Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening,
everybody, and welcome to today's episode of
an audio -exclusive version of the Never Peak
Project Podcast. I'm your host, Coach Ranger,
and today we're diving into something that is
very close to my heart, building a dream when
you don't have a lot of money. Now, if you followed
my journey, you know that last year I did an
adventure where I walked 2 ,642 miles across
the United States of America. Now, I didn't have
a huge sponsor. I didn't have any miracle advantage
on my side. I didn't have a big budget. All I
really had was a cart, a backpack, and the belief
that I would figure it out one step at a time.
And really... I think that that is something
that can be applied to business as well. Whether
you're in the ideation phase, the initial startup,
building, scaling, etc. Bootstrapping and being
resourceful is something that we can use at any
stage of the game. So really, here's my guiding
question for you today. What if you didn't need
a big bank account to build a big impact? This
episode is all about the mindset, tools, and
creative strategies that help you start scrappy.
but strong. Before we get too much further into
it, let's really start with the term bootstrapping.
Now, that comes from the old saying, pull yourself
up by your bootstraps. And what that originally
meant was doing something impossible, like lifting
yourself up off the ground by your own boots.
But over time, it's come to mean starting something
without help, just your own grit, creativity,
and effort. Now, bootstrapping means doing more
with less. It's not about being cheap. It's about
being smart. It's about creativity, resourcefulness,
and hustle. So, for example, when I was on the
walk, I quickly learned that I didn't need everything
people told me I did. Now, sure, investing in
backpack and shoes need to be top tier. But my
sunglasses or water bottle? didn't need to be
the most expensive fancy stuff that was out there.
It didn't need to be this ultra light, ultra
SPF resistant thing. It's just the basic materials.
And I really do think that that same thing goes
for business. And in one of my previous episodes,
I talked about this concept that I call the guy
in the cave. Now, the guy in the cave mindset
is essentially that somewhere, somewhere out
there, someone is making it happen. They're doing
the thing that you want to do with much less.
They're in a cave, they have no running water,
no electricity, but they're studying, they're
practicing, they're working out, and they're
going to do the thing that you want to do. And
the idea is that you have so much more than that
other person does. So why not take advantage
of that? Why compare yourself to people that
are leaps and bounds ahead of you, as opposed
to just making whatever you can happen? happen.
If they can do it, so can you. And there is a
light point that I want to touch on today is
don't be afraid of having a job while you're
in this bootstrapping process. Right now, I'm
over here at the Chamber of Commerce in Half
Moon Bay, and this role has been influential
and huge in terms of meeting new people, networking,
discovering software tools that I can use, and
staying focused on my coaching on off days. Now
really the mindset shift there is when you are
pulling yourself up by the bootstraps, sometimes
you do need a little bit of external help in
the way of a quote unquote real job. Job isn't
the end goal, but it can be the bridge that gets
you from where you are to where you want to be.
Moving to the next part of this, there are some
practical strategies that I would recommend if
you want to start on a budget. You want to start
your business off. Now, the very first thing
that comes to mind is start with services based
off of what you already know. Instead of jumping
straight into a product, maybe take the years
of experience that you have, whether it is through
your college, whether it's through your education,
or just unique things that you have done. The
idea is that you want to find a problem that
you have solved in your life, and then find some
kind of service where you help other people solve
that problem. For example, there's coaching,
consulting, teaching, design, writing. The idea
here is that the only input that you're really
putting into it is your own time, energy, and
knowledge. That is a great way to start lean.
Instead of having to buy all the materials and
the way things you need to build a product and
dealing with shipping and handling and all these
other things, it's just about starting with something.
And with that, I would take the Alex Ramosi approach
of starting off for free and then scaling up
from there. My initial coaching clients that
I had while I was in coach certification or even
before that were hugely influential in terms
of giving me feedback, confidence, and proof
of concept that the model in the coaching works.
People were able to get results and i was able
to get testimonials and see what works and doesn't
work before i even spent money on branding or
web design or anything else really another thing
is to build up an mvp or minimum viable product
your mvp is much more important than the perfect
product now what i mean by that is really just
need to understand What is the minimum amount
of information that I need to know in order to
start this venture? What is the minimum amount
of product I need in order to start the business?
Now, a way that I've kind of talked about that
before is with the tomato example. So if you
haven't heard that before, essentially it goes,
if you want to learn how to grow tomato, you
could sit there for. days, weeks, months, years,
studying and learning everything that you can
about the tomato. You can hire consultants, you
can talk to experts, you can watch videos, you
can read books. But by the time you figure out
how to really grow a tomato, it's the end of
the season and you have no more tomatoes now
than you did at the beginning. So that's where
finding out the minimum amount of information
you need to know comes super in. to play. You
can just read some information on the back of
the packet, maybe read a book or two, watch a
couple YouTube videos to know that the tomatoes
only go down in the soil about a quarter inch,
that you need to plant them somewhere that gets
plenty of sun or moisture, or making sure that
you have the capabilities to water it every day.
It's just the idea of taking imperfect action
rather than waiting for the perfect opportunity
to do so. The idea... really can be summed up
with you'll learn more by doing so get out there
and make something happen be directionally correct
then adjust from there rather than waiting for
the moment that you can take perfect action because
that moment is never going to come. The other
thing that I would suggest is to really take
advantage of free tools like Google Docs, Canva,
Stripe, Zoom, Calendly, Square. These are all
foundational tools that I used very early on
and still use. I only recently started to upgrade
to the premium versions of things like Canva,
Calendly, Zoom. Once I started to get more traction,
it was very easy to potentially sign up for those
premium versions. at the very beginning. But
honestly, for a solo printer that's just starting
out, that freemium, that try -before -you -buy
kind of mentality with a lot of these SaaS programs,
software as a service, is super helpful. Because
I think you should also start with the freemium
version because you will learn the pool much
more effectively than with the premium version.
