Page 76 - The Bootstrapper Bible

ChangeThis Guess what? Over the next few years, Donnelly got lots of business from my company. They always gave me 90 days to pay my bills. I paid all their bills within a few months. And even better, Beth is now one of my best friends. A client who makes regular payments every month is pretty hard to cut off—even if your balance is higher than they’d like. When you establish credit with your suppliers, itʼs important that you not go too long without paying anything. A client who makes regular payments every month is pretty hard to cut off—even if your balance is higher than theyʼd like. The second great source of capital is customers. Thatʼs right. The people youʼre trying so hard to sell to are also a great source for money. Remember, the product youʼre selling solves a problem for them. If it didnʼt, they wouldnʼt buy it. If you canʼt solve the problem for them, then theyʼll still have the problem. My friend Sam invented a vending machine that became a huge fad. A major national chain wanted 500 machines—right away. One problem: Each machine cost $10,000 to build. Sam frantically tried raising $5 million to pay for the machines already ordered. But the inter- est rates were very high, and most banks and investors didnʼt want to take such a big risk on a bootstrapped company. I suggested that Sam ask the chain to pay half in advance. While it was against the chainʼs policy (they usually pay in 60 days, which would have been 120 days after Sam needed the | iss. 6.01 | i | U | X | + | Be first in line to get our newest manifestos. SIGN UP for our newsletter. h 76/103 f