by Chuck Echeese

Created on: April 18, 2008

It takes more than a good idea and a desire to be your own boss to launch a successful venture. How can you minimize your risks? Use our checklist to get ready. We'll help you carefully weigh whether to trade valuable years of traditional work experience for your new business dream - and then how to pull it off when you're ready.

1. Build a winning team

Bring on people who complement your skills and fill in the gaps. Just because your not knowledgeable about a specific issue doesn't mean you cant find some one who is. Look through resumes carefully, check references, and start interviewing!

2. Fight inexperience with advice

The Internet is a great place to get free advice. SCORE, for example, boasts a mentor network of more than 10,000 mostly retired entrepreneurs nationwide. You can search by related background and meet the mentor locally or by email.

3. Write a bulletproof business plan

One of the biggest mistakes an entrepreneur can make is simply failing to write a business plan. There is no other single process that can be more useful in beginning business problem-solving than addressing the risks and thoughtfully forecasting by writing the plan.

A business plan will showcase your product or service, how you plan to make a profit and the exceptional team who can bring the business to success. It should include market data and tests to show the service or product will sell, the essential skills that will drive profits, estimates for startup costs, projections for sales and profits, a break-even analysis and long-term goals for the company.

If, while writing the business plan, you decide from your research that the business isn't as sensible or profitable as you originally thought, the plan has served its purpose. Rather than cost you money and effort, you've spared yourself any loss.

6. Follow the money

Count on a cash cushion to live on for at least the first six months because you likely won't have an income. Conserve your money before you start. Once the business launches, regularly compare your actual income and expenses to your original forecasts to take the pulse of your company. Intuit's QuickBooks software ($200 and up for Pro and more advanced versions) features many bookkeeping tools and services such as expense tracking, check printing and payroll managing.

And stay focused on your financial goals. One of the biggest causes of failure is diffusion of focus. The first year you should have two over-arching goals: meeting or exceeding your projections and treating your customers right.

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