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Adversity and startup lessons

These last 18 months besides running iFusion, I’ve been privy to an executive’s bumpy professional journey that had recently found a good ending. As with most things in life, it is from the journey and how we travel it that defines us and from which we derive life’s most important lessons. I will be sharing some of these lessons, which have broad applicability to entrepreneurs and managers, over the next few posts.

Cash Flow is King But What if Image is Queen?

In any entrepreneurial endeavor, cash flow reigns supreme. Wait as long as you can to commit to office space, hardware purchases, etc. This may seem like a no-brainer for tech entrepreneurs but isn’t as commonplace as one would think in other industries.

This rule of thumb is particularly difficult to adhere to in the professional services industry where cultivating an ‘image’ is so important and there is nothing that creates a positive first impression as the right business address. The real estate malaise is the entrepreneur’s best bargaining chip. Excellent Class A space can be gotten in a sublease at an extremely affordable rate. The folks at Pardot and Brown Bag Marketing have done well in this area.  Both companies were able to move into office spaces that were vacated prematurely by companies that had either shut down or were acquired.

Under no circumstances should you commit to more space than you need, even if you have prospects in the pipeline that could warrant the addition of more staff. I may lean more conservative in my financial practices but in this leasor’s market, there is no good reason to pay for more office space than needed unless the contract has been signed and I would argue when the deposit check has cleared.

I am sure there are other tips around office space and cash flow. Add yours below.

Image by Luisella Planeta LOVE PEACE 💛💙 from Pixabay

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