Passion is extremely important!

You’re going to be spending most of your time trying to launch your business – and the demands don't let up once you’ ve launched. It’s a 24/7 effort, so you'd better love what it is you want to do! Read on to learn why other successful entrepreneurs think it's so important. . .

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Because two minds are better than one

Whether you have worked in the industry for days or for years, you can't be an expert in everything. Having a second person who has the necessary skills or the experience you may lack can be a tremendous help – if to just bounce ideas off of.

Directions help you reach your destination

Launching a company is a lot like building a physical structure: Without proper blueprints and a model, how do you know what you're building? Do all the pieces fit together? Where are the bottlenecks?

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A sole proprietorship may be right for you

If you're in a low-risk business and will be self-funding, a sole proprietorship may be right for you. One good thing about business structures is that they can be changed, so you aren't bound to a single structure. It may still cost to change later on, but saving cash in the beginning is key.

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Business plans are your road map to profitability

This is a much debated topic...to business plan or not to business plan? Having a solid plan of how you intend to operate, market, finance, and grow your business is never a bad idea.

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Not likely...so don't get your hopes up

Less than 2 percent of small business funding comes from venture capitalists – so needless to say, it's extremely difficult to get. Most VCs look for extreme growth companies and often don't focus on prerevenue companies, unless you are an experienced entrepreneur.

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Set up a "virtual office"

Now with the ability to store data in the cloud, the quality of VoIP (Voice over IP, setting up a phone line over an internet connection) and the emergence of free organizational and communication applications, a virtual office can be cheap, easy and efficient. We've outlined 5 considerations for setting up the ultimate startup "office".

Find out what your team needs to bring to the table

When starting up, you probably will first try to found co-founders or partners who can shoulder the work load as well as bring the right experience and skill sets to the table. Make sure that your potential partner either has industry experience or contacts to help get your company to the next level (think funding). Read a blog post on how to best allocate equity to each of your partners, it will be helpful at this stage.

Consider your capacity

You can probably identify a vendor/strategic partner to produce your product for you. Don’t outsource if you’ll be manufacturing yourself, in that case you can outsource components of your operations. In the beginning, it may be difficult to outsource because your volumes are low. You may need to purchase high levels of inventory, commit to minimum production runs or provide some sort of guarantee. So be prepared for some possible cash outflow. Watch our "4 Considerations when Outsourcing" video and visit our Resources to find strategic partners to outsource with.

Think low cost yet effective

You can market your company with a small budget, patience and elbow grease. Set up social media (Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Groupon etc.) Create buzz by giving your product away for free, if what you’re selling has value than good reviews will travel fast and you’ll perk the interest of new customers. Be smart and treat your initial customers very well.