Page 77 - The Bootstrapper Bible

ChangeThis money), it realized that if it didnʼt pay in advance, it wasnʼt going to get the machines. And the machines were worth more than money to the chain. So it paid. Sam got his $5,000,000, up front, for zero interest. Of course, sometimes itʼs not that easy. Sometimes you need to give the customer an incen- tive to pay early. A discount, or a free gift. But you wonʼt get the money unless you ask. Always ask. At the beginning…you might be tempted to be very choosy about which projects and which customers you take. Don’t do that! RULE 2: SURVIVAL IS SUCCESS As youʼll see in rule 5, things get better. But first, youʼve got to survive. If you can survive dealing with a tough project or a testy customer, do! Donʼt wait for the perfect pitch in the strike zone before you swing the bat. CUC is a $2 billion publicly traded company. When it started 20 years ago, the mission was to use kiosk technology so people could buy things electronically. After raising plenty of money, CUC discovered that the technology didnʼt work. So it shifted the mission and started very low tech shoppersʼ clubs, ones that gave CUC cash flow, plus buying power and experience. Now, several decades later, CUC is getting into technology in a big way. Itʼs one of the larg- est online stores in the world. And the business is built around those old-fashioned buying | iss. 6.01 | i | U | X | + | h 77/103 f