Page 44 - The Bootstrapper Bible

ChangeThis While this is better than some approaches, it is a ridiculous way to answer the question or to plan a business. North Dakota is not like Michigan! And your life, your neighborhood, your friends, and your needs are not like everyone elseʼs. The best way to answer the question is to start with a scalable metric—either cars (how many cars lead to how many stations) or, surprisingly, how many big gas companies there are. Either one will get you to a quick and defensible analysis. Instead of starting the business that makes stuff for people just like you, do some real re- search. Go to the library. Donʼt invent something that requires you to have a handle on the purchasing habits, the psychographics, and the changing demographics of the whole country. Instead, find a thriving industry and emulate and improve on the market leader. Sheʼs already done your homework for you. DON’T START A BUSINESS WHILE SHAVING! (A CAUTIONARY TALE IN SEVERAL ACTS) Staring into the mirror this morning, using my brand-spanking-new Norelco razor, it oc- curred to me how easy it would be to start down the road to ruin while in the bathroom. Imagine that our young hero is shaving and notices that the blades on his lift-and-cut razor arenʼt as sharp as they used to be. His best friend, he remembers, is a metallurgist, and maybe there would be a neat, inexpensive way to sharpen the blades in an electric razor. A day of research in the drugstore and on the Web confirms what he already knows—there are a couple of razor-sharpening devices on the market, but they are hard to find, expensive, and not very good. | iss. 6.01 | i | U | X | + | h 44/103 f