This week ADP stated that 693,000 jobs had been lost in the month of December, and the U.S. Department of Labor stated this morning that unemployment has reached 7.2%, a 15-year high. Those are some gigantic numbers – terrifying actually. And the Fed says it’s only going to get worse this quarter, and potentially longer. Is it any surprise? Americans have been spending spending spending for years now, piling up debt, and living their lives on a credit score. Is it because of deregulation? Who knows. The fact of the matter now is that we’re now paying dearly for this recklessness in the form of job losses, bankruptcies, foreclosures, homelessness, and much more to come.

Everyone needs to smarten up, fast. Individuals, companies, no one is excluded fro this. If you weren’t aware of this a few months ago, in late Q3, you better damn well wake up! I was shocked the other day to learn that a friend of mine is actually quite clueless about all this. He’s a bit insulated from it where he lives and in his line of work, but no one is really insulated from this. My wife works at Harvard University, which recently saw its endowment cut substantially, losing 8% or $12B. For the first time in a long time, people are losing their jobs at Harvard, seeing their pay cut, seeing bonuses and scheduled raises off the schedule. Harvard, one of the most stable employers in Massachusetts, is having these kinds of problems. Again – no one is insulated.

This applies to startups too, of course. In fact, I’d say it hits us harder and faster than most other businesses. And that brings me to my point. CitySquares has been hit by all this. Sales are down as small businesses were reacting to the news in September and October, and as they refocused their energies and also smartened up. Sales are down, cash flow is down, some of our customers have gone under, some have been unable to pay their bills. Nevertheless, we’re seeing our way through this. We have an amazing tribe here at CitySquares – some extremely dedicated and passionate people. These qualities were demonstrated this week when I asked everyone to take a pay cut. The result? Some people took bigger pay cuts than they were asked to! And another thing – everyone stayed. Attitudes are great, everyone is as committed as ever. It’s just amazing to me.

I learned so much this week, as a CEO and as a Founder. I learned about employee psychology, I learned about my own abilities as a leader, as a CEO, as a founder. I learned even more about buy-in, about the difference between a decision and a choice.

So, CitySquares underwent pay cuts this week and I can honestly say that on this blog with pride, and with my head held high. Because I know that our team is prepared to do what it takes to weather this storm. Because they understand that paycuts for everyone means no one gets let go, everyone stays. And this tribe is aware of the same goal we’ve had for the past two years – the goal that’s now within 5-6 months from happening – the goal of cash flow positivity. The only way we can make that happen is if everybody here is on the same page, and that has not changed. Everyone here must work towards the same goal! Cash flow breakeven, in this market? In this economy? Outstanding! Show me a business that’s within 12 months of cash flow positivity, and I’ll show you a business that gets it. But show me a business that’s not making changes, not making the necessary cost reductions, not doing everything to ramp revenues and I’ll show you a business that’s in a lot of trouble.

Another thing, we wouldn’t even be here talking about this right, nor ever even arrived at this moment in time, if it weren’t for our investors, our angel investors from eCoast Angel Network and other outside investors like Jonathan Kraft, Mark Cuban, even my own father, among several others. We’re truly fortunate to have such fantastic individuals behind this company. Angel investors are special and its easy to forget how important they are to the economy, to the capital systems, and to the world of entrepreneurship. Angels make it happen.

So, there you have it folks. The truth as bare as it comes! And that’s what my blog entry from earlier this week was about – the difference between decisions and choices. Decisions I had to make, and choices that I had to give to the staff. There were difficult, very difficult, decisions that I had to make, along with our board of directors. These decisions lead to other decisions, and choices, for the tribe – and this week they all chose to help each other, to make the necessary personal investment, to protect each other.

Monday was one of the hardest days I’ve ever had at CitySquares. Today is one my proudest.

Related posts:

1. Doing What You’re Good At
2. When the Going Get Tough…
3. Decisions, Decisions