Where's your next dollar coming from? The customer!

“A company’s best source of financing is its customers.”

With that declaration, pioneering tech entrepreneur Douglas Barber throws down the gauntlet for Canadian businesses: Stop fretting about bankers and investors, and look after your customer. You’ll succeed through internal focus and fierce client loyalty.

My column in this week’s National Post features an interview with Barber, the now retired (but not retiring) CEO of Gennum Corp., who’s on a mission to save business from itself.

Excerpt: "I've never seen a 'market'," insists Barber. "It is always people who issue a purchase order. If all you talk about is markets, you're not serious about commerce."

Read the full story here.

Last week’s column looked at how you can keep costs down in your business and get more done by thinking (and acting) like a non-profit. It’s based on a book called Zilch: The Power of Zero in Business.

Author Nancy Lublin, a New York-based social entrepreneur, has never had much funding for her endeavours. But she says starting with nothing can be a powerful advantage: "It's a cocktail that drives creativity and fresh ideas."

Take a sip here.