Ten Tips for Starting a Business

Donald Trump's former right hand woman, Carolyn Kepcher, has ten tips for business start-ups and she insists you should have all ten before you begin a venture of your own. We've known people to do more with less, but it can't hurt to put some of these into action—after all, Kepcher has had an extremely successful career, and she's survived The Donald, so she must be doing something right! Here are her top ten rules for starting a business:

• Be passionate about your idea. You need to convey this passion and people need to feel it.
• Join every network, every team, and every board that’s closely related to your business.
• Be knowledgeable about your idea or product so you can be prepared to answer every question put to you.
• Don’t do this on your own. Get partners or create alliances and show them how this arrangement is beneficial for all involved.
• Raise money. This may be the hardest part and remember not to ask of people more than that which they can give.
• Contribute only what you can afford.
• Continually make new relationships with people that can help you in the future and keep those past relationships, as you may need them in the future.
• Take it easy. Only when a relationship is formed should you begin to talk about your business ideas, pose questions or ask for help.
• Create an informal board of directors.
• Be computer savvy, or be prepared to hire smart people who can help you out.

Pretty sound advice, though you might not need to use all of these for every situation. Do you think these are good tips or does she merit a “You’re fired!”? [MSNBC.com]