10 Tips to Get Your Start-up Off and Running

The starter's pistol has gone off, the rest of the field has taken off, and you're still frozen in a kneeling position, head down and bracing for the race to begin. As your fellow competitors race to the finish line, you rise slowly and try to convince yourself that this race was not really for you. You console yourself by saying that the risks were too great and ask yourself such self-doubting questions as, "What if I had fallen?" or "What if I'd started and couldn't finish?" and "Who was I kidding? I had no business even thinking about entering that race."

Starting a business is very much like running a race: Preparation and practice are key success factors. The following 10 tips, framed in the context of getting physically prepared for a race, might help you overcome the hurdles that entrepreneurs are sure to encounter on the road to startup.

1. "Pump" up your attitude. Think positive. Think of the optimistic outcomes and find a way to stay focused on your goal of starting a business. Put negative thoughts and self-doubt about your abilities and your potential aside, and surround yourself with energetic and supportive people. Even without realizing it, you may be dampening your own enthusiasm, procrastinating and eventually sabotaging your own efforts because of your self-doubts. Stop second-guessing yourself and, at all costs, stay away from negative people who are just waiting for you to trip and fall and watch your start-up fail.

2. "Rejuvenate" your affiliations. Your goal is to connect with people who want to support you and are willing to help you in the lean times. Affiliate with others who are in similar stages of startup and are also trying to build their own businesses. Find new alliances by joining professional and civic organizations and seeking out successful people you want to model. Locate organizations in your own community where other entrepreneurs get together and support each other--your local chamber is a great place to start. These affiliations can not only lead to advice and networking connections, but are a great source of potential clients.