Mentorship from founders who have bootstrapped their startups

The only people who know what it’s like to build a company from nothing are the ones who have done it for themselves.

It takes discipline and resourcefulness and even if you have that there are going to be surprises on the way that will catch you off-guard.

The best way to plan for the journey ahead is to talk to the people who have walked the same path and can give you advice on situations that you may face. Find your way forward by talking to the mentors that have bootstrapped their way to seven figures on a shoestring.

When you’re just getting started, giving away a portion of your business for some cash may be necessary to grow, but anyone who’s done it knows that it hurts.

But with the right idea you may be able to find the capital you need without giving away equity.

Talk to a resourceful growth mentor who can help you find ways to get cash in the door quickly and cut down your expenses to what’s really essential. Find profit early and make every dollar you give out work for you.

Bootstrapping often means keeping your startup lean, running at minimum cost, and maximizing the return on every dollar spent.

Seasoned entrepreneurs who have bootstrapped their own startups will be able to help you find and leverage the right tools to save you time, money and resources. They’ll also have worked with several freelancers/agencies that they can recommend to help you find quality work from affordable sources.

Is your business at the right stage to start looking for outside investment? Do you understand the implications of tying your startup’s future to the needs of your investors?

Raising money is more than just a check that gives your business liquidity, it has implications that extend from how quickly you need to scale to how soon you plan to exit.

A mentor can help you evaluate whether external funding is something you should consider or if maybe it’s better to grind it out until your business is in a better position to scale.

Sometimes boiling your product idea down to its Minimum Viable Product is a quick way to get it to market quickly and start bringing in some cash.

But what features are essential, and which will cost you more time and development money keeping you away from the customers you could be selling to now?

Talk to someone who can give you feedback on your product’s development, and what you need before you can realistically expect to start selling it to customers in a way that you can afford.

Three choices:

• Skype
• Zoom
• Google Hangouts

Mentors and mentees are able to set their communication tools in their profile settings.

It is a good idea to connect with the other person once the session is accepted and the details are given. This ensures that the correct details were given and when it is time to start, you can start on time.

Here are some tips on how to get the maximum bang for your time on growth mentor calls.

• Come into this with realistic expectations. They’re mentors, not magicians.
• Ask your mentor if they’d be cool with you recording your screen with Loom
• Give contextual information to help paint the picture of your current situation.
• Growth mentors will be asking you lots of questions, answer them as honest as possible.
• Don’t be afraid to push the boundaries of question asking. Be inquisitive. Stories are gold.
• Don’t feel pressure, just relax. There’s no right/wrong way to do this. Avoid binary thinking.
• Try to form mental patterns, especially if you speak with multiple mentors. Pay attention to metadata.
• Embrace alternative views. Ask the mentors to play devil’s advocate and challenge your assumptions.
• Be friendly and authentic. If you’re likable, the mentors will be your biggest supporters (even after the call is over).