7. SET UP YOUR BUSINESS BUDGET: Most entrepreneurs prefer to spend time working in their business than on it, but don’t be fooled – setting up a starting budget and financial infrastructure can help insure you have a business to work on! Your starting budget you created for your business plan is a good starting point for this exercise. You’ll need to go through what your initial start-up costs will be for your goods, fixtures, product development, marketing, office supplies, IT needs, your initial rent and security, insurance and any licensing costs. You also should budget for any travel or expenses the business will need to cover as you start-up. Finally, figure out what salaries you’ll be paying and when they start. It’s helpful to create a spreadsheet to track these startup costs and the money you’ll lay out each month. Run that budget for a year to make sure your assumptions about the cash you’ll need and the money you’ve raised plus ongoing operations match up. You don’t want to be spending more than you have for very long. Make sure you spend time with your accountant understanding the reports you can run to see how your income, expenses, receivables and other key metrics are tracked. Part of being an owner knows what is happening with your business and what changes you can be done to make your business grow.