In the corporate world, many of us do things as they have always been done. It's difficult to change these processes and the mindsets behind them. When moving to the SME space you have the opportunity and responsibility to constantly ask yourself if what you're doing today will help you achieve your end goal of tomorrow and, more importantly, you need to go back and make sure your solution is still relevant on an ongoing basis. This can be a great tool for personal growth as well.

Many entrepreneurs feel that they must focus on price and that their products or services must be as cheap as possible, but times have changed and many customers look at the service they receive as a distinguishing factor, rather than price alone. The point is that you need to offer something unique to the market and you will succeed if you can give better service than anyone else, even if your competition is cheaper.

It is critically important that you put a good credit system in place so that you know on a daily or weekly basis exactly who owes you money and when they are going to pay you. With today's technology, it is possible to automatically remind your clients to pay their bill by sending them a text message or email. With new clients, I would suggest insisting on a deposit a single piece of work happens, with the balance paid within an agreed time on completion. When customers' account fall into arrears, it is important to take action as soon as possible. Young businesses often don't want to annoy late - paying clients by nagging them and leave overdue clients until the last minute - and then it is usually too late to save anything.

Not all entrepreneurs are financial people. In fact, very few entrepreneurs are financial people. I'm not saying you should find an accountant on day one but you need to understand the basic mechanics of business in general and, more importantly, your business.

The kind of customer you need to find is a paying one. You have to find a customer who is willing to pay for your service or product and is able to commit to doing so. I said, COMMIT to it by PAYING for it. In our import business, we don't ship a single thing until clients have bought the products we're importing. If you REALLY want to mitigate the risks, and you are starting a business that can do it, put your products out online first to see who will really make the jump and put their money and put their mouth is before you produce a single thing. Test the waters.

The big lesson: being a great technical person won't make you a great entrepreneur. One should never confuse the two. Because of this, most successful businesses are built by two partners: one is the entrepreneur, the other is the technical person. The product may be crucial, but without the busit to sell it and support it, it's useless. If you are the technical person, find the right partner, or be prepared to do everything yourself.

The downside of registering a company is that you need to comply with more rules and regulations and it can be a costly exercise. So, what do you do? If you are serious about your business, then register a company and do it properly. There will be a cost but it should be outweighed by the tax benefits, reputational clout and the legal protection it offers.

Starting a business is risky enough without adding other unnecessary risks. Put simply, don't get involved in anything illegal, don't do anything that is ethically questionable and always pay your debts. Don't take short cuts.

The most important thing is to be realistic, even leaning towards pessimism.

"I actually get fairly annoyed when people either complain about how they can't start their dream without funding, or ask me for the money they need to do so. If a small - town boy from Harrismith could start a business with R37k in savings and a rented bakkie, and still manage to sell that business for millions, so can everyone else. Hustle!" - Marnus Broodryk