You've gone into business. You understand that success is a product of your commitment and hard work. You know what you have to do to make your business thrive. It's also sensible to consider what not to do, as there are many pitfalls that await such resolute entrepreneurs as you. Here's just a small sampling of things to avoid doing.

1. Estimate the amount of money you need to get started, then begin as soon as you have enough.

"Just enough" isn't enough. Have extra funds for expenses you hadn't counted on, for sales that are slow in coming, and for when things go wrong. Remember, not enough capital is the number one reason new businesses fail.

2. Educate your prospects to want your product, even though they may not know they need it right now.

If there isn't a clear, immediate need for what you sell, you're inviting a marketing disaster. You can't educate the market to want what your product provides. Sell to the market's needs, not your own.

3. Don't worry about taxes until they're due.

The last thing you want is tax problems, with the feds or anyone else. Tax authorities can really sock it to you. Put away what you'll need for taxes in a special account, and pay on time.

4. Your customers know you, so you needn't remind them how good your company and your products are.

You may think they know all about you, but they don't. Keep reminding them why they should do business with you. Don't ever forget that there are competitors out there who are trying to steal your customers.

5. Pay rate-card prices for advertising.

If you do a good deal of advertising, negotiate your media rates, rather than paying rate card. Rate cards indicate what they'd like to get, not what they're willing to accept. Radio and TV rate cards, especially, are usually fiction. Take a tough stand, and you can often save a bundle. You won't get a deal if you don't ask for it.

6. Let the newspaper write your ads for you.

Newspapers are in business to sell ad space, not write ads. They'll churn out an ad for you, but it may not have real sales pizzazz. Pay an ad copy specialist to do a proper job.

7. Ask for a business loan without checking your credit rating.

Check your credit rating in all three credit reporting services before you apply for a loan. (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.) If there are blemishes in your credit history, you must be ready to explain them. Also, check for errors and outdated info. A report is not supposed to indicate any problems - except bankruptcy - that are more than seven years old.

8. Manage your business from behind your desk because that's where a boss should be.

As Woody Allen is reported to have said, "Eighty percent of success is showing up." Get out and meet your customers often and regularly. You want to be the guy who shows up.

9. Run just one or two ads, if that's all you can afford.

It's multiple exposures that make advertising work. It's unlikely that an ad or two will have a long-term impact on your business. If you can't do a thorough job advertising, save your money. You'll probably do better investing it in public relations.

10. Make all financial decisions yourself, because you know more about your business than anyone else. (Do your own tax reports, too.)

Running your business without the help of a smart accountant is asking for trouble. You need an outside expert to make sure your financial records are right, and that you're not over- or under-paying your taxes. Choose your accountant carefully.

11. Borrow from your operating capital when you need money for personal expenses. You can always pay it back later.

If you have to start paying your personal expenses with operating capital from your business, it's likely to be the beginning of the end for the business. You must have adequate operating capital, or your company will falter. Get personal funds somewhere else.

12. Don't spoil employees by thanking them when they do a good job. That's what you pay them for.

A pat on the back for a job well done goes a long way in keeping an employee motivated. Withholding praise goes a long way in making him/her unhappy with you, and with the job. The number one reason employees quit is because they don't like the boss.  

13. Now that you have a base of loyal customers, build on that base by spending most of your time going after new business.

You'd better keep your existing customers happy, because they're the ones who generate most of your profit. Take them for granted, and they'll drift away. It's far easier and cheaper to sell to an existing customer than it is to find a new one.

14. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Better to fix it before it breaks. Change your methods and operations to deal with changing times, changing markets, changing business outlooks. Don't let a changing world - and your competitors - overtake you because you're committed to the old ways.

15. Don't worry about your competitors. It's your own business that's important.

Your competition is just waiting to take your customers away from you. Keep your eye on them: their business practices, products, prices, marketing. Don't let them get ahead of you.

16. Your color brochures cost you a bundle. Don't hand them out to just anybody.

Hold onto them and they'll start to turn yellow and unusable on your storage shelf, where they won't do you a bit of good. A brochure only has marketing value when it's in the hands of a prospect or someone who'll pass it on to a prospect.

17. Don't be compulsive about conserving capital. It takes money to make money.

Capital is the lifeblood of your company. If you want to buy something, ask yourself if you really need it to make your business grow. And if you answer yes, ask if there's something else you need even more. Don't spend unnecessarily, and don't waste anything, not even a paper clip.

18. You don't need a website. Your customers never use the Internet.

Virtually everybody uses the Internet. A website is a necessary marketing tool. If you don't have one, you're sending business to your competitors who do.

19. Cut your price to meet the competition, even if you must sell at a loss.

You must make a decent profit to stay in business. Make a case for superior quality and service to substantiate your higher price. If you absolutely must lower your price to meet competition, do it on a temporary basis, as a special event sale. When the sale is over, the price goes back to where it was.

20. Your outside sales reps are experienced marketing pros. Leave them alone and let them do their job.

Your reps sell other products beside yours, and they can easily spend more time pushing those products than they do pushing yours. Communicate with your reps often, and make sure you're getting your share of their efforts. Demand a report of each sales call.

21. Work on sales. Worry about collections later.

Stay on top of collections constantly. The longer you allow customers to fall behind in their payments, the greater the likelihood they'll never pay at all. Delinquent customers can quickly sink your business.

22. Look for cheap space for your retail business. If your customers want what you sell, they'll find you.

You can never compensate for bad space. Out-of-the-way location, no parking, bad neighborhood, will keep customers away. You're doomed even before you open the doors.

23. Your product is what counts. If it's good, they'll buy it whether they like you or not.

Customers tend to buy from people and businesses they know and like. Relationships are critical, sometimes even more important than the product.

24. Pay yourself whatever money comes in.

Taking more out of the business when you have a good month is a dangerous practice. It robs from operating capital and cash reserves, leaving your company unable to cope with a downturn in business or other emergency.

25. Earn your profit when you sell.

You can sell only for what your market is willing to spend, no matter what you paid for the product. Experienced marketers agree that they earn their profit when they buy. Get prices from many suppliers to make certain you can buy for a cost that lets you sell at a good profit. As the old adage goes: Buy cheap, sell dear.

26. When things go wrong, get rid of the employee who fouled up - the sooner the better.

Be careful not to set your business up for a nasty wrongful termination lawsuit. Don't fire because of discrimination or for retaliation. Document every employee offense in writing. Consult your attorney for guidance. Minimize your risk.

27. When it comes time to sell your company, impress the prospective buyer with what a good job you've done building the business.

If your buyer thinks you're key to the company's success, he'll begin to doubt how well it will do without you. It's better to build your sales strategy on the strengths of your key employees - the ones who'll be working for the buyer after you've left.