A book that has been a mainstay on my bookshelf is “Street Smarts: An All-Purpose Tool Kit for Entrepreneurs“. I highly recommend it to anyone who runs their own business or is thinking of starting one.

Within the book, the author Norm Brodsky has the following list that I believe can serve as a reminder / checklist for when we feel tempted by the shiny new thing / venture / opportunity.

Norm Brodsky’s Ten Commandments of Business

1. Numbers run a business. If you don’t know how to read them, you’re flying blind.
2. Cash is hard to get and easy to spend. Make it before you spend it.
3. Don’t focus on the top line. Gross Margin is the most important number on the income statement.
4. A sale isn’t a sale until you collect.
5. When your short-term liabilities exceed your short-term assets, you’re bankrupt.
6. Forget about shortcuts. Run a business as if it’s forever.
7. Identify your true competitors, and treat them with respect.
8. You have no friends in business, only associates.
9. Culture drives a company. In the long run, the boss’s most important job is to define and enforce it.
10. The life plan has to come before the business plan.

About Norm Brodsky: (Source)

Norm Brodsky is a distinguished alumnus from the class of 1964 at Rider University. 

Went on to become a seasoned entrepreneur who overcame bankruptcy at 45. He recovered from that by building and selling CitiStorage, a document-archive business, for $110M. For 32 years, Norm has worked alongside his wife and business partner, Elaine.  

Norm imparts his extensive experience to the next generation of business leaders. He mentors emerging entrepreneurs through the Birthing of Giants Fellowship Program and contributed as a columnist to Inc. Magazine. Brodsky currently operates a long-stay hotel and is also an adjunct professor at Rider.