Page 43 - The Bootstrapper Bible

ChangeThis expensive to him than the carrying costs on his plant. The way he can maximize his profits is by making sure that every dollar he spends on personnel turns into the maximum amount of profit. In other words, he has to either raise prices or increase productivity to make more money. Youʼre going to be running this business a long time. Spend an extra month to figure out what your business model feels like and save yourself some headaches later. EVERYONE IS NOT LIKE YOU Novelists are encouraged to “write what you know.” And the business you run should reflect what you know and love and are great at. But donʼt fall into the trap of assuming that everyone needs what you need, wants what you want, buys what you buy. New Yorkers run around believing that everyone has a Starbucks on every corner, while entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley are certain that everyone uses a laptop all the time. Itʼs so easy to extrapolate from our own experience and multiply it by 250,000,000. Donʼt. When I interview people for jobs, I always ask, “How many gas stations do you think there are in the United States?” Not because I care how many gas stations there are, but because it gives me an insight into how people solve problems. The vast majority of people who answer this question (Iʼve asked it more than 1,000 times over the years) start their answer with, “Letʼs see...there are 50 states.” They then go on to analyze their town, figure out how many gas stations there are, and multiply from there. | iss. 6.01 | i | U | X | + | Be bold. Dream up your own manifesto and SUBMIT your idea here. h 43/103 f