“This is a manifesto about how to make the odds work in your favor, how to keep playing until you win.”
If there is any book that any budding entrepreneur should read, it is the Bootstrapper’s Bible. It is a book filled with principles to help you get your ideas off the ground with no capital. And it has stories that illustrate how real-life entrepreneurs have been able to win in the business game.
A come-back-to-reality inspirational book, it contains practical steps. It contains get-off-your-ass nuggets, you-can-win-against-all-odds prep talks and here-is-how-others-have-done-it advice. And what is great about it is that it hasn’t been written by a poser.
It is not one of those 12-principles-of-success books written by someone who has spent his or her life on a desk doing nothing. It is a book written by the master of marketing and a guru in creating startups that work: Seth Godin.
It is not one of those 12-principles-of-success books written by someone who has spent his or her life on a desk doing nothing. It is a book written by the master of marketing and a guru in creating startups that work: Seth Godin.
What Is Super-Awesome About It
What is even great about this book is that it is absolutely free. And that is legally free! Seth gives off this book for free, and even encourages you to do so, so as to spread the entrepreneurial magic around. It is worth a read. And also worth a re-read.
Ready for the book? You can download a FREE LEGAL pdf version of this motivational and inspirational book here
So, who is a bootstrapper according to Seth Godin?
Here are Seth Godin’s own words:
“ For me, a bootstrapper isnʼt a particular demographic or even a certain financial situation. Instead, it’s a state of mind."
“Bootstrappers run billion-dollar companies, nonprofit organizations, and start-ups in their basements. A bootstrapper is determined to build a business that pays for itself every day.”
“ … In many ways, itʼs easiest to define a bootstrapper by what she isnʼt: a money-raising bureaucrat who specializes in using other peopleʼs money to take big risks in growing a business.”
The Manifesto
Here is the bootstrapper’s manifesto that the master marketer Seth Godin wants you to memorize, stick on your fridge door, attach to your mirror and even save a copy on your phone, and of course, READ OUT LOUD:
I am a bootstrapper. I have initiative and insight and guts, but not much money. I will succeed because my efforts and my focus will defeat bigger and better-funded competitors.
I am fearless. I keep my focus on growing the business—not on politics, career advancement, or other wasteful distractions.
I will leverage my skills to become the key to every department of my company, yet realize that hiring experts can be the secret to my success. I will be a fervent and intelligent user of technology, to conserve my two most precious assets: time and money.
My secret weapon is knowing how to cut through bureaucracy. My size makes me faster and more nimble than any company could ever be.
I am a laser beam. Opportunities will try to cloud my focus, but I will not waver from my stated goal and plan—until I change it. And I know that plans were made to be changed.
I’m in it for the long haul. Building a business that will last separates me from the opportunist, and is an investment in my brand and my future. Surviving is succeeding, and each day that goes by makes it easier still for me to reach my goals.
I realize that treating people well on the way up will make it nicer for me on the way back down. I will be scrupulously honest and overt in my dealings, and won’t use my position as a fearless bootstrapper to gain unfair advantage. My reputation will follow
me wherever I go, and I will invest in it daily and protect it fiercely.
I am the underdog. I realize that others are rooting for me to succeed, and I will gratefully accept their help when offered. I also understand the power of favors, and will offer them and grant them whenever I can.
I have less to lose than most -- a fact I can turn into a significant competitive advantage.
I am a salesperson. Sooner or later, my income will depend on sales, and those sales can be made only by me, not by an emissary, not by a rep. I will sell by helping others get what they want, by identifying needs and filling them.
I am a guerrilla. I will be persistent, consistent, and willing to invest in the marketing of myself and my business.
I will measure what I do, and won’t lie about it to myself or my spouse. I will set strict financial goals and honestly evaluate my performance. I’ll set limits on time and money and won’t exceed either.
Most of all, I’ll remember that the journey is the reward. I will learn and grow and enjoy every single day.
17 Memorable Seth Godin Entrepreneur Tip-Quotes From the Bootstrapper’s Bible – Free PDF Download Motivational And Inspirational Book
1. " You have to go where the other guys canʼt. Take advantage of what you have so that you can beat the competition with what they donʼt.
2. "Surviving is succeeding. YOU CAN’T WIN IF YOU’RE NOT IN THE GAME."
3. "You donʼt need everyone. Just enough to keep you busy and the cash flowing!"
4. "There are enough obstacles to success in choosing your business. Overcoming a flawed business model shouldnʼt be one of them."
5. "Donʼt rush it. Donʼt just pick what you know, or what you used to do, or even what you dreamed of doing when you were a teenager. Itʼs way more fun to run a successful vegetable stand than to be a bankrupt comedy club owner."
6. "The first law of bootstrapping: Great ideas are not required. In fact, a great idea can wipe you out."
7. "Staying in a losing business because youʼve already lost a lot of money is a bad business strategy."
8. "Donʼt fall into the trap of doing the easy business, or the fun business, or the sexy business. In the long run, any failed business, regardless of how cool it seems, is no fun."
9. "So many opportunities to fail, so few to succeed, it seems. But when it clicks, the magic that takes over is intoxicating. Your work, embraced by a stranger. Itʼs a rush."
10. "Stop planning and start doing."
11. "If you donʼt run out of money, you get to keep playing. If you end up with more money than you started with, you win. Plan for the money!"
12. "A company with plenty of sales can almost always fix its other problems. But a company without sales is close to dead."
13. "Follow the money! The money leads to power—the power to make decisions, the power to build the business you want to build, the power to hire and fire and shape and dream and succeed."
14. "Learn as you go. Change as you go."
15. "Building a business from scratch is like walking through a maze with many, many doors. Once you open one, 100 new doors present themselves. As you move your way through the maze, you need to stop and check your location. Look at a map. If youʼre in the wrong place, move. But if youʼve discovered a new place, thereʼs nothing wrong with exploiting it."
16. "Most businesses wouldn’t even consider firing a customer. But sometimes it’s the smartest thing you can do."
17. " Donʼt take this survival advice too far. But take it. Money now is better than money later."
Useful Links
Click here to download the free pdf copy of the Bootstrapper's Bible
Go to Seth Godin's blog by clicking here
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