Last week was the 20-year anniversary of my founding Niche Science & Technology Ltd. It was a surprise to me that it was already 20 years since I started the business in the April of 1998. I have already written a few pieces about what I have learned in those 20 years. Because of Linked-in, I've had lots of compliments and nice comments from friends and co-workers all over the world (thank you everyone!). The recent round of congratulations made me think about what I would tell someone today who is starting their own business.

Over the years I have helped a number of entrepreneurs, businesspeople, and impresarios get their businesses off the ground. I can see that once someone gets ‘the bug,’ or the idea that they might want to start their own business, they start moving towards a certain outcome. Candidates start by asking others for advice. They want to hear your story and what you think about their "’dea.’ Their positivity always spreads like wildfire, and it can be both exciting and energising. You should, however, temper their excitement with common sense and age.

A lot of the time, people talk about their fear of failing. People who are thinking about starting their own business have good reason to worry about whether they will be successful. For some, this means worrying that they won't make enough money to eat, while for others, it means worrying that they won't be able to keep up with their current lifestyle. It's kind of like walking on a small yard wall, which is something most of us did as kids. Friends and family often ask me how it felt to walk on a wall a thousand metres high before I jumped. The decision point was like coming across a gap in the wall that you have to cross. In the ‘thousand metre’ scenario the overwhelming need is to cling to the wall for all you’re worth – the idea of jumping across the gap is unthinkable. Make the jump and look back – now you see the small garden wall (again) and you are left wondering what all the fuss was about.

It's simple to jump. The hard work starts when you face the many problems you have to solve. I've seen great ideas fail and impossible ideas work over the years. I now think that success can only be predicted by two things: luck and hard work. It's clear that the only things we can do to change our luck are buy a rabbit's foot (which was obviously bad luck for the rabbit) or find a four-leaf clover. I believe that hard work and smart choices are what luck looks like if it looks like anything. People who are starting a business should never be so cocky as to think that their success shows how smart they are; luck is fickle. It's better to keep working hard to improve your game and/or do better than your competitors.

You have likely been looking for advice if you have been thinking about starting your own business. There are so many experts giving help that it's hard to figure out which one to follow. I've put together a short list of tips from my own experience to help you start your own business.

1: Know your limitations

In the words of Clint Eastwood’s character, Harry Callahan, in the 1973 film Magnum Force “A man's got to know his limitations”. You can’t know and/or do everything. It was also described nicely in ‘An Essay on Criticism’, the first major poem written by the English writer Alexander Pope in 1711: “One science only will one genius fit: So vast is art, so narrow human wit”.

In the beginning, you might try to save money by making bills and balancing your books every night, but watch out that you don't go over budget. Find out what your limits are right away. Some of these skills are fun to learn as you go, but for some jobs you will need a deeper understanding that you can only get from business professionals. For example, if you write your own contracts, have a lawyer look them over before you sign them.

Areas where you might need to invest resources are:

• Product/manufacturing/service delivery
• Manufacturing processes
• Sales and marketing
• Business management and administration
• Information technology infrastructure
• Human resources/personnel
• Financial management
• Legal, patents, contracts, etc.

2: Look after the money

At the end of the day, money is what makes something successful. A business is an organisation where things and services are traded for money. Not being able to balance is what keeps a business going. The best way to describe the book is to look at Charles Dickens's David Copperfield. "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds, nineteen shillings, and sixpence," says Mr. Micawber, a character who is often quoted as giving the famous recipe for happiness. Every year they make twenty pounds and spend twenty pounds, which should and does lead to suffering. These words are still true today, 1850 years later. Put as much money as you can into your business at the start. Decide how much you are ready to lose if everything goes wrong and how much you will need to live on while your business grows. You can get money for your business from a lot of different places, such as your own funds, credit card or bank loans, private investors, and/or venture capital companies. It can be hard to come up with the money you need, but keep in mind that loans are dangerous and expensive, and investments require you to give up ownership and control, which could be a big part of why you started your business in the first place.

3: Plan long and hard

It doesn't cost anything to plan, and you can do a lot of it before you commit to anything. I learned a lot while in the military, and I'm proud to say that the old management saying "planning and preparation prevent poor performance" (6P's) came from the British army. Make a plan! When the killing starts, you don't want to be being silly.

As soon as you hit "Go," money will start leaving your business. Any prep work that cuts down on the time it takes to get paid or gives you more time to work on projects will help you.

Putting your thoughts into a formal Business Plan will help you a lot. You will have to do this if you want to get money from outside sources. The internet has a lot of great examples that you can use for free. It can be hard to write a plan. The first time I tried, I felt like I was writing a story. Most people, though, start businesses in areas where they already have experience. For example, I once tried to help someone from the pharmaceutical industry start a wedding planning business. That means you should know what problems you are going to have to solve. Still, there's no way around doing a lot of study on the market to help you make a business model that makes sense.

