Ever since I have been in the association business, I have had a corporate credit card and have been responsible for budget items, both small and large.

I have always prided myself on the fact that I treat an organization’s money as if it were my own. And if you know me well, you know I am extremely frugal.

One situation that always resonates with me happened during my first role as a Marketing Specialist with the NC Association of REALTORS®. I was responsible for overseeing the association’s member benefits program, REALTOR® Partners. It offered discounts on E&O insurance, cell phone coverage, real estate forms, and other products and services. In addition to providing savings to members, it was a source of non-dues revenue for the state and local associations of NCAR.

The interesting caveat to this program was that it was managed by the NCAR Service Corporation, which was a for-profit division within NCAR.

Part of my job involved traveling across the state to our nearly 70 local associations to promote the program. At the time, NCAR had two vehicles.

I’ll never forget those Ford station wagons.

They were quite something to behold.

Because the vehicles were owned by NCAR and were being used by the NCAR Service Corporation, we were billed mileage anytime we used them. It didn’t take long to realize that if I was going to be traveling one or two days a week to places like Murphy or Manteo, that could end up costing us quite a lot of money.

And it wasn’t like we were driving really nice cars.

Because of my involvement in the Greensboro Jaycees, I knew we rented a lot of vehicles through the golf tournament and used Triangle Rent-A-Car. From what I remembered, the cost was reasonable for a daily rental. So, I approached Triangle and asked if we could set up a corporate account with them.

They agreed and even gave us a special rental rate.

I immediately brought the idea to Tim Kent, our NCAR CEO, and told him my plan. Essentially, I created a policy for the Service Corporation that if we drove anywhere over 100 miles, we would rent a car instead of using an NCAR vehicle.

It turned out to be quite a hit.

We eventually made it an association-wide policy, and ultimately said goodbye to the station wagons.

Now fast-forward to the start of Tying It Together, and I am having to take managing finances to another level. When working for an association or AMC, I never really concerned myself with paying for hotel stays, conferences, meals, and other travel expenses in quite the same way.

Now, I am not saying I didn’t watch every penny.

But at the end of the day, it wasn’t my money.

Now, as a business owner, it is my money.

And as any business owner knows, those first few months can be challenging when you have more money going out than coming in.

It has been very humbling.

My very first business-building trip was a great example of traveling lean. I decided to spend a few days in the Charlotte area visiting with old and new friends. I didn’t book a hotel room until I had completely settled on my meeting locations, and even then, I waited until that day, hoping I could get a good deal on a room for two nights during the week.

And man, did I luck out.

I was able to book a great room in downtown Charlotte at a Home2 Suites for $95 a night. I paid for one night and used points for the other.

Now let’s talk about food for the three days.

Fortunately, breakfast was covered because I was eating at the hotel. For lunch and dinner, I stopped by a Harris Teeter and bought a package of turkey slices, a bag of boiled eggs, a container of grape tomatoes, and a package of mozzarella balls.

That covered lunch and dinner for under $15.

This week, I am at the U.S. Open volunteering in the merchandise tent. Normally, I wouldn’t think twice about making this trip. However, when I signed up to volunteer, I had a full-time job.

Now, with no real income coming in quite yet, it has been a struggle.

So, I took a page out of my Charlotte trip playbook and found a local grocery store. Since I was going to be here for the week, I bought a loaf of reasonably priced wheat bread, a package of turkey, Swiss cheese, deli mustard, and two packages of grape tomatoes.

Voila.

Lunch and dinner are covered for the week for $25.

Starting Tying It Together has made me more frugal in other areas, too. We’ve been watching our grocery purchases at home, reducing unnecessary expenses, and cutting our cable and telephone to the minimum. Pretty much anywhere we can find savings, we are making the cut.

As I said, it has been humbling.

And difficult.

But the work continues, and I feel like any day now I am going to get that one opportunity that leads to the next one, and then to the next one.

One thing is for sure: I won’t ever forget what it has been like to be in this position.

I have enjoyed some of the lean practices. This season has made me value having the things I need and more carefully appreciate the things I want.

Starting a business is humbling because it forces you to look at every decision differently.

Every dollar has a purpose.

Every trip must matter.

Every meal, hotel room, conference registration, and tank of gas becomes part of the investment.

And maybe that is not a bad thing.

Because if Tying It Together is going to be built on helping organizations find clarity, alignment, and momentum, then I need to practice those same disciplines in my own business.

Even when that means turkey sandwiches and grape tomatoes for dinner.