Have you heard of bootstrapping? Is your business a bootstrapped one? Bootstrapping means a business started off the business owner’s funds and an absence of outside investment. When you have limited resources, capital resources that is, bootstrapping is ideal.
Not all businesses can be established from bootstrapping. Many businesses search for venture capitalists who are willing to share financial resources to run and sustain the business. It is a common practice that is why bootstrapping is special. The owner understands investment on a personal level and knows more is at stake.
If you are wondering if there are bootstrapped that make it big time, the answer is yes. There are plenty of companies with humble beginnings and now one of the biggest companies in the world. The website Investopedia made a list of the companies out of bootstrapped and these companies include, Dell Computers, Facebook Inc., Apple Inc., Clorox Co., Coca Cola Co., Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft Corp., and eBay Inc. to name a few.
These companies are run by heavy hitters like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg. However, like everyone else, they started small. Bootstrapping has many known advantages like low cost starting capital and run the company in your own terms.
Every good thing comes with risks and bootstrapping comes with high risks. These risks cover lack of cash flow if generating income is slow and more stressful as you do not have any back up, in terms of cash.
Starting bootstrapped business with a virtual assistant
Money will always be an issue in every industry and field, and more so in bootstrapped business. Bootstrapped business owners could not spare to pay up for extra expenses like an in-house employee.
Budgeting for essential expenses is one of the strategies bootstrapping is well known for. And budgeting in bootstrapped business is equivalent to making good decisions. It is not about factoring out expenses but figuring out the best alternative to these “expenses.”
First, know when you are ready to hire a virtual assistant. What kind of help do you need help with? Can you afford to hire a virtual assistant? Do I need a virtual assistant on an hourly basis, per tasks, or project? These are some of the questions you have asked to determine if you are ready to get the support of a virtual assistant.
Second, identify the functions you want to delegate to your virtual assistant. Do you need a marketing plan for a product roll-out? Do you need to prepare a brand kit and marketing materials?
Third, organize the tasks that you will assign and create a monitoring file on the progress of your virtual assistant. There are free software applications you can use online for project management. Trello and Monday are two of the most popular ones.
Do not forget to use cloud storage so both of you can access files anytime, anywhere. If you will let your virtual assistant use your subscribed software or accounts, give them your account credentials. Use Last Pass to securely share passwords without revealing one.
Fourth, trust your virtual assistant. Entrusting someone a piece of your investment such as your bootstrapped business can be challenging. You may end up micromanaging and create a gap between you and your virtual assistant.
Having a virtual assistant should be a fulfilling and learning process for you and your virtual assistant. So it is important to initiate and establish a trusting relationship.
This is why hiring a virtual assistant is a crucial part of a bootstrap business, especially when the business is in its initial phase of levelling up. Virtual assistants might be miles away from where you are located but offer the same capacity and skills of an in-house employee.
What makes virtual assistants popular to bootstrapped businesses and startups is their affordability and flexibility in work. Depending on your business needs, a virtual assistant can do one or more of the following tasks:
- administrative support
- email marketing
- content or blog writing
- social media management
- data research
- schedule and book appointments
- handle customer relations
- website building
- accounting and bookkeeping
- IT related tasks
- and the list can go on!
Outsourcing a virtual assistant not only helps you with certain functions, but they can also extend their expertise without spending more. Additionally, you can get back some of your time. Remember, time is your most important asset as a business owner.
Points to ponder when hiring a virtual assistant
First, know when you are ready to hire a virtual assistant. What kind of help do you need help with? Can you afford to hire a virtual assistant? Do I need a virtual assistant on an hourly basis, per tasks, or project? These are some of the questions you have asked to determine if you are ready to get the support of a virtual assistant.
Second, identify the functions you want to delegate to your virtual assistant. Do you need a marketing plan for a product roll-out? Do you need to prepare a brand kit and marketing materials?
Third, organize the tasks that you will assign and create a monitoring file on the progress of your virtual assistant. There are free software applications you can use online for project management. Trello and Monday are two of the most popular ones.
Do not forget to use cloud storage so both of you can access files anytime, anywhere. If you will let your virtual assistant use your subscribed software or accounts, give them your account credentials. Use Last Pass to securely share passwords without revealing one.
Fourth, trust your virtual assistant. Entrusting someone a piece of your investment such as your bootstrapped business can be challenging. You may end up micromanaging and create a gap between you and your virtual assistant.
Having a virtual assistant should be a fulfilling and learning process for you and your virtual assistant. So it is important to initiate and establish a trusting relationship. However, this is possible if you found the right virtual assistant.
VALUE Virtual Assistant understands that business owners — bootstrapped and big enterprises alike — have different remote staff requirements. A virtual assistant in one business may not be the best for another business. It is our main goal to always find the right virtual assistant and match them to the intended qualifications.
A good way to get new talents and grow the profit margin of your bootstrapped business is through outsourcing virtual assistants. In the long term, the service of a virtual assistant can help boost your business faster and expand the available resources you have.
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