When people hear the word bootstrapping, they usually think of starting or running a business on a small budget. That would certainly be one application of bootstrapping, but the concept of bootstrapping goes much further.

What is Bootstrapping?

Bootstrapping is using your limited amount of a resource to generate more of the same resource while fueling an endeavor that both requires and creates more of that resource.

The easiest example is the one you are familiar with: I have a little but of money, but not much. I specifically make choices with my money designed to create increase the amount of money I have, usually as quickly as possible. I do that by building a business that will consume more and more money, and generate even more and more money, as time goes on.

I use the limited resource (a little bit of money) to generate just a little bit more, and reinvest that little bit more. Over and over, while building something that will eventually generate ongoing revenue.

That is Financial Bootstrapping. It is the most commonly recognized and celebrated form of Bootstrapping, but it certainly isn’t the only variety.

Technical Bootstrapping

You probably have some amount of technical/computer skill. If you can read and use Google, you can leverage that minor skill into understanding how almost anything works. The number of Bootstrapped steps from “competence” to “Tech God” isn’t as many as you think.

Social Bootstrapping

This is what LinkedIn is all about (and Social Media in general). Surely you have a few friends. Rather than complaining that you only have a few friends, make it a point to use those few friends to make more friends. The more time you spend socializing, the better you become at it, so it becomes easier and easier to make more and more friends.

Time Bootstrapping

You only have one free half-hour a day? Instead of spending it on TV or reading stupid blogs, why not spend it doing something that will help free up more time in the future? Cleaning and organizing, automating certain tasks, creating email filters, meal planning. You’ll create extra time, and develop the habits that create even more time.

Wellness/Energy Bootstrapping

Too tired/lazy/fat/out-of-shape to exercise? What can you do that you’re not doing now? You can probably take a walk around the house. Then maybe in a few weeks a walk around the block. A lot of people understand the gradual nature of fitness, but they don’t usually connect it with Bootstrapping.

Bootstrapping is the way to go in almost any endeavor, because you have to constantly be on the right track. You can tell if things are working or not. The opposite of Bootstrapping is “Throw a lot of [other resource] at it.” Usually money, but it could be time or social capital as well. In that approach, it’s hard to tell if you’re on the right track because you’ll always get some kind of result if you throw a lot of resources at a problem, but you might just be creating a sink for resources.

There are certainly other types of Bootstrapping, and lots of examples of hybrids (usually time/money). How are you bootstrapping your business?

The comics in this post come from the funniest webcomic in the world, XKCD.