Surviving Your First Year As A Small Business Owner

If you are launching a business, you have probably heard the horror stories of business failure after business failure. Listen to some of the naysayers and you'll start believing that 90% of new businesses are destined to fail. However, the reality is much brighter: according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, 75% of new businesses survive the first year, 69% survive the first two years, and 50% make it to five years.Granted, a 50-50 chance of surviving to year five may not sound that great, but you don't have to sit back and let chance dictate your fate. After working with thousands of new businesses and having started several myself, here are some of the things I have learned to help set a new business up for success:

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