Young entrepreneurs have a wonderful asset on their side: energy.

We see all around us amazing new inventions, applications, services, and products being developed by society’s youth because they have very little to lose when getting a start at such a young age. Their energy allows them to dedicate many hours, each day, toward a project of passion.

However, one hurdle these young entrepreneurs face is the fact that it’s easy to lose track of the bigger picture. These individuals will rush into an idea, hit the ground running, but fail to realize how to excel their work to the next level because they’ve yet to reach a mature understanding of the startup environment.

For this reason it’s important to have a business mentor.

A mentor is an individual that will provide level-headed advice in key areas of business that are unknown; they’ve already put in their time and have the wisdom to instill onto the younger generation (if they listen). The mentor acts like a role model but actually takes the time to guide the individual rather than being an individual to whom they may never interact.

Robert J. Finlay is one such business development professional with quite a few words of wisdom for those seeking advice (and perhaps even a mentor) to grow their business:

“If I had any advice for young entrepreneurs it would be to do something you’re absolutely passionate about. One distinguisher of success is someone who wakes up every day and just loves going to work because they’re making a difference.”

To make a business mentorship work it really comes down to showing respect, taking advice without becoming too emotional, and accountability.

The individual being mentored should be able to provide clear goals for their business, which will give the mentor a logical set of ideas and information to instill on the individual. Likewise, the mentored should be able to remain productive, provide reports on their progress, and continue to make the main business decisions rather than being completely dictated by the mentor.

Finding a mentor is easier said than done. Entrepreneurs may be hard pressed to find an individual willing to give up a good deal of their time because they too may have work which needs to be done. Additionally, there are many business veterans that may have never had the chance to be mentors so they aren’t accustomed to instilling their knowledge.

All that it really takes is identifying an individual that matches ones’ goals. The mentor should be an individual that had real, hands-on experience with the type of work and industry so that their information is applicable to the business.

A simple email, written letter, or phone call is enough to introduce oneself to a potential mentor. Cut to the chase and explain the situation, ask if they are willing to share their knowledge, and follow the process of productivity and accountability to develop a great mutually beneficial relationship.

Mentors matter more than ever, especially in an entrepreneurial landscape full of gung-ho starters.

According to figures cited on the Small Business Administration website, when planning to start your own business you should anticipate a cost of about $30,000. This is a blanket figure that doesn’t cover some of the unique circumstances a restaurant may encounter.

Opening Expenses
Opening expenses are easy to forget when you are mentally conceptualizing your restaurant for the first time.

Ground yourself in reality with a few fast figures:

· Permits: Serving alcohol and food require a permit in most cities, that you must pay fees for and display in public view. If you plan to make renovations to your location, you must make sure that you get proper permits for construction as well.

· Insurance: Insurance for a restaurant covers accidents for employees and customers, as well as building concerns.

· Accounting: Someone to track the financial aspect of your restaurant, detailing stock ordered and recording the daily sales figures.

· Point of sale software: Software that allows you to accept credit cards and process transactions. You often need a merchant account with the point of sale, which usually requires about 1.5-percent to 3-percent commission on every transaction you make.
These costs just help the restaurant open its doors safely on day one.

Rent
Renting for a commercial property works similarly to renting for an individual. You will need to come up with a security deposit plus the first month’s rent.

You also need to factor in utility costs, which may be higher than an average business because you have concerns about food storage (which often requires a large freezer and lots of power) in addition to fuel for your stove and water to wash dishes with.

Decorating Costs
The costs of actually prepping your restaurant will vary based on what you want to do with the location. You can often find silverware, plates, cups and other basic supplies at a restaurant discount warehouse. Shopping at these outlets saves money on basic supplies to help get you through the first month.

A trip to your local crafts or hardware store will yield lots of things you can build yourself too. Candle holders you can paint over with glass paint, wooden shelves that hold vintage cookbooks, mirrors in wrought-iron frames and other trinkets will add character to your location. Think that’s not important?

Yelp does, they even have a category for “ambiance.” Remember that dining is a sensual experience, so the tastes, sights, smells and sounds of the space should all be carefully coordinated. You may also want to invest in a streaming service like Spotify, which will let you design a soundtrack to fit the mood of your restaurant without investing in a large music collection.

Food and Payroll
It should come as no surprise that food and payroll should be around 40-percent to 70-percent of your monthly budget. Keep your initial food orders as low as possible until your restaurant is in the black, and carefully chart your most in-demand menu items. Work in the restaurant with your spouse to help keep staff requirements at a minimum until you can afford more staff. Use the extra money on marketing, or on improving the quality of your ingredients.

Marketing
Signage for your restaurant to advertise daily specials is a fun way to let passersby know what you offer. They are also expensive each time your order them so a lot of small restaurants use street-side chalkboards to entice customers.

