In this month's episode, Ryan Eaton welcomes James Benham, author of Be Your Own VC. James is the CEO and Co-Founder of JBKnowledge.
Benham's insights into innovation, growth, and family come from JBKnowledge having over 300 employees in 50 states. In addition to discussing favorite quotes from the novel, the native Texan breaks the quotes down into a key points and principles that will help you learn how to bootstrap your business.
The Art of Bootstrapping
Bootstrapping is the minimalist approach to starting a company characterized by extreme simplicity and sparsity. It usually refers to the start of a self-sustaining process without accumulating additional debt with little to no assets.
A company will need to dedicate a lot of time to building its dream business, according to Benham. In order to achieve your vision, James emphasizes the importance of determining what you'll need to build now to generate revenue and cover expenses.
Build what you have to so you can build what you want to
Cash Flow
You can think of cash flow as the movement of money into and out of your business. When you have a positive cash flow, you earn more than you spend.
Business owners must master proper cash flow management in order to achieve long-term financial success. One of the greatest challenges faced by business owners is managing their cash flow.
Benham explains that there are some really healthy businesses that have gone out of business not because they lacked revenue, but because they lacked cash flow. As a result, they were unable to operate the business.
Nothing beats cash on hand.
In Conclusion
Business owners must master proper cash flow management in order to achieve long-term financial success. One of the greatest challenges faced by business owners is managing their cash flow.
Having all the resources a company needs on its first day would be the ideal situation for many new businesses. The reality is that this is not always the case.
The majority of businesses are forced to bootstrap or temporarily come up with creative, resourceful solutions to meet their business needs. Bootstrapping can be accomplished in various ways including relying on personal capital, reducing costs, or limiting operations, but it also entails potential pitfalls.
What’s Next
Be sure to tune into next month’s episode as we continue our discussion with Lee Smith, Clinical Director at Cornerstone Counseling.
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