Rei Kawakubo Quotes

First, you should take money and have plenty of money fueling your tank. But money becomes dangerous if you assume it's going to keep coming. Make sure you can get your burn rate to a sustainable level if you hit the brakes hard, within 90 days.

Your team has to understand that coming into the ABA, you have to have your investments right and sponsorships and people ready to give you money so they can back you up.

Small businesses have told us that having cash in their pocket is one of the primary things that they need.

I'm not saying M.B.A.s can't be great entrepreneurs. They can. But you don't need a degree to figure out it's costing you $5,000 per month to run your business, so you need $30,000 to keep it going for six more months.

I've made a payroll. I know what it's like to execute a business plan. I know what it's like to expect the proper return on investment... and I know you can't spend your way out of debt.

Most entrepreneurs come up with a product, or they come up with an idea and they think they can be successful with it. But if they don't know the financial side of their business and understand credit and working capital and what it takes money-wise, you can't be successful. The product is just a product.

The first aspect of a business that you need to make it work well is money. Once the money aspect is flowing, you can freely work on other aspects.

If the cash runs out, it's like a heart attack for you and your business. Keep that front and centre of your mind, and you will have financial security and not be struggling to pay the bills.

One thing I never thought about in my big-company job? Cash flow. When your business has billions of dollars in revenue, you can make a lot of mistakes and still have a viable business. But in a startup, make a few hiring mistakes, and you can find yourself in real jeopardy fast.

You will always need more capital than you think, because it will always take you longer to reach profitability than you can imagine.

I always encourage our people and young business people that I meet to have a respect for cash, keeping some in their pockets and purses at all times. To me, that's essential.

If you're not staying on top of your money, you are putting your financial well-being at risk.

When I got a deposit on my very first cake, I took that deposit and I bought some cake mix with it. I've never taken a loan - ever. And we're doing this expansion just like everything we've done in this bakery as we've grown. If we weren't able to afford paying for something cash, we didn't buy it.

You have to spend a lot to make a lot. It's not like I'm sitting on top of a pile of money.

You have to manage money. Particularly with market economies. You may have a great product, but if your bottom line goes bust, then that's it.

Between calculated risk and reckless decision-making lies the dividing line between profit and loss.

Landing a million-dollar investment for your startup is exhilarating. But as big as that number sounds, it doesn't go far. Many startups just getting off the ground won't have a CFO to monitor finances. It doesn't take much for spending to spiral out of control.

It'd be nice to make lots of money but it's quite difficult, because every time I make lots of money I make a bigger piece that costs lots of money.

I consider each business investment based on concept and revenue.

The key, I think, from a business point of view, is to learn how to be efficient in making a record that's not too expensive, so that you're not going crazy spending tons of money making a product that might not ever return that money.

If you don't operate it as a business, you aren't going to be around very long.

If you don’t balance your budget in business, you go out of business.

It's rare for a startup to make money immediately, so you need to make sure that you have enough saved or that you have another income stream that can support you.

If my businesses or my investments are not profitable, then I don't eat. And I like to eat.

Remember, if your business isn't making money, then you and your employees aren't, either.