About that rock and a hard place

We all know the road to entrepreneurship is not an easy one. Anyone who leads you to believe their business was an overnight success is lying. It takes vision, determination, resilience and, yes…. capital.

Most new women entrepreneurs bootstrap their new endeavor. While this seems logical on the surface, if you are not wise to how to generate capital when you need it, you might find yourself between that rock and a hard place–unable to grow or invest because you don’t have the capital you need to succeed.

Believe me, that is a VERY uncomfortable place to be.

Most of the coaches, consultants and speakers I work with find themselves in this boat at one time or another. But you can avoid getting stuck here by following a few simple practices.

How to avoid the rock and a hard place and generate the capital you need to succeed

1- Bank your startup. If you are bootstrapping your new business, be sure you have at least 12-18 months of working capital in the bank when you start. That includes putting food on your table and a roof over your head. It’s a smart idea to get a line of credit while you still have an income and low debt. Having a line of credit available that you might not use, but is available when you need it, is gold. No money. No mission.

2- Make wise investments. The most important initial investment is in a business strategy that will generate immediate revenue and a longer term strategy that gets you real traction. Invest in doing the market research upfront to get your program or service sold. If you don’t have a narrowly defined market and a tested service offering that is priced right, you will set yourself up for struggle. This is investment #1. (You don’t need a super fancy expensive website when you start out – it will cost time and money you don’t yet have. Best to get a minimum presence on the web until you know what you are selling).

3- Reverse engineer your goal. Once you have a 12-month goal in place, reverse engineer your strategy. If your goal is to generate $100K your first year, how will you get there? What is the average value of a client? What are your sales triggers to get more new clients? How do you get repeat work from existing clients? A revenue goal is just a number if you don’t have a roadmap to get there.

4- Cultivate strategic partnerships. Having partners who also play in your market but offer different services is a fast and easy way to create a consistent lead stream. You might want to create reciprocal referral arrangements or even a referral partner program where you offer a commission on each referral that converts to becoming a client. Cultivate a small but active community of partners.

5- Master your money mindset. Fear about not having enough money takes your eye off the prize of generating more capital and being able to invest in the services and opportunities you need to grow. Keep focused on your 3-year goal. Set aside time everyday to connect with people who can be powerful referral partners. If you are already generating more than $100K and can show a profit, consider a small business loan. If you can’t invest in your business, you can’t grow.

Entrepreneurship is all about the hustle

Connecting to the right people. Having the right message. Showing up in the right places. Building the right team. Making strategic investments. Being seen and heard. This is how you thrive as an entrepreneur.

There is no entrepreneur I know who wants to pack it all up and go back and get a job. For most, that isn’t even an option.

Which of the five strategies mentioned in the blog will be your next big move? Comment below and share your plan… you are more likely to get it done if you have someone on your team to hold you accountable. 😉 I can also share resources that might be exactly what you need…

To your success!