Fibernet CFO, Lee Livingston, recently appeared in the Spring 2010 edition of Utah Valley’s BusinessQ magazine in a nine-person roundtable discussion on the dos and don’ts of starting a business in Utah Valley.
Orem, UT Lee Livingston, CFO of local Colocation and Internet Service Provider, Fibernet Corp., recently sat down with BusinessQ’s Jeanette Bennett and eight other local business leaders for an in depth question and answer session on “Starting a Business 101.”
Joining Mr. Livingston on the panel was Lance Black of Eli Kirk; Greg Fix, Big-D Construction; Eddy Hood, Dashboard Accountants; Brandon Fugal, Coldwell Banker Commercial; David Decker, Complete Merchant Solutions; Kiley Hix, Strategic Staffing; Neal Maxfield, Entrepreneurship Institute at UVU; and Sonny Olsen of Heideman, McKay, Heugly & Olsen.
Together, these professionals shed light on such topics as what accounting tasks a budding business should address from the start, how a new business should anticipate and prepare for growth, and what commonalties to look for and emulate among businesses that are successful.
One of those commonalities, according to Mr. Livingston, is having an effective website. “There was a time in history when the Internet was not a significant factor in the success of a business,” he said. “Today it is one of just a few keys to perpetuating and having a successful business.”
Mr. Livingston also stated that part of maintaining an effective website is driving traffic with targeted marketing strategies. On planning for growth, the Fibernet CFO asserted that a fledgling company’s greatest resource is its capital and that it should carefully weigh the decision to lease or own its office space. The wrong decision, he said, may ultimately detract from the company’s initial growth.
He concluded by stating that the issue of accounting is a similar one in that it is equally important for a company to align its priorities and assets and to practice consistent and accurate reporting.
“We’ve taken great care at Fibernet to implement all the components discussed in this panel,” Mr. Livingston stated following the Q&A session with BusinessQ. “And part of that commitment includes our ongoing efforts to maintain our PCI compliance and SAS 70 certification. It’s thanks to this type of dedication that we’ve experienced the growth that we have.”