Definitely get your paperwork and everything in order, and then be ok with the mistakes because that's part of the fun and part of the learning. No matter how much you study or how much you learn, actually going and doing is going to give you better results even though you make a million mistakes than if you just think about it forever.

When you are starting a company, you don't need to decide what you are going to be you should actually focus on what is really going to sell and, can you really add value? In the process, can you learn? It's obvious that you have dreams and aspirations. If they are very big, such as wanting to create a very large company, then focus on finding something very unique that you are going to do. If you don't find it and you still have that ambition stop. It's ok to close down the business if your ambitions. But if it is not, then know in your heart that you still have a better company and have gone through the same pain that other companies have gone through.

If you can get a CRM and set that up and then use that to build out send email marketing. That gets further down the road. Start to collect data on each person you are working with. Use that to further conversations and start to realize how you can plant those seeds. Whether they enjoy a local coffee shop or they are a huge foodie. They love an NFL team. Find things that they enjoy and use that data to plant those seeds. So I think, get a CRM. Start adding people in there. Existing connections, people that are new. Then start to build out your CRM. Start to learn how to use that better. Then effectively within the next year, you should be able to have this referral engine that you can start working with.

Having a really solid business plan and knowing your competition. Doing a competitive analysis. Figuring out every business model. Having strong advisors and having a good team. Those are all really helpful. It's not just an idea; it has to be well thought of before you actually go and spend years and hours of your life in it.

Set up an advisory board of people that you can talk to along the way immediately. Two days after you start your business. In fact, you should probably, before you start your business, get one or two people that you can really trust and run some of your ideas by them. Not that you're going to listen to everything they have to say but having people around you with diverse backgrounds and experiences makes the process much easier to go through.

Education and research are always key. If there is something you want to learn more of or get on, double down your efforts on the understanding of what it is you are trying to do. I always say that is the best way. Sometimes the right information can be a game-changer. It's out there and, it's about locating it. It's about getting it into your hands and minds to use outwardly. That could be a mentor. That could be a business strategy coach. That could be anybody. It's just about getting it and applying it. Get the knowledge and then apply what you are learning to your business.

I think being a ravenous reader is great. I think that you know I've learned a lot from books on how to build a business, culture, and whatnots. I think really reading a lot, especially about a particular start-up. Or if you are starting up just from people that are in your industry is important. The same part is really putting yourself out there to reach out to people that are in your industry. Or get a mentor essentially.

Invest in yourself. Invest in yourself, whether that is reading a stupid amount of books or hiring a coach. Bring in someone to help and encourage you. This can go along with that last one. Know that you are worth it. You have the ability to do this but there are so many things that you probably don't know. Take some of your funds or set aside some of your funds and invest in yourself.

Get really clear on what it is that you want. I'm in the position now where I work with hundreds of business owners. Most of them have gotten lost on the journey and forgotten why they started in the first place. The truth is that we usually tend to overcomplicate what we are doing. We usually tend to add on more than we want and make it more expensive than it needs to be. If you really get in touch with what is the result you want? What is the lifestyle you want? And you build your business around that you'll avoid a lot of detours that are unnecessary. The last thing you want to do is build a successful business 20 years from now, look back and say I don't even like what I built, or even like where I am at. That's what a lot of people are on the path to do.

That's kind of my struggle. What to do? Whether to stay with my current lifestyle which, I really like. Coaching businesses and maybe writing books and tinkering with things. Or I should switch gears and try to go for it. I am always thinking of Ray Kroc. I think he was 53-54 when he started McDonald's. So maybe it's not too late for me to do this if I really want to. Try to make a huge impact with the 1.5 million companies that start for the solution that maybe I could provide.