The 7 Toughest Startup Lessons You Don't Want to Learn the Hard Way

I started my first business at 19 years old and thought I knew it all. The business quickly grew to $500,000 in gross revenue with five employees in three states. Business was good, but because I didn’t learn how to manage my business, things quickly got out of control.

Six years into the business, because of mismanaging the finances, I was $100,000 in debt. My dream of entrepreneurship had turned into a nightmare. This experience taught me some lessons that young entrepreneurs need to know.
According to the Ecoprenuerist 54 percent of young Americans (ages 18-34) want to become an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship can be wonderful if you build your business the right way.

The 5 Pillars, or 'Fingers,' of Successful Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is not easy. According to the April 2014 Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, 0.28 percent of adults per month started a new business in 2013.

Out of those new businesses, the majority will not survive. So what sets the successful businesses apart from the failed ones? And what tools does a budding entrepreneur need to succeed?

Any new business requires certain necessities to get started: hard work, a strong offering and a solid plan of action. In addition to these, I have come up with a handy set of five pillars of entrepreneurship that can provide a solid foundation for a new business and which every entrepreneur should utilize.

Using the fingers on one’s hand as a metaphor, start at the thumb to count down the below five pillars of successful entrepreneurship:

Generate Great PR on a Shoestring Budget With These 5 Tips

For startups, public relations is one of the most valuable and cost-effective pieces of a marketing mix in comparison to other channels, such as advertising.

Top-tier publications create broad awareness and give your company credibility as a leader in your industry. Trade publications are great for driving qualified leads. To get all of this coverage, it helps to have an interesting and differentiated product and a unique point of view. The following are five key points to consider as you launch your PR program.