The main focus for most young companies is naturally on the next project, rather than on the last. The immediate problem of cash flow always seems to take priority. That's the basic survival instinct. Because of that, customer-service and warranty-service programs tend to take a back seat. But they are critical to long-term success. Starting Out When my company started out four years ago, we had zero starts, zero inventory, zero sales – and substantial personal debt. So we were highly motivated to move ahead. The first thing we had to do was to convince bankers to lend us money, and to get homes built. So for the first year, the whole focus was on production. Our first