Running your own business is not the same as working for someone else by any stretch of imagination. Time is usually at a premium, so you don't want to waste even five minutes of it. When you work for someone else and are asked to do a job, you are often given a specific time frame in which to finish. If you finish it before this time is up you'll be given another job, so most people make sure they take all the time allotted to them to finish.

When running a business of your own, you need to alter this mindset. If you can finish a task even five minutes ahead of the hour allotted, you will gain valuable time. In fact, it might surprise you to know that if you can save five minutes in every hour, it will translate to four more working weeks in the year. Four whole weeks in which to get more work done!

Achieving goals is much like building a home. You need to plan everything first, budget for it and then execute it in certain, daily steps. You need to put into place contingency plans for when things get held up or go wrong for some reason. Just as the most important part of building a home is the foundation, so the most important part of a small business is the foundation you lay. If you skip steps thinking it won't matter, then be prepared for trouble later on.