4: Be clear about what you are selling

You might want to start your business by solving a problem that a lot of people in your field are having. Building a strong customer base is much easier if your business is about fixing a problem. Fill a gap in a market or area at the very least. It's possible that the saying "Make a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door" was taken out of context and is now one of the most false sayings ever. What makes you different from everyone else? Come up with and clearly state your unique selling offer. Sometimes it's your service, sometimes it's your goods, and sometimes it's all of these things together. It has to be clear and convincing, no matter what it is. From the start, keep things easy.

Like a lot of ‘entrepreneurs,’ you have an idea and want to take it to the next level. On the other hand, be careful not to let your idea get too complicated. You might end up with something complicated and expensive that no one wants. Cut out parts that aren't needed. You don't have to have all the bells and whistles of a big company as a small business. People will be able to understand what you're trying to sell them better, and a simpler product might be just what they need. As your business grows, it will be simple to add new types of widgets and parts to your business. A good business idea should keep its promises to customers and go above and beyond what they expect so that customers will come back.

5: Prepare for a journey

When you start your own business, you often have to learn as you go. If you don't have a lot of money to start with, you will have to build your business slowly and move from being an employee to being an owner over time. Pay attention to what friends, family, and people who have worked in your field before have to say. Be a sponge when it comes to your work goals. Note things down. Take notes on your plan and keep adding to it; think of it as a living record. Businesses that do well change with the times. Get ready to change your plans and take advantage of smart and responsive routing.

When I started Niche, I had just finished school, where you need to pay close attention to details and look at problems from every possible angle. You only move on when you're sure you fully understand the situation. Businesses are usually not the same because the ecosystems they work in are too complicated to test or study with the same level of certainty. Sometimes you have to act quickly and only on your gut. If you hear people call economics the "dismal science," it's not by accident. Don't forget what I said about how much luck is needed for every success.

Finally, a business is its own legal entity and its only goal is to help the people who have a stake in it. As a general rule, it takes three CEOs to get a company to floatation: one to start it, one to grow it into a successful business, and one to float or sell it. Each needs a different set of skills. Firms will change over time as they have to adapt to the market, not the other way around. Boards and leaders will come and go. Thus, once you give a company life, it will have its own personality and will change drastically based on what the market needs.

6: Sell, sell, sell

Success comes from achieving a balance of points 1 through 5, extensive market research, a realistic business model and, above all, the application of good all-around business sense. But you are nothing without sales. Businesses often spend a lot of time focusing on refining their product or service offering – failing to recognise the need to be ‘on the market’. You NEED to make sales.

Unless you are already in sales, not many people can go from working for a company to being a good salesman. It's hard for many business owners because they don't know how to sell. Telling everyone about your business can be scary, especially if you're new to it. Be ready to talk about your business with confidence, even if it makes you feel bad.

You will need to sell and network all the time as a new business owner. You need to be able to talk to people in all kinds of ways, from meeting new clients to working out payment terms with suppliers. It's not enough to have the best goods or service to be successful. In general, this is true for all businesses. Almost never is a product alone distinctive and sought after enough to make a business successful and gain quick fame. If no one knows about your great offering that everyone would love, your business will fail. It's also important to know how to sell your business, but keep that separate from sales.

In conclusion, starting a business can be tricky. Nothing beats the handshake that closes a sale, or the unsolicited testimonial telling you that what you produced helped someone. You'll likely go to places (both nice and not so nice) that you wouldn't have otherwise seen and meet a lot of people you wouldn't have met otherwise. You'll be proud that you made something real that people want; they paid money for it after all. Always remind yourself that most businesses fail. In fact, most venture managers will tell you that most business ideas can be thrown out before they even get to the planning stage. If you're the cautious type like me, you should make a plan "just in case the worst happens." You might have to quickly find a job or temporarily move into a smaller place to live.

You might have to give up some of the things you're used to in order to start Niche. For the first year, I lived in a squat and made money by fixing people's computers. Plan ahead for what you'll do if things don't go as planned. Early on, the more planning, study, and smart choices you make, the more likely it is that your business will succeed. Passion is one of the most important things that makes a business idea work. You will always be driven by passion to make things better so that your business grows. Still, don't let your feelings control everything you do. Desire will get you where you want to go, but information will show you the way. Picture running a car as your business starts to come together. Your drive should be the gas pedal, your mind should be the steering wheel, and your business plan should be the GPS. That way, you can focus on the road conditions knowing that you're going in the right direction and keeping up the speed you need to reach your goal.

One final consideration is to make sure that you look after yourself. Starting a business can be intensive and take a toll on your health. As the key and the possibly only member of the company, a period of ill-health could have a significant impact on the survival of your company.