It has always come to everyone's attention or it may have come up on whether starting a company is really a good idea. With all the sacrifice people talk about, all the odds against making a business successful, or even breaking even to make a profit can seem too much too handle. And it can be, if you do not have the right mentors.
Imagine having access to all the mentors in the world who are aligned with your business idea and can give valuable feedback and direction. How much would you learn? How quickly would your startup grow? Well, that is just one piece of advice that all entrepreneurs are told to do. "Have a mentor or plenty of mentors", they say. The more the better. If the stakes are high and your are up against the wall and just making it through the first 2 years of your startup, a mentor can be very valuable to help you stick with your mission and overcome any obstacle. Of course, having a financial plan is always another piece of advice not taken lightly.
Just having a financial plan for your business is not enough, you still to different ways of obtaining capital, maintain an acceptable business credit score from Dunn and Bradstreet, and keeping your frugal habits. Every money spent needs to be checked over several times, to ensure the correct financial decision is taking place for your well being, your family (if you have one), and your business cash flow (or just keeping it at a break-even for now).
More articles will be written on the of finance and mentors, since I believe these are the highest priorities in any type of business in existence. There are many other business priorities, of course. But, if these two have deliberate focus while you sell product or a service, or both, it can extend the life of your business. There are many ideas, advice, and paths you can take along these lines, but these two you should read books on or perform your own research. Be wary of the internet for business research, since bad advice is always lurking on the web. Maintain a creative way of solving issues that may pop up while keeping the mission to survive (what we talked about) and thrive in business.