Page 66 - The Bootstrapper Bible

ChangeThis In chapter 2, I spent a lot of time talking about self-priming businesses. Thatʼs because a self-priming business addresses most concerns of the bootstrapper. It brings in sales before you get in too deep. It scales itself—the money you bring in can be used to garner even more money. A company with plenty of sales can almost always fix its other problems. But a company without sales is close to dead. Sooner or later, your business comes down to extracting cash from other people or busi- nesses and keeping as much of it as you can. Itʼs tempting to focus on your product, your systems, your policies, the writing on page 7 of your brochure. But none of those matter if you donʼt have sales. The first question to ask yourself: “Whoʼs going to pay for this?” Whatever you create has to be so compelling that people will switch from their current solution to whatever it is that youʼre selling. Please, please donʼt underestimate how important this is. Once you have sales, youʼre in the driverʼs seat. You can dictate whom you buy from, whom you hire, just about everything about your business. Donʼt believe me? Take a look at the relationships that already exist in business. Barnes & Noble sells lots of books. Thatʼs why publishers come and beg them to carry their books. Disney gets people to wait in line to attend their movies. Thatʼs why thereʼs a long line of actors and directors waiting to do a movie for Disney. The customer is king because the customer has money. If you figure out how to get the money, you become the king! | iss. 6.01 | i | U | X | + | h 66/103 f