

Building A Startup From Scratch With No Money - vp
http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/blog/2009/01/21/how-to-build-a-startup-from-scratch-with-no-money/

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mikeyur
The biggest part of building a bootstrapped startup is doing a lot of the work
yourself. So if you're a web startup this means learning how to code.

Without money all you have is time. If you want to save money in life you need
to figure out how to do things on your own. One example is changing your oil,
if you know how to change your own oil you can save a few bucks over going to
a mechanic.

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vaksel
The oil example is a bad one. Yes you save a few bucks by doing the oil change
yourself, but thats only true if you find the sale for $.99/quart oil.
Otherwise the $14.99 oil change at a dealer is cheaper.

Then you have the time commitment, it takes you the time to drive to the
store, shop and drive back and the time to do the oil change. Overall you'll
probably spend an extra hour overall. Which is better spent working.

And don't forget, if you plan to be proper, you'll need to drive that old oil
back to the store instead of dumping it down the storm drain.

So basically changing the oil yourself is not worth it. The only thing it
gains you, is the ability to thump your chest and look down at all the
"pussies" who can't change their own oil.

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cedsav
I guess the point is that very early on, having $0, you're better off trading
time for knowledge.

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mannicken
I'm going to play against the article here. If you are a completely insane
entrepreneur -- in a good way -- you won't need money to create value. If you
aren't, no "7 tips" or "10 things you should know" will help you get there.

Given depression, I think that there's a profitable market nowadays on telling
people they can get rich without money, while living in their parents'
basements, and jacking off. Of course you can do that. However, if you have to
read articles to motivate you, or give you those good, warm and fuzzy tips you
probably aren't ready to start business because no fuzzy article is going to
save you.

Let the downmotes begin.

~~~
gne1963
No downmoting here, Just an observation that these tips are not fuzzy. They
actually are tried and true by many a successful business owner. And then
asked the failed business owner and he'll tell you he failed because he tried
to grow too fast by putting in processes she didn't understand, by using
someone else's money...

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cedsav
I've been through the exact same stages (I guess I'm at #7 now). I couldn't
emphasize enough the importance of hiring part-time help if you can and then
moving them to full time if things go well.

You're going to make mistakes running your first business. Once you start
hiring, the stakes get much higher. It's just not about you anymore. Someone's
else livelihood is on the line. Take your time. Use abundance of caution with
your first hires.