There are a couple tools that I'm using right
now where I've just been using the base level
free aspects, even though I'm paying for it,
and just started to learn how to use the more
advanced stuff. I kind of wish that I had waited
to upgrade to the premium version until I really
mastered those freemium assets. because then
I could have taken more advantage of the premium
aspects once I started to pay for it. Another
thing that I look out for, number four, is for
free resources and nonprofits that are there
to help you on your entrepreneurial journey.
Things like the Small Business Development Center
or the Renaissance Center that offer free business
consulting. If you are somewhere that has a Small
Business Development Center, SBDC, Be sure that
you reach out as soon as possible, regardless
of how long you've been in business, because
there could be some really great resources there
to help you take your business to the next level.
And I started off with the Valley Sierra SBDC
over in Modesto. I got a free business coach
that was able to help me answer all my questions.
You know, should I do an LLC or a sole proprietorship?
Should I start this? What insurance do I need?
What licenses? What paperwork needs to be filed?
She was super helpful in helping me get the answers
quickly and personalized for my situation. I
was also able to get a website developer through
the SBDC, and she was able to help me get my
website up and going. Now, the other great thing
is she taught me how to use the tools rather
than just doing it all for me like a service
would. Now, I'm much more empowered to make changes
and make edits rather than if I had just paid
someone. There's a smaller chance that they would
have taken the time to teach me how to do it.
Number five is build in public. Don't wait till
everything is polished. Don't wait until everything
is perfect. Share your progress, your ideas,
your struggles, your behind the scenes moments.
Now, I am doing that on my own on my social media.
I try to share, you know, oh, I'm in the podcasting
room. I'm batching content today or up here.
I am giving a presentation or a speech or something.
I think that people really do value that authenticity
and it gets you out of your mind and reminds
you that everybody is out here building. Everybody
is doing the best that they can. And maybe something
that you share in your bootstrapping behind the
scenes story can help someone else out. And in
turn, if they share something, it can help you
out as well. I think that sharing your progress
and the things that you're learning behind the
scenes can really show that you are. working
to make a difference every day and get 1 % better.
The next portion is to get creative with capital.
You don't always need cash to get to the next
level. Sometimes you just need to get creative.
For example, you could do a little bit of bartering.
I am a mindset coach that helps entrepreneurs,
nonprofit leaders get out of their own way and
defeat their own self -sabotaging voice so that
they can create their vision and turn it into
action that is something that i was able to trade
with one of my friends that does videography
i took him into a program i did it for him for
free helped him out a little bit and then he
is offering me a couple of videos for free and
at discounted rates so that was a fantastic way
for me to grow my impact and get the content
that I was already recording out into the world
in a more polished fashion. So I think that if
you were able to find ways to barter with people
in your network, whether it is, you know, trading
cookies for help with your website or feng shui
-ing somebody's house, and then they help you
with your roof. I think that there are plenty
of ways and opportunities for you to take the
service that you have already that's valuable
and trade it with another valuable business so
that you can both get what you need to get done.
done. And when it comes to being creative with
capital, I think at the very beginning, it's
okay to ask for support. Friends, family, they
might want to support you. And I think that being
clear on what kind of support you're looking
for goes a huge way. Whether it is helping you
man your first booth at a tabling event, sharing
content, commenting, liking, subscribing, just
knowing that The value that people provide to
you isn't always monetary, but sometimes it is
just their time and energy is also valuable.
I think also being clear that you should reward
that. Tell them thank you. Acknowledge them.
Let them know that you do really appreciate it
because a thank you, whether it is in person,
picking up the phone and calling them or sending
them a letter, really does go a huge way. The
other thing is to be on the lookout for grants
and programs. So like I mentioned earlier with
the Small Business Development Center and Renaissance,
there are opportunities out there for small businesses
to get grant funding. I was able to get a $5
,000 grant through the California Dream Fund
a few years ago when I was first starting my
business. And that was insanely impactful and
useful in terms of getting through the initial
documentation, licensing, and my coaching certification.
If I hadn't gotten that $5 ,000, I'm not sure
that I would be able to get everything off the
ground like I did. So again, reach out to these
local organizations whose job it is to provide
that information to small business owners and
ask for support to make it happen. The other
thing with getting creative with capital is to
remember that income from your day job is also
capital. That is a way for you to fund money
into your business operations. Really just don't
underestimate the value of having a steady paycheck
while you're in that building phase. For me,
having the job at the county for a few years
was fantastic. Right now, working at the Chamber
of Commerce here in Half Moon Bay is giving me
a ton of structure, inspiration, and tools that
I can take into my business and use to make the
impact that I really want to see in the world.
I think that I'm going to have a career coach
on here in a few weeks, so be sure that you subscribe
so that you get notified when I am on the pod
with her. But really, Remember that having a
job is not admitting defeat or failure. It's
a means to an end. It's not a detour. It is the
route to make it happen. So really, I would say
that those are the major tips. I just want to
give you some practical strategies to get started
on a budget and to get creative with your capital.
Remember that I have my free ebook down below
in the description. It's 50 pages. It's my walking
towards success. Nine lessons I learned from
walking across the United States of America.
Plenty of mindset tips, tricks, and stories to
inspire you and get you started on your path
to the life that you want to live. And I would
super appreciate if you could leave a rating
and review on this podcast. If the more ratings,
the more listeners that we have, the more this
message gets out to people that might need to
hear it. I appreciate it. As always, remember,
the best is yet to come as long as you make the
decision every single day to never settle, never
quit, and never peak. I'll see you guys in the
next one.