10 things every entrepreneur should know or do

1) They are not born, they are made. I was an average student in school. I wasn’t on the honor roll. I didn’t play sports. I wasn’t the most popular. However, I managed to figure out at an early age what I was good at and stuck with it.


2) There is not a pile of grants for small businesses waiting to be claimed. This is an ever-present myth. Yes, there are grants out there for specific programs that file under specific categories. There is not a lump some of money, readily available for someone with a brilliant idea, sitting in a locked vault allocated from the federal government to your state. If so, everyone wouldn’t be looking for investors and bank loans. There are small business grants that state and federal agencies offer and financial programs that assist entrepreneurs.

3) You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Some of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in this world took something that already existed and made it better.

4) Don’t look for the end of the rainbow for at least three to five years for a brand-new start up. The average start up takes about that long to see real profit. During that time most of the cash goes back into the company. You might want to keep that side job.

5) Smart ones include advertising dollars in their budget. Today you can do a lot for free and word-of-mouth never goes out of style. Still, the right ad, at the right place, at the right time, can do wonders.

6) Intern, intern, intern or get a mentor. If you haven’t done it. Do it. Some places will take an intern no matter the grade or if they need college credit. I once did an internship after college where my fellow interns were double my age. If you can’t intern, do a fellowship. These are basically some of the only situations where people will show you how they run their company; share their protocols and everything they know for FREE.

7) Volunteer to join local boards and committees. You will learn how to run and structure an organization. The financial literacy you gain is second to none and you’re doing something for the community.

8) Some days you will wonder why you aren’t working for someone else collecting a regular salary without the headache.

9) You will experience a brilliant moment when you remember exactly why you went into business for yourself.

10) The only thing more depressing than having your venture fail is looking back at your life and wondering why you never exhausted every avenue or put every blood, sweat and tear into it. This is your dream. Go big or go home.