Bootstrap Babes

Forbes.com $100K Biz Plan Contest

Win the Money to Finance Your Business Expansion

If you have a written business plan, business plan contests can be a good source of free financing. I've written before about how I won $4,000 in grant money (money that didn't have to be paid back!) to start a new business from entering these contests.

Here's a new one: Forbes.com is offering $100,000 in a "Boost Your Business" business plan contest. If you have at least one employee (besides yourself), you've got a shot!  To be eligible, the entrepreneurs must:

1. have at least one salaried employee, aside from the owner
2. be incorporated (including Limited Liability structures) for less than five (5) years at the time of entry
3. be a for-profit entity
4. have annual revenues between $0 and $5,000,000
5. be a legal resident of the U.S. 

To enter, submit a short statement (no more than 500 words), that includes:

• a description of your business
• a discussion of your business model
• capitalization – how your business is funded
• differentiators – how your business is different from, or better than, your competition
• years of relevant experience (for you and your management team)
• your plan for using the $100,000 prize to “boost your business”

Twenty semi-finalists will be asked to submit a 30-second "elevator pitch" video clip.  Five finalists will submit a detailed business plan and present it to the judges in New York City in October.

Prizes: $100,000 grand prize. The grand prize winner and the other four finalists will also win a HP laptop computer and HP All-in-One printer/fax/copier/scanner.

Deadline: May 31, 2008

To enter or for more information: http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/boostyourbusiness/

Special thanks to my friend Barbara Halpern at Marketing Momentum for the heads up!

Related Posts:

• Win the Money to Start Your Biz!
• Winning Cash: Business Contests for Entrepreneurs

When Your Computer Has a Meltdown

Why YOU Need a Data Backup and Recovery Plan!

Yesterday morning, my computer exploded.

Well technically it didn't "explode" but it might as well have. The system crashed. Ironically, it happened immediately after I installed an update to my Windows software that I downloaded directly from Microsoft's web site. (I can't print here how I'm feeling about Microsoft today! @&^$*!!)

As with most updates, you have to restart your computer after the installation. I restarted, but my computer didn't! I got the dreaded "blue screen of death," followed by the equally gut-wrenching "black screen of let me make sure you know you're dead." Thank God I had all of my data -– my customer database, my documents and projects, and even my family photos -– backed up.

When you're in business for yourself, you have to be responsible for protecting your greatest asset: your data. Unlike when you work for a big corporation, there's no IT staff that automatically backs up the network every day. You have to be proactive, and you have to have a data recovery plan. Your computer will crash, I guarantee it. It's not a matter of "if"; it's a matter of when.

Networking For Dollars

Conferences Cost, But They Pay For Themselves

I know, I know. Airfare prices are jacked up, hotels are overpriced, you can only get gas in exchange for your first child and food prices are out of this world. Still, if your industry has a conference, you need to bootstrap your way there now and then. The Bootstrap Babes bit the bullet last week to attend the 2008 Conference of Handcrafted Soapmakers. (Yes, among our many other talents, we also make beauty products!)

Here we are paling around as business colleagues, friends and sorors. Oo-oop for DST!! (If you don't know what that means, click here to learn more about our sorority.)

We're on a budget, but that doesn't mean we can't scrape together the funds needed for some good old fashioned networking, which always translates into dollars. Here are a few ways networking can work for you personally, professionally and financially.

10 Tips to Green Your Home-Based Business

Save the Planet and Some Money, Too!

In honor of Earth Day, I'd like to share some tips on how we can all reduce waste and be more eco-friendly in our home-based businesses.

Of course, respecting Mother Earth is a worthy goal in and of itself. But frankly (and perhaps a bit selfishly), I have additional motives. With two businesses, I'm sick of the sheer volume of paper that comes into the house. It's driving me nuts! And being a Bootstrap Babe, I'm always on the lookout to save money.

Here are 10 tips to help you green your home-based business:

Save more trees by reducing paper waste.

1. Buy paper products made from recycled materials.

2. Eliminate junk mail. Contact the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and sign up for their Mail Preference Service (i.e. "do not mail" list). Reputable marketers who are DMA members will check their list of names against this database before sending out a mailing. 

Also, you can eliminate those pesky pre-screen pre-screened credit and insurance offers -- and reduce your risk for identity theft -- by signing up at www.optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688). 

3. Reduce paper use by paying bills online, printing on both sides of your paper, re-using those orphan sheets of paper from web print-outs that only have one or two useless lines of text on them, and saving/sending more documents electronically. Be sure to use a good, automated backup system, of course. (I use Carbonite.)

What Every Freelancer Should Know

Catherine Price Offers Practical and Funny Tips for the Self-Employed

My DC Web Women colleague Chris Raymond shared this article with me today, and I wanted to share it with you. In her piece "What Every Freelancer Should Know", Salon.com's Catherine Price offers 13 handy tips for self-employed people. There's lots of good info here, including tax preparation, personal finance, health insurance, and maintaining your sanity while working from home.

My favorite is Tip #11:

Do not own a coffeemaker. I know this goes against the wisdom of those budgeting articles (the money you save on lattes could pay for your child's college education!). But it's critical for your mental health to leave the house at least once a day and interact with real, live humans -- even if you are only talking about Starbucks. So here's a compromise: Identify the cheapest drink that you enjoy. Then calculate how much it costs -- in my case, $1.50 for iced tea -- compared to a $100 therapy session in which you talk about how lonely and depressed you are. My guess? That iced tea is a bargain.

Good stuff!

Best Cities For Bootstrap Babes

Where's Your Boot Strapped?

