I would really like to see a revival of the path to lifestyle businesses. It's kind of bizarre that it's nearly impossible to start one without putting your entire life at risk. We see these bizarre VC-istan gambits (most of which flame out utterly) because you can start one of those without risking savings and personal liability, but not a lifestyle business. That's bizarre and weird.
Lifestyle business != zombie. A zombie startup is a get-big-or-die beast in which the major stakeholders have lost faith, and for which growth is unlikely.
On the other hand, a lifestyle business capable of generating a mere 1% per week, reliably, is doing well. That's a doubling every 16 months. As long as the company keeps headcount and scope from growing too fast, that's fine.
For headcount growth, anything more than 20% per year is usually unhealthy. It is very difficult for a company to keep a good culture at a faster growth rate.
We need to be realistic. Not everything that is useful can grow at 10% per week, and people who don't want to spend 4 years of their life creating a build-to-flip get-big-or-die venture shouldn't be shut out of entrepreneurship in the way that they are now.
because you can start one of those without risking savings and personal liability, but not a lifestyle business.
Why do you think so? There are quite few types of startups (web based SaaS businesses in particular) that can be built with a minimal investment, bootstrapped while working a $DAYJOB, and entail little personal liability. And creating an LLC as a shield against personal loss isn't terribly expensive either. I'd argue that most people who aren't living in outright poverty could make a reasonable stab at building a business 37 Signals style.
How do you bootstrap a business without a decent amount of savings and a sizable economic and social safety net? And the whole point of michaelochurch's comment was that some/most people can't bootstrap their business.
How do you bootstrap a business without a decent amount of savings and a sizable economic and social safety net?
You work a dayjob, or consult part-time, and build the startup in the rest of your time. It's what I'm doing, and while it's tough, I think anybody who's really committed to their startup would be willing to make that kind of sacrifice.
Or maybe you have a spouse that works full-time, while you work on the startup fulltime. Or maybe you raise a FFF round. There's more than one way to skin a cat.
This is made even worse by jurisdictions where employers can claim rights over side projects.
Pay the couple of hundred bucks to have a lawyer review your current employment agreements vis-a-vis "Intellectual Property" and let you know where you stand. If your employer has grounds to claim your independent work, negotiate a new agreement. If they won't negotiate, find a new job. Or quit and consult part time, or work as a short-order cook or barista while doing your startup... I doubt O'Malley's Irish Pub is interested in your startup's IP.
Starting an online business is cheaper than ever. Beyond that, you live below your means for a couple years and save up the money.
And, about side projects: work on them on your own time, on your own equipment, and don't compete with your employer. (And most importantly, don't brag to your coworkers about your moonlighting ventures.)
How much money does anyone need to start these days? Are you referring to a manufacturing business that requires initial significant funding for machines and supplies?
Lifestyle business != zombie. A zombie startup is a get-big-or-die beast in which the major stakeholders have lost faith, and for which growth is unlikely.
On the other hand, a lifestyle business capable of generating a mere 1% per week, reliably, is doing well. That's a doubling every 16 months. As long as the company keeps headcount and scope from growing too fast, that's fine.
For headcount growth, anything more than 20% per year is usually unhealthy. It is very difficult for a company to keep a good culture at a faster growth rate.
We need to be realistic. Not everything that is useful can grow at 10% per week, and people who don't want to spend 4 years of their life creating a build-to-flip get-big-or-die venture shouldn't be shut out of entrepreneurship in the way that they are now.