Over the past few months, this question has been asked by several of my entrepreneur friends: Should I lease or my buy office space?

According to nearly all data measures, the U.S. economy is undergoing an economic slowdown, possibly a recession. The current slowdown is a normal part of the business cycle. Business cycles are evident throughout the history of recorded economic data.

Although gross profit margin can be a very useful analytical tool, special care must be taken to distinguish between historical gross margin and forecasted gross margin, especially during periods of volatile prices and/or input costs. This distinction is especially important in the current economic environment of rapidly rising energy costs, transport expenses, and commodity prices.

You don’t have to tell many entrepreneurs that one of the highest costs associated with running a business is renting office space. Those already in business know.

Supply chain thinking creates opportunities for creativity, regardless of your business type, scale, or industry.  Isn’t this what we need, especially in today’s economic climate?