schawbel's interview with Worter covers a lot more than the bits and pieces I've mentioned here. You should check it out...


Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 5289966

I saw a post last month that I like by Yaro Starak over at Entrepreneurs-Journey.Com about getting your cash flow started.

Lack of cash flow when you first get started in a business can be a major obstacle. Often the solution is a catch-22: you get a second job to bring in money for the start-up business that you no longer really have time for because of the second job you took to bring in money for it. Some people have the energy and the time management skills to make that work for a while. But many entrepreneurs who start down this road burn out before their own business becomes self-sustaining. That leaves them with a life centered around the second job they didn't really want and probably don't much like...

Yaro didn't go that way. Read Yaro's story and see how he got to create, manage and sell several different Internet businesses in the last decade.


Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Denise Torres

A Facebook friend of mine, Anita Campbell, pointed me toward a new free guide to social media for Small Business. The book is "Let's Talk: Social Media for Small Business," by John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing.

I just finished reading it and recommend you check it out. The guide covers blogs, social search, social bookmarking, social networks and a lot more. If you are not sure what all these buzzwords mean, no worries, he explains them.

You can download the free book here.


Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Uygar Ozel

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Devon Stephens

Since June 2006, BootStrapMe.com has been sharing the possibilities of bootstrap startups with entrepreneurs the world over.

It's more than just a good blog topic for me. As founder of PostRanger.com, an interactive blogging network, I share my own bootstrapping struggles with readers regularly and with them seek solutions.

Here's what others have had to say about BootStrapMe.com:

I discovered Shawn Hessinger and BootStrapMe.com while in the early start-up stages of my virtual assistant business. I was honored to be one of his featured bootstrappers at the time. I love Shawn's multi-part profiles and bootstrapping articles. They continue to be a valuable source of news and inspiration. Shawn keeps me reading with his engaging style, fresh and relevant content, and honest straightforward opinions. In my humble opinion, he's one of the best blog authors at Creative Weblogging - and a great blogger in general.

Denise Aday, Virtual Administrative, Marketing & Personal Assistant, Aday VA Solutions

Shawn and I made an interview together about my part time entrepreneurship experience a few years ago. Since then I have remained a faithful reader of the www.bootstrapme.com blog, being impressed by the journalistic skills Shawn put to work to get the entrepreneurial essence from the people he interviewed.

Cristian Dorobantescu, Owner, Energybyte

My experience working with Shawn has all been highly positive. Shawn joined the BootStrapMe blog (in fact, was the driving force behind starting it) and for over 2 years has continued to grow that online property in new directions. He is always coming up with intriguing new creative ideas that result in interesting articles. He has also been successful in creating a community of like minded people. Shawn is persistent - one of the hardest things is to stick with a regular posting schedule over a period of years. He has done that, bringing a discipline to his work stemming from his journalism background. I definitely recommend working with Shawn.

Anita Campbell, former Executive Editor, Creative Weblogging Inc.

Shawn's a great blogger. He provides timely, useful and actionable advice. He's honest, and wears his experiences on his sleeves. Bootstrapping is hard for any entrepreneur - but Shawn's there to help.

Ben Yoskovitz, Business Blogger, b5media

I had a great experience interacting with Shawn. I contacted Shawn because I thought my company, www.LeadVine, would be [useful] to other bootstrappers. Shawn did a thorough interview, spent over an hour understanding my company, the market, and how LeadVine could help his readers. He did a detailed and thorough job writing about my company. I recommend working with Shawn.

Allan Margate, Owner, LeadVine

If you've got additional aspects of the bootstrapping experience you believe we should touch upon or would like to share a story, product or service you believe would be useful to bootstrapping entrepreneurs, don't hesitate to get in touch.

-Cheers, Shawn Hessinger,BootStrapMe.com