In addition to the resources we have on finding money to start your business, BusinessFund.com has an extensive list of 25 alternatives to venture capital that is definitely worth reading.

“My dreams are worthless, my plans are dust, my goals are impossible. All are of no value unless they are followed by action.”  - Og Mandino

Commentary: Most people don’t have any plans or goals whatsoever, they simply glide through life hoping others or fate will make their lives great. Another form of this is actually having goals and dreams but doing nothing about them, which is probably psychologically more disheartening than having no goals at all as you’ve taken the time to make goals, you just haven’t done anything to accomplish them.

Start that business, call that girl, sign up for that class, take action today!

From Mark Fletcher (again) we get 10 more commandments for your business startup. The best:

1. You will have at least one catastrophe every three months.

5. People will think your idea sucks. They’re even probably right. The only way to prove them wrong is to succeed.

7. Being an entrepreneur requires a healthy amount of ignorance. Note I did not say stupidity.

10. Abject Terror. Overwhelming Joy. Monstrous Greed. Embrace and harness these emotions you must.

Continue reading the article here.

From Mark Fletcher, the founder of Bloglines, Onelist and other companies offers these 15 startup commandments:

1. Your idea isn’t new. Pick an idea; at least 50 other people have thought of it. Get over your stunning brilliance and realize that execution matters more.
2. Stealth startups suck. You’re not working on the Manhattan Project, Einstein. Get something out as quickly as possible and promote the hell out of it.
3. If you don’t have scaling problems, you’re not growing fast enough.
4. If you’re successful, people will try to take advantage of you. Hope that you’re in that position, and hope that you’re smart enough to not fall for it.
5. People will tell you they know more than you do. If that’s really the case, you shouldn’t be doing your startup.

Continue reading the rest here.

Most business owners don’t know how long they should hold on to old records. According to the IRS, here’s how long you should keep those records:

Permanently:

• general ledgers and journals
• payroll records, including W-2s, 940s, 941s
• year-end financial statements
• tax returns and supporting documents
• articles of incorporation, bylaws, meeting minutes, etc.
• retirement plan records
• mortgages and deeds

10 Years:

• bank statements and cancelled checks
• AP & AR documents
• invoices and billing information (customers and ventors)
• leases
• contracts with clients and suppliers

7 years:

• expense reports
• employee agreements/contracts/termination records
• documents related to litigation
• inventory documentation

3 years:

• employment applications
• employee disability and illness benefit records
• expired insurance policies
• general correspondence

This information is helpful but our favorite rule of thumb is to “save everything” and keep anything older than a few years in storage. Unless your business deals with mountains of paperwork, that method will be the easiest way to keep it simple and safe.

From Perry Marshall, the marketing guru, we get 12 differences between people who are “trying” to start their own business and those that act.

1-Wanna-be’s obsess about ideas.  Entrepreneurs obsess about implementation.

2-Wanna-be’s want more web traffic.  Enrepreneurs focus on sales conversion.

3-Wanna-be’s focus on positive thinking.  Entrepreneurs plan for multiple contingencies.

4-Wanna-be’s want to get on TV and get “famous.”  Entrepreneurs build their list.

5-Wanna-be’s seek a perfect plan.  Entrepreneurs execute and adjust the plan later.

6-Wanna-be’s wait for their lucky break.  Entrepreneurs engineer four, five, six plans and execute them in tandem, wagering that at least one plan will get traction.

7-Wanna-be’s fear looking stupid in front of their friends.  Entrepreneurs willingly risk making fools of themselves, knowing that long-term success is a good trade for short-term loss of dignity.

8-Wanna-be’s shield their precious ideas from harsh reality, postponing the verdict of success or failure until ’someday.’  Entrepreneurs expose their ideas to cold reality as soon as reasonably possible.

9-Wanna-be’s put off practicing basketball until they’ve got Air Jordans. Entrepreneurs practice barefoot behind the garage.

10-Wanna-be’s believe what they’re told, believe their own assumptions.  Entrepreneurs do original research and determine what paths have been already trod.

11-Wanna-be’s believe they can do anything.  Entrepreneurs do what they’re gifted for and delegate the rest.

12-Wanna-be’s think about the world in terms of COULD and SHOULD.  Entrepreneurs think in terms of IS and CAN BE.

This is a fantastic breakdown of the commitment that is required if you are going to be an entrepreneur. There are too many “get rich without doing anything” programs out there. Visit Perry Marshall’s site for some great tips on marketing and business.

SmartMoney.com writes about the best places to find money for your small business and comes up with the following:

1. Grants
2. The Government
3. Banks
4. Credit Cards
5. Angel Investors
6. Venture Capital

While some of these may seem obvious, it’s good to know there are more options for finding money than simply a loan from a bank.

Also, building business credit is a great option for getting money to start your small business as well.

A keynote speech to the Cato Institute titled “Entrepreneurs are the Heroes of the World“. Author Johan Norberg credits the progress over the past 200 years to entrepreneurs and the market economies they operate within.

The amazing fact is that entrepreneurs and innovators and businesses have turned luxuries that not even kings could afford into low-priced everyday items at you local store. That is the best defense of capitalism.

(via The Entrepreneurial Mind)

I’ve often thought that if others truly understood the contribution entrepreneurs make to our world, they would be thought of as heroes. I find it valuable to simply look around your home or office, at the magical technology and products that are readily available and think about the people who dedicated their lives to making that wonderful technology affordable to the common man.

In a speech entitled “Your Business Is Dead and You Don’t Even Know It”, Justin Kitch, CEO of Homestead Technologies put it bluntly:

If you don’t have a website:

Of course, setting up a small business website is fairly simple and we advise anyone in business to do this important task ASAP.

I’ve written before about the myth of business failure rates. But this list of myths from Dumb Little Man is valuable as well:

• Risk is always bad.
• If the majority of your peers call the idea silly, it probably is.
• You should liquidate all of your possessions to start a business because you believe in it so strongly.
• You have to spend money to make money (this one is borderline, but a lot can be earned by charging people for your knowledge on something).
• Anyone that has tried and failed automatically must be trusted because “they’ve done it”.
• Your lack of a college degree will ensure your business fails.
• Your friends’ constructive criticism is never out of jealousy.
• Your family & friends will always understand the time commitment, even when no money is coming in.

(via BizOpportunities)