Beating the Odds Put the odds on your side with these 10 steps that (almost) guarantee startup success.

Even with your great idea, thorough research and hours of hard work, one rule still applies: Nothing is certain in business. No one can unfailingly know if a new product will succeed, how investors will receive a startup idea or whether a company will survive past the one-year mark. So how can you increase your odds of, well, beating the odds?

Whether it is trying to turn a web visitor into a customer, getting a purchase order out of a cold sales call or maintaining a stress-free lifestyle, you'll face a series of challenges and opportunities to make the leap to success. Every day, companies are started, new products launched, sales made and e-commerce conducted. Clearly, entrepreneurs can overcome the odds. Here's how to be on the winning side of the entrepreneurial equation.