We had the sales. We just didn't have the cash to hire one part-timer.
We had a pop-up coming and needed one part-time staffer for it. We couldn't afford to hire them — not because the business wasn't earning, but because the cash was locked up. We had over-invested in a bulk inventory order, and we were committed to paying three co-founders plus one key staff member at maintained rates.
The pop-up earned less than a normal month but still had to carry all those wages. On paper we were profitable. At the exact moment we needed to move, we felt broke.
That is the gap between earning and having the cash in hand. Orang sini cakap: modal tersangkut. It is the whole reason I built this. Not to change the numbers. To stop them arriving as a surprise.




