Just because your mom and best friend thinks it's a good idea, doesn't mean it is.

When you are at the idea stage, share it with as many people as possible. Share it with complete strangers. Share it with serially successful entrepreneurs. Share it with business experts. Most importantly, share it with potential customers.

There is a huge, huge difference between an assumptive market for a product and a verified market. Never start a business based upon just an assumption that customers will buy your product or service. Just because you built the finest mousetrap the world has ever seen doesn't mean there will be customers to buy it.

It gets back to the idea of talking to as many potential customers as possible. If they start raising objections to your proposed business at the idea stage, those same barriers to sale will still exist once your doors are open.

Be as passionate about your idea as you can. Evangelize about it. But, just don't marry it.

I've talked to dozens of "entrepreneurs" who have been passionately pushing the same idea for years without ever getting any traction, quite simply, because they are bad ideas.

Don't take your idea to the grave. Listen to what people are saying. They can't all be wrong and only you are right. Learn to walk away from your first idea and on quickly to your second one.

Starting a business is easier than you think. Running a business is harder than you can possibly imagine.

It really is pretty easy to start a business. Hundreds of thousands are started in this country every year. But the vast majority of them will fail. Once you are up and running, continue to always seek out and listen to quality advice. Seek out and listen very carefully to your customers. Read everything on your industry that you can get your hands on. Study your competitors very closely. Put as much energy into running your business every day as you did in getting it launched.