3 pieces of advice for new business owners

I met a woman named Valerie Wynn at a party last night, and we were
talking about business. (She’s started and sold 3 businesses in
the past dozen years, and is now on her 4th.) I asked her what advice
she would give to a new business owner, and she said:

1. Set reasonable goals
2. Pay yourself first
3. Incorporate as a C-Corp

As for #1, we plan to set unreasonable goals, so that’s out. But
if she means achievable goals, then that’s cool.

As for #2, I read about that in Rich Dad Poor Dad. I think
it’s a very important concept. Most people pay themselves last.
They have bills and expenses and discretionary income, and whatever’s
left over goes to them. If you’re a small business owner, especially
a hobby-turned-business owner, often your business is funded by
whatever’s left over after every other piece of the pie has been
sliced out. This is insane. If your business is really
important to you, pay yourself first. Set aside the amount of money
you need for your business, and only then pay the things that are
lower priority.

As for #3, I haven’t had a chance to research all the options yet,
but we’ll be setting up The Usual Error as an official business soon,
so I’ll post about it again once I’ve done my homework. (: [link]