Menus should showcase food, using copy that makes the patron’s mouth water. Avoid simply listing ingredients, instead taking time to talk about savory dishes in detail. Our Boef Bourguignon is served in a red wine stew full of hearty carrots, chunks of potato, fresh mushrooms and roasted garlic. Try it with the house Pinot Noir to accentuate the different levels of flavor.

Word-of-mouth is your strongest asset, so pay attention to your Yelp reviews and learn who your regulars are.

Would it surprise you to learn that most of the “big” CEOs don’t have social media presences? It’s true (warning: the video in that link plays automatically—make sure you’ve got your headphones in)!

Why is that? It is that those CEOs are too busy running their companies (something you can surely understand)? Or is it possibly because-though they might be loathe to admit it-they don’t know how to go about setting up or running an active social media presence? It is probably a little of both, with which you can undoubtedly sympathize.

Unfortunately, as a newcomer to business, you can’t afford to not have a social media presence. It is the corner stone of your branding and online reputation. This is why hiring a firm to set up and, until you get the hang of things, run your online presence is a good idea. The problem is that absolutely anybody can say that they’ve got social media, branding and startup expertise.

Unfortunately, very few of these firms are actually capable of what they promise you on their websites. So how do you figure out the difference?

1. Check Out Their Own Profiles
Every person or company that offers to run your social media and online presence should have really great profiles and sites already up and running. Click on those links and see what kind of impression you get. Do those companies just sell their own stuff over and over again? Or are they actively engaged with their audience? Profiles that are 100% sales are a bad sign.

2. Read the Reviews
Everybody knows how important reviews are. Reviews, especially when sought independently, can give you a really good idea of what to expect from any given company. Brand.com reviews actually assess all the different reputation management strategies that come out, effectively covering that niche. What do the reviews say about your company?

3. Manners Matter
When checking out the reviews, websites and social pages of each branding company, pay attention to how they treat the people with whom they are interacting. Etiquette matters. Do these companies manage to hit that perfect marriage between professionalism and personality outlined in Lauren Simond’s Time article?

4. Outlandish Promises
When you visit the website of a potential online reputation management firm, what do you see? Do you see a lot of blinking ads? Are you presented with an un-closeable subscription box? Do you see crazy promises to get you on the front page of Google for your keyword within 24 hours (or less)? Run away! Sure it would be nice to get a million followers to each of your profiles and be on the front page of Google by the time you finish sneezing but those things take a while to accomplish. Any social media management firm worth hiring is going to know that.

5. Meet a Few
As you search you will start out with probably dozens of prospects and, over time, whittle that list down to a few. When you’ve got it narrowed down to, say, five or fewer, it is time to start interviewing. Set up meetings with each prospective candidate. Ask them these five interview questions.

You know that having a social media presence and good online reputation are important. Everybody knows that. Not everybody is able to set it up single-handedly. This is why hiring a firm to take care of your branding and building your online reputation is a good idea.youn

As an entrepreneur, you’re probably running your business out of your home. You’ve got a post office box for your mail. You set up a dedicated phone number on Skype. You’ve converted your dining room into an office space and every day you sit in it and do your work. As your business grows, though, you find that the little bit of space you’ve carved out for yourself isn’t enough anymore.

There are lots of reasons that you need to find more space for your company:

Maybe you’ve expanded enough that you need help and it’s time to hire employees. You can’t exactly expect your new assistant or new sales team to sit on the floor in your living room.

You make your products yourself and demand has driven up the supply quantity that you need to keep on hand.

You’ve started new direct mail and guerilla marketing campaigns and the materials have over taken every spare inch of space in your house.

Your spouse has threatened divorce if you order any more inventory or supplies because getting through your home is like sidling along the labyrinth.

The type of space you need is going to depend upon what you intend to do with it.

If you’re taking on an assistant or hiring some employees to help you with your sales (or other parts of your business), you’re going to need office space. In some cities, like Portland or Indianapolis, office space is prevalent and, for the most part, affordable. In other cities, like Las Vegas or Louisville, finding the right office space is difficult and, often expensive. In these cities, you might have an easier time setting up as part of an office park.
Setting up in an office park does have some benefits. The park usually has a built in mail service (especially if the park is just a really big building). It might even offer reception services (which saves you the hassle of having to hire someone). Maintenance and grounds keeping is typically taken care of as well.

If the problem is simply a matter of needing space to store stuff, you can easily solve the problem by renting a storage unit. Here’s the good news: it is easy, whether you live in Portland, Indianapolis, Las Vegas or Louisville to look locally to rent temporary storage when downsizing office space. Even better, this temporary storage is usually super cheap. You can rent a unit for the duration of your marketing campaign or while you figure out how to work with a drop shipper and then clean it out and viola! Done! No muss, no fuss.

It might even be worth it to go with a storage unit in which to store supplies and files so that you can rent a smaller and, therefore cheaper, office space for your company.

Really, the type of space and services you need are going to depend upon the ways in which your business is expanding and where you want to take it.