Top 10 DON'Ts of Starting a Business

Like the list above, the following are suggestions to consider when starting any type of business. They are designed to work hand-in-hand with the first list so that you can avoid the most common pitfalls of starting a new business.

1. Don't think about leaving your job until you have started to see some monetary results and fully completed your full start-up plans for the new business.

2. Don't consider starting a business in a field you do not enjoy.

3. Don't risk all of your assets. Limit your liabilities to a predetermined amount when starting a business. It can be a percentage of your worth of a dollar amount, but the point is to pick it from the start and to never cross that line.

4. Don't compete with your employer when you start your own business, especially when moonlighting!

5. Don't be in too much of a hurry to get your business started. When learning how to start most any business, there are no real penalties for missed opportunity.

6. Don't start a business that involves too high a risk, or has to major a hurdle. Take on ten 2-foot hurdles, never one 20-foot hurdle!

7. Never start a business in which you must have the lowest price to succeed, established competition can always under-price once it’s in their best interest.

8. Don't be afraid to learn about the negative aspects of your intended business when you are first learning how to start it. You can’t start a business with blinders on.

9. Don't let your entrepreneur self-confidence outweigh careful due diligence.

10. Don't let the promise of a conceptual high reward deter reality testing. You can never guess what people will actually pay for anything until they do so.