The Ten Commandments of Being a Successful Entrepreneur

1. Thou shalt be profitable and have cash.

Cash is King. So make such you put in place policies and procedures that keeps cash flowing. Those include timely invoicing, timely collection practices, and working with customers that operate with integrity; i. e. pay your bills on time.

2. Thou shalt produce a great product or service.

World class companies create world class products and services and create a wonderful buying experience. And just because you are a small company doesn’t mean you can’t be world class in how you package and present your product or service. And customers and potential customers love world class products and service. So be world class in how you present your company, your products or services, and yourself.

3. Thou shalt have accurate bookkeeping.

With high end but affordable accounting software packages like QuickBooks, there is no excuse to not have accurate books. Also if bookkeeping is not your strength there are part time bookkeepers available to service you. The bottom line: to keep track of your business’ performance you need accurate books and records.

4. Thou shalt pay your taxes.

Play with your friends. Play with your family. But don’t play with the IRS. They can make your life miserable for a long time. Just pay your taxes.

Now how low or high those taxes will be and how you mitigate the amount is between you and your CPA and the use of legal tax mitigation tax strategies.

5. Thou shalt hire great employees

In order to grow and be scalable you need great people working for you. Whether they are senior management, a receptionist, or an intern, hire people who can present themselves in a way that represents the culture of your company.

6. Thou shalt have fun.

Have fun. And have it be that those around you have fun too. If you are going to be working all those hours you have to have fun at least most of the time.

7. Thou shalt be innovative.

In order to thrive and grow you must constantly re-invent yourself and your company. Successful businesses are those that are able to anticipate and respond to change. Keep your company and its products and services fresh. Also make time to get away from the business and think and be creative. For this is where the next great product or service comes from.

8. Thou shalt learn from your mistakes.

You are going to make mistakes. But those mistakes can be very valuable if you learn from them and don’t repeat them.

9. Thou shalt have a personal life.

All the success in the world means nothing if it costs you your health, your family, and your friends. So on the way to success don’t forget to get a life.

10. Thou shalt have a succession plan.

When all the money has been made and all the success has been had you need to have a plan to have the business continue without you. And results in you getting a nice fat check.