I'm feeling pretty smart these days, not only because business is bootstrap-ooming, but because a few years ago, I pulled up stakes and hired a moving company to transport my family from our beloved hometown of Washington, DC to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Why was that so smart? Lots of reasons, but one is because Forbes Small Business (FSB) says Charlotte is among the too 100 best places in the nation to live in and launch a small business.

FSB says it developed its list of 100 cities by comparing economic conditions, local tax rates, existing business start up activities, lifestyle aesthetics, availability of affordable housing and access to cultural activities. Washington, DC is my hometown so I don't have much to say about the cultural activities in Charlotte. But other than that, Forbes is right on.

Here are the Top 10 cities, according to FSB:

1. Bellevue, Wash.
2. Georgetown, Texas
3. Buford, Ga.
4. Marina del Rey, Calif.
5. Bethesda, Md.
6. Portland, Ore.
7. Denver
8. Charlotte
9. Fort Worth
10. Franklin, Mass.

Now that I think of it, Charlotte may be ranked a little low in the scheme of things. I moved from near Bethesda (near Washington, DC), to Union County (just outside Charlotte) in part because housing prices in the DC area are outrageous. Prices are much more affordable in Charlotte. Yesterday, the Charlotte Observer reported that Union County ranked this year as the seventh fastest-growing county in the country, thanks in part to reasonable home priced.

To read the full FSB report and see all 100 cities, click here.

3 Low-Cost Ways to Put Your Biz in the Spotlight

Marketing Pro Mia Jackson Offers Advice for Bootstrappers 

Mia Jackson

When you need to increase visibility for your company but have limited funds, coming up with creative publicity ideas can be challenging. So this Bootstrap Babe turned to my good friend Mia Jackson, president of DORO Marketing Services, LLC in Bethesda, Md., for advice. In addition to great marketing and publicity campaigns for her corporate and small business clients, Mia snagged some premium national exposure for her own company in USA Today and on NBC's Dateline.

Mia offered these three tips:

1. Woo Your Weekly Locals!

"I bet that you pick up that local weekly newspaper or magazine in your grocery store, by the transit stops along your commute or sometimes delivered to your door," says Mia. "Find the editors and writers who focus on your area of expertise and send them your pitch. Make sure that they know you're available for the expert opinion or a quick quote when they need one. And don't forget the radio giveaways. Hosts love to treat their loyal listeners."

2. Blog Your Way National

"Internet tools can spread your message in a measured, precise way. But stick to your area of expertise," she cautions. "If you're selling toothpaste, sure your blog can talk feature topics like sugar, braces, and choosing a dentist. Don’t talk about the new car you bought. Train your users to come to your blog, newsletter or website as their handy, reliable information provider." 

I couldn’t agree with Mia more. You're reading our Bootstrap Babes blog now, aren't you?!

3. Community-Minded Marketing

"Join with other small businesses to sponsor a little league baseball team or the new mirror for the ballet school," she recommends. "What better way to use your marketing dollars? You benefit the community, give to causes you believe in and grow your company. The parents and potential customers will love you for it.

"Remember -- consistency and follow-through is key!"

That's great advice!

We want to hear from you -- what are some ways you raised your company's visibility without spending a lot of money? Post your comment and tell us about it!

Wine and Dine Your Clients without Breaking the Bank

5 Easy Ways to Stretch Your Client Entertainment Dollars

Meeting and entertaining clients is a necessity if you're in sales or a service business. (Shoot, every entrepreneur is in sales!)

But what to do if you're on a tight budget?

Here are my five tips to save on meeting your clients over food: 

1. Remember that lunch is cheaper than dinner, and coffee is cheaper than lunch.

2. Become a regular at one or two local spots. That way, the wait staff gets to know you and is more likely to give you great service and the little extras that stretch your dollar further and impress your client.

3. Donate to your local public radio station and get a MemberCard. In 170 U.S. cities, this card will get you two-for-one entrées or admission at local hot spots –- there are more than 12,000 participating restaurants and entertainment venues, including opera, theater, and golf.

Marketing Lessons from the Girl Scouts

What Entrepreneurs Everywhere Can Learn from Cookie-Hawking Girls

It’s Girl Scout cookie time! Seeing the Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts set up to sell cookies in front of my local grocery store conjures up great memories for me. Camping, sing-alongs, and lasting friendships. I learned a lot from selling cookies – perhaps that’s what planted the seed of entrepreneurship in me at an early age. 

But as I approached the grocery store, I saw these little girls in a different light. They were enormously successful at what they were doing. That’s when I realized the Girl Scouts were employing some simple marketing rules that all of us grown-up entrepreneurs could learn from:

1. Start with a great product.
If you’ve ever tasted a Girl Scout cookie, you already know they’re absolutely delicious. If you haven’t, beware of those Thin Mints! Ain’t nothing thin about gobbling them down by the box-full – you can’t eat just one! But I digress… The product is phenomenal and the price is right. 

Make sure you’re selling what people want to buy, and not just selling what you want to sell!

2. Tell your story.
The girls at the selling table were quick to tell me about all the great things they did with their troop and how my purchase would support their activities. 

Every business, product or service has a unique story. What’s yours? Share your story and your passion with your customers and build loyalty.

Bootstrap Babes' "Honey Do" List

Things Honey Can Do To Help You Save Money

Regardless of your marital status, you either have a Honey or someone who can stand in as one when it comes to helping out with your business. Honey may or may not dip into his coffers to finance your business, but there are lots of other things Honey can do to save you time -- which as we know, often translates into money.

This list is compiled from the top things I ask my Honey to do on a regular basis. He does some things more willingly than others, but whatever the case, his help saves me a lot of time. And money.

PS - Honey can be a him or a her. I'm using "him" since that's what applies in my case.