On The Money

Surround yourself with a corps of advisors.

When getting your business off the ground, don't go it alone. Consult the experts in virtually all critical areas of your business, especially financial advisors who can help gauge start-up costs, says Kathy Jones-Price, a senior financial advisor for American Express Financial Advisors Inc. in Salt Lake City. "It's worth the effort to build a tight corps of advisors who have experience with small business," she says.

These advisors should include a CPA, an attorney and a few entrepreneurs with backgrounds in all aspects of the start-up experience.

A financial advisor offers tips for both saving and making money. For example: "No matter how limited their working capital and reserves, [entrepreneurs] should maintain both a checking and an interest-generating market account," says Jones-Price.

It's a commonly used tactic of midsized and large companies. "It may not translate into enormous amounts in the early years," Jones-Price explains, "but if you keep sweeping money into a money market account, one day you'll have a substantial nest egg that can be used to build your business."