10 Things Every Enrepreneur Needs to Know...

I came across this list in my local paper and felt it was worth posting for you business owners out there.

1 Numbers run a business. If you don't know how to read them, you are flying blind.

2 A sale isn't a sale until you collect.

3 When your short-term liabilities exceed your short-term assets, you are bankrupt.

4 Forget about shortcuts. Run a business as if it's forever.

5 Cash is hard to get and easy to spend. Make it before you spend it.

6 You have no friends in business, only associates.

7 Don't focus on the top line. Gross margin is the most important number on the income statement.

8 Identify your true competitors, and treat them with respect.

9 Culture drives a company. In the long run, the boss's most important job is to define and enforce it.

10 The life plan has to come before the business plan.