Your Competition is Your Costs

Remaining profitable in business is a simple equation — sales revenue exceeding operating costs. In this episode of The REWORK Podcast, 37signals’ co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson explain why controlling costs should be a bigger focus than what your competition is doing. They share some simple strategies for analyzing costs and share why operating without a formal office space might be worth considering.Key Takeaways:00:37 – Why you should stop worrying about what everyone else is doing02:26 – Focusing on the things within your control06:58 – Analyzing your business' cash cows, dogs, and shooting stars11:21 – Budgeting doesn’t always mean being frugal12:24 – Weighing cost against value16:16 – What the company gained by letting go of a physical office space18:31 – Aesthetics of a well-run, profitable business21:06 – The biggest expenses entrepreneurs often overlookLinks and Resources:"You only compete with one thing" from Jason Fried's HEY World"Our cloud-exit savings will now top ten million over five years" from David Heinemeier Hansson's HEY World37signals' meet-up expensesBooks by 37signalsSign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.comHEY World | HEYThe REWORK podcastThe Rework Podcast on YouTubeThe 37signals Dev Blog37signals on YouTube@37signals on X