Get Your Business off and Running - Supplement Your Credentials

5. "Supplement" your credentials.
Work with advisors and small-business centers to add to your knowledge base and skill set. You might have an excellent idea and may be really skilled in some areas but, like all of us, you could have some blind spots. Although entrepreneurs are known to multitask really well, most will readily admit there are pieces of the business they hate - especially if they can't do it well.

Investigate your local community colleges to see if they offer entrepreneurship classes for starting a business. Connect with an old professor who might be able to point you in the right direction to get the help you need. Local organizations also sometimes schedule classes and workshops designed to help you supplement your credentials in the areas of marketing, budgeting, funding, technology, operations and financial management.

If you're not checking out new information on business blogs, social networking sites, journals, you are missing opportunities to increase your knowledge. Consider also forming a small business advisory group of experts with whom you can barter knowledge to supplement your own.

Check out the SCORE organization.