Can you halve the number you first think you need? "How much money do you need?" This is the question that entrepreneurs are so often asked.
The better question is "How little money will get you going?" All too often huge amounts of energy are devoted to building a plan to fund the startup, rather than starting right away.
The sooner you get selling, the sooner you'll know how customers react.
They will almost do the planning for you.
Better still, sales produce cash.
Cash can provide funding for the next steps.
Can you start sooner than you think? "I will start the business when the time is right.
" How often have you heard that? The so-called right time, they suggest, is 'when the economy recovers', 'when the prototype is perfect', 'before the new season starts', and most frequently, 'when I have got the money together'.
The trouble is that the time will never be better than now.
That is because you don't have a business until it has revenue.
Cash flow will be a huge factor in business success.
Being able to at least cover the costs will mean that the business can survive another day.
Another day will give you the space to survive till the economy does recover, perfect the prototype, the new season does start, or whatever the reason for delaying the start has come to pass.
Bootstrappers Top 10 Pulling your business up by the bootstraps is not the easy way out, but these top 10 tips will help you avoid delay:

1. Sell like a hustler; nothing beats revenue for keeping your need for finance down;
2. Manage your cash like a miser; count your dollars daily; do not accept late payments and offer discounts for same day settlements;
3. Watch your costs like a hawk; if you don't spend a penny, you don't need to raise one;
4. Buy like a pro; get every discount going and lease rather than buy-it spreads the cost;
5. Offer services like a consultant, before your product is ready; it costs nothing to make;
6. Get paid electronically like a geek; cash arrives faster;
7. Camp like a Bedouin-use minimalist office space, like a branch of McDonald's with wifi;
8. Arrange finance when it's not needed, like Noah; it's easier than when the cash runs out;
9. Hire virtual staff, don't take on payroll-avoid commitment, use them like a faucet;
10. Share resources like a commune; expensive equipment costs money when it's idle.
    

You're going to change the world, so make sure you keep dreaming; you need to know where you're going, so keep the data flowing; remember that without dollars you're not in business, so if in doubt, sell; it'll never be like you think, so be prepared to be dogged-and spend as little as you can.