Any pointers on starting your own business?

Starting a business is a scary enterprise. Here are a few tips to help you make it a success:
1 - keep your business finances and personal finances ABSOLUTELY separate. Do not allow any bleed over from company funds to personal funds. It is a business and reputation killer.
2 - This may seem like common sense but it happens a lot and it ruins almost every businessman that tries it: Don't accept any contracts (however lucrative they may appear) if you do not have the ability to fulfil them.
3 - Avoid hiring friends if you want to keep them as friends. The employer/employee relationship will overpower the friendship -- especially if you need to discipline or (worse) fire a friend.
4 - Be prepared for your new venture to completely monopolize your waking hours for the next three to five years. If you are married or in a committed relationship, you both need to know that a new business can be more demanding than a new baby. Be open and frank with each other and do not start the business if your partner is not on board for the long haul. If they are not, then if either the business or the relationship fails there is a real danger the other will follow.
5 - Make a fact-based and practical business plan and work to it. Assess it on a regular basis (I recommend quarterly for the first few years) and adjust it or your practices as necessary. Do not deviate from the plan without first devising a new one that is at least as fact-based and practical as its predecessor.
6 - Manage every project as if your reputation and the business's success depends on it working out -- because they do. Take a course on basic project management and employ the principles assiduously to your business model.
7 - Win. Win, and win again.
Good luck.

Oops - forgot one: Get a good, dependable accountant. Keeping your books right will save you thousands of dollars and keep you out of hot water with the IRS.

SPC (Join to see) Below is one post. You can find the other posts dealing with starting a business by searching on "Starting Own Business", and then clicking on "Answers".

https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/i-m-looking-to-start-my-own-business-what-are-some-tips

Key points your going to learn with your own business.

1. New business takes time to develop and word of mouth is the cheapest way to acquire clients so always do an excellent job. Regardless of if you do an excellent job for everyone your going to have probably a few people that bad mouth you for whatever reason. Some just do it because they have some innate need to be a jerk. So you have to let those people and their comments roll off your back or find some way to neutralize them via service or reputation.

2. Have an exit plan if things do not work out. Monitor your financial progress and leave or sell the business at the appropriate time if you feel it is not working out and you have no real hope of a turnaround. This is where most people fail. They cling to a failing business emotionally until it drains them of money, hope and any realistic chance of departure without declaring bankruptcy. Keep in mind you can take a break from a bad business via selling or shutdown.........and come back to it later or always start a new one. Easier to start a new business with a disasterous bankruptcy on your recent history. Employers will tolerate a 1-2 year break in employment if you tell them you attempted to start and run your own business but it did not work out. They will tolerate that more than someone that says they were unemployed. So some Executives now when they are unemployed list that time as being a "consultant" so there are no gaps. Future employer does not care you failed at a past business startup in fact, for most employers it is a net positive you had the balls to try. After I liquidated my business I got a higher paying job in IT than I otherwise would have if I just stayed in IT the whole time. The employer was impressed I had employees and saw management potential. So it is not necessarily a bad thing if things do not work out and you should never fear failure to the point where you ruin yourself financially. Remember again, you can always start another business in the future.

3. It is far less stress if you have a source of income apart from the business to live off of other than just living off your savings. My first attempt I tried the living off my savings business and it was more stress on me to turn a profit as well as it shortened the time at which I had to execute an EXIT strategy. So my next attempt will be after I retire with a pension and social security.

4. When you list your business with the state, don't use your personal phone number. Use a disposable phone or a phone number you can switch out after the first few months. Reason is every tom, dick and harry that monitors the state treasurers office will have the phone you submitted and will call you incessantly at that phone number to sell you everything from insurance to pens. Your phone will ring off the hook and few clients will get through. So be mindful of that.

5. Insure your business and your workers and buy a Workmans Comp insurance policy at a minimum. This is maybe a $2,000-$5,000 annual premium but it covers all your employees from work related injuries and the law allows them to get treated at the best medical facility available (not some cheap clinic). Definitely worth the price and peace of mind. Also, THE HARFORD, or whatever they are called now has one of the best Workmans Comp policies for employees and it is reasonably priced. The policy will cover their paid work hours while they are medical leave as well as their medical payments and expenses. Very good deal and employee benefit that a lot of new employers skip.

6. Never trust anyone you hire until you have a long track record of relationship. Most especially Veterans. I hired a Veteran from Gulf War as an Assistant Manager, former Navy Corp6sman. He started stealing money from me and later I found out he had a criminal record and was wanted by some Police Departments. All because I thought I could trust a Medic from my past military service. People will steal from you if you give them a chance. Only about 50-60% of your employees will be honest, the rest will try and screw you someway.....and you will either hear about it or see it in the financial reporting. Remember the Reagan saying "TRUST BUT VERIFY" it applies to employees. Most of my employees liked me and gave me a high rating because they said I wasn't afraid of work and also took out garbage and cleaned bathrooms like they did. That went a long way in the area of respect.

7. My first business took 80 hours a week in time with Sundays being closed. Your going to work your azz off especially initially with new business development. Even with that time commitment and sore feet and back, it was one of the best times of my life being my own boss. So yeah I am going to try it again in the future.