Creeping Expenses

What a great response to my recent blog post, "I Will Lose Everything." And what great ideas from the people who posted comments. Yes, factoring, or any other type of receivable financing, was one of the things I was trying to allude to. I was particularly taken by Jennifer's suggestion of brainstorming with an outside business person or friend who has no interest in your business and can give you a better perspective. The outsider carries no baggage and can often see things that the person running the business can't. When people come to me, that's exactly what I try to do. I also agree with Roger that most people -- myself included -- don't look closely enough at their expenses. I use the expression "creeping expenses." When we start a business, we tend to pay attention to every dollar. Over time, you lose that focus and expenses start to creep up. At our company, at the end of every 12 months we now take another look at all of our expenses and reevaluate them to make sure they're in line. It's amazing what you can find.