4 Ways to Successfully Build a Bootstrapped Business The willingness and patience to grow at a smaller scale allows you the freedom to grow without outside pressure while retaining full ownership of your company and future vision.

Many aspiring entrepreneurs think the key to growing a successful company is linked to the ability to secure investor funding. For some businesses this may be true, but many successful companies have been built from the ground up with no outside investment or support, aka bootstrapping. It takes great dedication, strong work ethic, sweat equity and an immense amount of drive to bootstrap a business to success.

Today, the majority of entrepreneurs are bootstrapping their companies. One recent report found that of the 202 million working-age adults in the United States, 27 percent are either running a business they own and manage or starting such a business. Of these, 33.1 million are in the entrepreneurial phase (starting or running a business for less than three and a half years). Now consider that venture capital is used by only 0.5 percent of those 33.1 million entrepreneurs for startup capital.

Growing a business using a self-sustaining approach requires a strong vision for the company, supported by a focus on several key areas. These include developing a sustainable business model, prioritizing customer acquisition and retention, building transparency into the company's DNA, and strategically expanding the company's footprint and offerings.