Good and sound business advice

You are considered a business start-up when you want to start a business of your own. And as a business start-up there are several rules that most business start-ups don’t know or they just don’t care to follow. Here are some good guidelines to follow as a business start-up.

1. Don't start a company unless it’s an obsession and something you love, and if you have an exit strategy, it’s not an obsession.
2. Hire people who you think will love working there with you.
3. Sales cure all. Know how your company will make money and how you will actually make sales. Having all this information written down in your business plan is key to your companies survival.
4. Know your core competencies and focus on being great at them. Pay up for people in your core competencies. Get the best. Outside the core competencies, hire people that fit your culture but are cheap.
5. No offices. Open offices keeps everyone in tune with what is going on and keeps the energy up. If an employee is about privacy, show them how to use the lock on the john. There is nothing private in a start-up. This is also a good way to keep from hiring execs who can not operate successfully in a start-up. Your biggest fear should always be hiring someone who wanted to build an empire. If the person demands to fly first class or to bring over their secretary, run away. If an exec wont go on sales-calls, run away. They are empire builders and will pollute your company.
6. As far as technology, go with what you know. That is always the cheapest way. If you know Apple, use it. If you know Vista... ask yourself why, then use it. Its a start-up, there are just a few employees. Let people use what they know.
7. Keep the organization flat. If you have managers reporting to managers in a start-up, you will fail. Once you get beyond start-up, if you have managers reporting to managers, you will create politics.
8. NEVER EVER EVER buy swag. A sure sign of failure for a start-up is when someone sends people logo polo shirts. If your people are at shows and in public, buy for your own folks the swag, but if you really think someone is going to wear your noname.com polo you sent them in public, you are mistaken and have no idea how to spend your money.
9. NEVER EVER EVER hire a PR firm. A PR firm will call or email people in the publications, shows and websites you already watch, listen to and read. Those people publish their own emails. Whenever you consume any information related to your field, get the email of the person publishing it and send them an email introducing yourself and your company. They will welcome hearing from the founder instead of some PR person for finding new stuff is their job. Once you establish communications with that person, make yourself available to answer their questions about the industry and be a source for them. If you are smart, they will use you. And doing this will bring in sales.
10. Make the job fun for employees. Keep a pulse on the stress levels and accomplishments of your people and reward them. More often than not most vendors cover the tabs of parties for venders always love a good party.
11. NEVER EVER EVER do business with family, you will ruin the family relationship dynamics. Family is the best things to have in the world, so don’t ruin it by bringing family in as a partner, business associate or client.
12. ALWAYS ALWAYS have a WRITTEN business plan, with a marketing plan. Without a written down vision of who, what, and where you are going how can you make sure you are on the path you had in-vision when you started out?