If you are interested in starting a business, or have one that you’ve started that you want to grow, you need to read this article. It’s called Bootstrapping: The Secret to Entrepreneurial Success. It’s common sense in a number of ways.

I know a number of people who start businesses the MBA way… “let’s do all of the research, get some funding for our plan, and then crank out the software…”

While the idea of getting venture capital is a good one, and does have a track record of working, it upsets me because it assumes from the start that your business won’t make money without being big first. A business should make money from day one.

I define “Bootstrapping” as the act of starting a business with little or no external funding. Bootstrappers don’t write lengthy business plans, chase deep-pocketed investors, or indulge in overly academic market research exercises. Instead, they focus all of their considerable energy, brainpower, determination and skills on creating a business that can actually succeed in the real world.