RE:confidence!@shank... first off, most business I know and that included mine. run in the red for years. one focuses on growth, building inventory to meet sudden requests from the very customers you have been courting and telling them how great you are!. I never expected profit from AVO for years. So long as they are selling, meeting objectives and able to finance their operations, I am fine is it nice to have profits stay in bank and still expand? absolutely . is it essential for a young and growing company? not in my humble opinion. If I had focused on profits versus growth, I do not believe I would be where I am now. it was a son of a gun running on credit but I pulled it off and so do millions of business's. economy is in the tank, they are in a niche high end market and need to bump out established competitors. not easy and not for the timid either.