Over the past two decades, the companies I have run have helped tens of thousands of entrepreneurs pay off their credit cards, pay down their student loans and in total have saved them millions of dollars empowering them to have the financial freedom to create amazing business.
I’ve also learned valuable lessons by counseling hard-working people who make more with that they have got. The most valuable lesson of all: Always squeeze the last drop out of a dollar – no matter how many you have.
That seems so basic, but I’ve noticed many of my fellow entrepreneurs lose their way as they climb the ladder of success. Let me explain…
1. Frugality is a state of mind.
When I launched my first business, it was just me. My budget was so tight that my office was a former janitor’s closet. I haggled over the price of a used file cabinet. I had enough money to spend more, but I didn’t need to. I wanted to focus on my new business cash flow, not impress people.
Now that I run businesses with hundreds of employees, I still keep that mindset. I make sure my employees have comfortable office furnishings, but it’s not luxurious. If something can be fixed instead of thrown out, we do so — even if the cost of repair isn’t a marked savings over the price of new.
Why? Because I want everyone I work with to consider the value of the dollars that aren’t their own — because that’s the only way to pass along savings to the clients. Why should employees save money for the company if it doesn’t appear the company is saving money itself?
2. Frugality is the antidote to hypocrisy.
Of course, my employees would resent me if I sat them in comfortable but old desks while I lounged in a palatial office. I do have a corner office — overlooking an alleyway on one side and a roof of another building on the other.
My office is set up for my comfort and the comfort of those I meet with. I don’t care about impressing visitors…