Start With What You Need (and ONLY What You Need)

It's also way too easy to start out with too much stuff.

A couple of examples.

When we were outfitting our second B&B, we figured we would need two sets of sheets and pillowcases for each bed - one on the bed and one in the laundry.

But, remember, we had to put every spare penny into the down payment on the house.

Halfway through our trip to the DISCOUNT bedding store, we realized we were not going to be able to outfit the place properly.

So, for the first season and a half, we had one set per bed.  This meant that as a soon as the guests checked out at 11:00, we'd race through the house, stripping the beds and getting the laundry going.  We had four hours to get everything washed, dried and back on the beds before check-in at three. 

Crazy?  Oh, yeah.  But doable.  It kept us from losing our house.  And it made buying that second set of sheets (a year and a half later) SO much sweeter.

The other example was the cash register for the bakery.

I had it in my head that we really, really needed one.  Alan said no.  And certainly not right away.  So when we opened the bakery, we used a shoebox to hold the money.

I quickly realized that Alan was right.  We didn't need a cash register.  It was a simple business and as long as we kept careful records for the tax department, we were fine.

And able to afford another dinner out.