* Major Management Mistakes
1. Don’t recruit your best friend or your brother-in-law simply because you think you’ll get along with them — unless they have actual qualifications and experience to bring to your team

2. Don’t assume that your past success selling insurance will help you develop and market a new consumer product. Promote the success, but make sure you’ve recruited talent who know the new industry.

3. If you’re a one-person shop, don’t promote this as a management philosophy. It’s tough to wear every hat and succeed; show that you’re confident enough and savvy enough to build strengths in areas you’re weak in by recruiting top talent.

* Bad Money: How to Avoid Venture Villains
When you’re looking for financing, you’re going to welcome anyone who comes along and gives it to you. But that may not always be your soundest move. Sometimes the money comes with more strings attached – or more potential problems down the road – than you may have bargained for.

* Business Building Lessons From the Trenches
Paul Neilsen says he made a lot of mistakes in the five years he’s taken his company, DumpRunner Waste Systems from a one-man operation to a successful mid-size trash and debris removal company in the Calgary, Alberta area.

* Explore any form of financing you can find, including programs such as those offered by the Canadian Youth Business Foundation.

* If you succeed in getting financing, particularly unsecured financing, leverage it into more financing from traditional sources.

* Use credit whenever possible; get as many credit cards as you can.

* Business Plan Writing: 4 Mistakes that Will Kill Your Financial Chances
Your business plan can make a real impression on potential funders. Make sure it’s a good one.

1. Don’t simply follow a template
While you can find many good guides to creating a business plan, different factors are more important within different industries. A template for a capital intensive industry such as manufacturing might not be appropriate for your business. Even worse, it might make you look out of your depth.

2. Don’t talk in general terms about your industry
Your business plan should set specific tasks, delineate responsibilities, define objectives, set deadlines and call for specific progress reviews (including the criteria you’ll used).

3. Don’t use the business plan simply as a funding document or one-time planner
The business plan should be your constant guide. Update it regularly, assessing goals and priorities, successes and failures, and changing course as need be.

4. Don’t try to impress people with sheer volume
A business plan should not exceed 50 pages, and should be shorter if possible.