Verizon Wireless is aggressively marketing their new MIFI product – a portable wireless internet hotspot that can link up to five laptops on the go. A very cool product and definitely an excellent purchase for many types of businesses. However, their latest commercial features a catering company as the example of how this gadget can help small business. A catering company? I can’t even imagine a situation where five employees of a catering service would need to be online in the same room. What are they doing, checking the Top Chef website for recipes? I can tell you that if I hired a caterer and found five of them playing Mafia Wars in my kitchen, I would be one unsatisfied customer.

The point is that just because cool gadgets exist, it does not mean they are right for your business. Entrepreneurs do tend to be on the leading edge of technology and innovation, but if it doesn’t improve your bottom line, you don’t need to waste precious capital on it. Once your company has grown into a bloated corporation with too much profit to spend, then you can splurge on the unnecessary but fun toys. But the only way to get there is to watch the pennies. For those of you looking forward to the top-of-the-line lifestyle that comes with entrepreneurial success, keep in mind that the work has to be done to get you there. This means you are probably stuck with your three-year-old flip phone and six-year-old pickup for now. However, by restraining yourself from falling for the convincing ad telling you that your entire culinary staff needs wireless internet access now, you have a much better chance of actually building that thriving company.

Startups do require you to spend money, but the money should be spent sensibly. Before you make any purchase, objectively consider the value it adds to your bottom line. If it doesn’t make your venture better, faster, or stronger, you can probably add that item to your wishlist. Caterers with MIFI…can you think of a less sensible way to spend your startup budget?

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