By Mr. Abhishek Agarwal, Co-founder and COO at NeuroTags
Bootstrapping as a result of self-funding can be a smart way to start a business. Self-funding allows you to work and grow at your own pace without interventions or external pressure from the investors. When we see successful startups, we attribute their reach to the sizeable investors they may have on board. On the contrary, there are quite a few examples where companies have grown exponentially and are doing well on their own, without investors funds. Cases of successful self-funded startups often surprise people, and the common misconception is that you need to rely on a heavy personal bank balance. That isnt necessarily the case; your startup idea is that which decides the investment required.
Here are some tips to run your self-funded startup successfully:
Set small and realistic goals
Since you are self-funded, it is advisable to start small. Small in terms of office space, office infrastructure, as well as the team. Set goals that are affordable by the yardstick of your current finances. Initially, plan your service offerings according to your budget. Try to focus on the offerings that you are confident of delivering and selling right away.
As far as hiring or forming a team is concerned, focus on getting people with varied skillset; this can save the cost of hiring extra people. It is sensible to hire as you grow in the initial stages of starting up. Make sure that the core team members are trustworthy, have a passion to learn, and have the required skills. They must believe in the startup idea and its vision. It is easier to coordinate with a small team and can help you save a lot of money.
Co-working culture has helped many startups save money on the office spaces. Co-working is a great idea over investing in fancy offices.
Be slow but strategic
Pick the best time to launch your product or service according to the need of the market. Once you start growing, make sure that your expansion strategies are slow and steady. It is ill-adviced to impulsively reach out to new markets or audiences simply because you are riding a wave of success with your current launch.
Think many times over, before you start spending heavily on marketing and advertising. When your business starts growing and you start getting businesses and clients, stick to the initial offerings and scale, instead of immediately adding new features or services based on custom requests.
Find ways to invest the generated revenue smartly and learn to manage the funds.
The customer is your true investor
Customer acquisition is a must for self-funded startups. Innovative and unique offerings can get you the clients faster. Market visits, surveys, effective use of social media, and word of mouth are some of the key tools that can help you with the client conversions. For self-funded startups, customers are the major revenue generators and are key to keep the ball rolling. Focus on business development across sectors and identify the correct audience. It becomes easier to survive and sustain in the long-run if you have a good number of clients from whom you get a decent revenue.
Carve out your own niche
It is highly important for any self-funded startup to build its own credibility as they are on their own in the market without any support or backing from the renowned investors. To build their credibility, startups should focus on their products and services. Once you are seen as a credible market player, you grow faster and get more visibility. Lead generation becomes easy if you are a trusted brand. It is advisable to build on the criticism and feedback received from clients and the well-wishers, as it helps you to become better and credible.
Liason with the Media
It goes without saying that when the media writes about any brand it generates curiosity and queries. A lot of brands get regular queries from potential clients after seeing the news articles. Reaching out to people through media is one of the ideal ways to create your own credibility. Media is the best platform to launch your products and talk about your offerings. It is advisable to have a communications team or partner on board to take care of external communications through digital media and the traditional print media. It is more cost-effective and trustworthy than releasing advertisements and it certainly helps in brand-building.
Abhishek Agarwal is the co-founder and COO at NeuroTags, makers of anti-counterfeit technology.