WHY MONEY IS AN ECHO OF VALUE, NOT THE BUSINESS GOAL
Javier García Iza
CEO
IOS OFFICES
Article from Mexico Business News
When people hear “follow the money,” they often assume it’s about greed — about chasing profits, cutting corners, and putting money above meaning. But here’s the truth: money isn’t the goal — it’s the echo of value. If you don’t hear the echo, maybe you’re shouting in the wrong direction. Instead of obsessing over revenue, great companies focus on creating value because money follows value the way an echo follows sound. I learned this lesson in a marketing meeting that started perfectly normal and ended with everyone thinking I’d lost my mind.
Years ago, when IOS OFFICES was growing, I sat across the table from one of the top marketing agencies in the country. They walked me through their classic formula: You spend X, get Y leads, and convert Z into paying customers. Halfway through the meeting, the director leaned forward and asked me, “So, Javier, what’s your marketing budget?” I paused. Then said, “It’s infinite.” He looked at me as if I had just spoken in code.
“Infinite? A small Mexican company with an infinite marketing budget?” “Yes,” I replied. “If I give you $1,000 and you earn me back $2,000, then I’ll spend that $1,000 again — and again — and again. So my budget has no ceiling.” That moment changed the way I thought about business. Value isn’t measured by how much you spend. It’s measured by what you get back — by the impact you create, by the satisfaction you generate, by the loyalty you build. When we stop chasing money and start focusing on value, money shows up on its own. Because if money is the echo of value, then we must listen carefully to what that echo is telling us. Because it’s not just numbers, it’s feedback.
Your clients, your market, your sales — they’re constantly speaking to you. They tell you what people truly love about what you do, and just as importantly, what they don’t. Once you understand that, you know exactly where to focus your energy: on doing more of what works, on amplifying what creates real value, on strengthening what genuinely improves people’s lives. So yes, follow the money. But don’t follow to chase it. Follow it to understand it.
Because money is not the goal. It’s the applause that follows when you’ve done something worth clapping for.
Eighteen years ago, when my brother Adrián and I founded IOS OFFICES, we didn’t set out to make affordable offices or the fastest-growing company. We wanted to build the best. The best coworking spaces in Mexico, where every detail spoke of quality: the most comfortable chairs, the finest coffee machines, and the most iconic AAA buildings in the country.
From day one, our goal wasn’t to offer a temporary space. It was to create a long-term solution, a place where companies could grow, where entrepreneurs could dream bigger, and where professionals could feel proud of the environment they worked in. That philosophy has guided every decision since.
We don’t measure success by how much we earn, but by how much we contribute. Every new location, every improvement, every coffee shared with a member is part of a larger purpose: to elevate the work experience in Mexico and to inspire others to build with the same obsession for quality. At IOS OFFICES, we’ve learned that true growth doesn’t require chasing investors, shortcuts, or luck. It comes from listening to that echo. From understanding where your value truly resonates and doubling down on it. Because when people feel valued, when they know you’re genuinely committed to their success, they stay. And when they stay, they help you grow in ways that no marketing budget ever could. So, follow the money, not with greed but with curiosity.
Follow it to understand what your market is trying to tell you. Because behind every transaction, every renewal, every partnership, there’s a story, and in those stories lies the real measure of success.
In the end, money is not the destination. It’s the echo that reminds us we’re moving in the right direction.
Mexico Business News offers access to the most relevant information about different industries, including articles of important business leaders, amongst them, our CEO Javier García Iza, who, as an Expert Contributor, shares his views on how when we stop chasing money and start focusing on value, money shows up on its own.