List of Bootstrappers

Admin

Favorite Quote
The entrepreneur builds an enterprise; the technician builds a job - Michael Gerber

Greatest Challenge
Getting the systems in place to make the business more efficient, which means I can spend less time in the business and more time on the business.

Expert's Advice
Reading and learning about new things in business is useless unless you actively do stuff.

Ryan P. Allis

Byline
Ryan P. Allis is the author of Zero to One Million: How to Build a Company to $1 Million in Sales, and Chief Executive Officer of the Broadwick Corporation. By the time he reached the age of 22, Ryan had already built three companies to $2 million or more in annual sales. His current venture was bootstrapped from a fledging start-up in Chapel Hill, NC, into a leading on-demand email marketing service with over 10,093 customers, 43 employees and $4.5 million in annual sales, backed by venture capital. Ryan was named as one of the "Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25" by Business Week, and recently appeared on the cover of Fortune Small Business.

Dr. Robert Lahm

Byline
Dr. Robert Lahm is a consummate bootstrapper, and the founder of several businesses and Web sites, including BootstrappingStories.com.  He is also an entrepreneurship educator, a public speaker, and a writer. His typical topics include creativity and innovation, careers, startups, and small business marketing.  He believes that all of the years through which he has managed change in his own life have a reason. The purpose of his life’s work is now clear, as he is emerging to become an entrepreneurial thought leader who is helping others learn to achieve their own dreams and full potential. His high-energy style is infectious, and his success oriented messages are reaching more and more students as well as the audiences he has otherwise addressed through his writings, speaking engagements, and Web content.

Favorite Quote
Some people think that a bootstrappable business must by its very nature be a trivial one....They are wrong. - Guy Kawasaki, The Art of the Start

Greatest Challenge
Knowing that I could do so much more, if only the things that I can imagine in a single afternoon could become a reality in an entire year (or in my lifetime). Ideas are easy, implementation is key.

Expert's Advice
Beware of advice expressed in absolute terms, e.g., "Every entrepreneur must...[do this or do that]." Do what you do, and specialize in being who you are. You will need to keep in mind, if you want to make a living, that what you do will have to satisfy someone who is willing to pay. I think entrepreneurs should carefully observe performers, such as street musicians -- these musicians play, and passersby contribute, if they are sufficiently impressed (or they keep walking, if they are not). People will stop and listen when you are playing the right tune. Be yourself, express yourself, create, and "do what you do," but be sure to notice whether or not you are attracting an audience.

Nick Schoonens

Mr. Dickey Eason

Byline
Dickey Eason is the founder, President, and CEO of Marketing to the IMPACTS (TM). An entrepreneur and small business owner, he prides himself on being a tenacious problem-solver and quintessential researcher, and on "making things happen." He knows what it takes to start a business from scratch and make it successful, and he knows what it takes to rebound from a business that dissolves. He also understands the critical needs that all businesses face, including what well may be the most important: properly identifying their customers and developing a thorough, viable plan to reach them.

Shel Horowitz Ethical Marketing Expert

Byline
Award-winning author of Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First and six other books. Copywriter/marketing consultant specializing in affordable, ethical, effective approaches.

techsoldaten

Byline
Managing Partner of Trellon, LLC, a small consulting firm specializing in building online communities. Have bootstrapped the growth of the consulting company over the last 3 years and am preparing to bootstrap the development of hosted applications based on the Drupal platform.