BUSINESS BOOTSTRAPPING: Advice from a couple that started their own business. It was risky. They spent their life savings. They didn’t get a paycheck for four years. They pulled if off. How? Scrimped, worked, adapted…worked. “There were times when we were both delirious with sleep deprivation.” Typical? The abstract elements are typical. The experience is always unique.

Excerpt:

Everyone starts out building a company pretty much the same way – brimming with pride about their new idea, eager to gush their intentions to anyone who will listen. But time has a tendency to separate the entrepreneurs from the “wantrepreneurs”. Success in business usually takes a little luck, but more than anything it takes hard work and the determination to do whatever it takes . For me that meant transitioning from a cushy desk job to scrubbing pots in a commercial kitchen in the middle of the night. For years we couldn’t afford to pay anyone else to do the dirty work, so we either did it ourselves or we stalled. To bootstrap successfully, you’ll need to drop any notions about low-level or high level tasks; everything is important and it’s all on you.