Recently I was fortunate to be interviewed by Mitchell York, a serial entrepreneur who coaches outplaced executives to help them identify their goals and begin new careers as entrepreneurs. As we know, entrepreneurship is not for everyone. It is hard work and requires that we bring all our skills to the table and understand areas that we need to develop additional skills in order to succeed.Here is a portion of my CFO's Advice to Entrepreneurs interview.What are the biggest mistakes new business owners make when it comes to managing the financial side of their business?I find fewer than 10% of all businesses–new and established–take the time to create a plan.

Lack of planning is the most common error of new business owners. Planning encompasses a lot of territory, including the financial responsibility of supporting your business until the business is able to support you. Eighty percent of new businesses fail in the first year. The primary reason is lack of cash, another is holding a vision that did not meet the reality of the business. As a new business owner your first task is to translate your vision into a business plan and have it critiqued by qualified persons. Include financial and cash flow forecasts. Then on to Plan B showing sales at 50% of the original forecast. Assuming your venture will be self-funded, does the reduced sales forecast still show cash flow in your favor? If not, do you have the financial resources and confidence to contribute additional cash to your business.

Companies most often fail because they have no plan are unable to measure progress against a plan and don’t see the end coming.A lot of experts talk about having lines of credit available at all times. What if a bank won’t extend credit to your small business? Are credit cards a good option? What about shifting balances between credit cards?Credit can be hard to come by for start-ups. Establish a relationship with your banker, even if they cannot loan. Contact your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Community Development Center of Long Island (CDCLI), Long Island Development Center (LIDC) and others to determine if funding is available and the steps necessary to obtain funding.

I’d consider credit cards as a good option only when an owner faces a brief shortfall of cash and is confident that the business is able pay off all balances in the short term. Move credit balances to the card with the lowest interest rate and pay on time. Late payments can result in highly unfavorable interest rates.Do small businesses need to subscribe to Dun & Bradstreet or similar services to know their business credit score?This is always a good idea. You should review your credit rating quarterly and correct any errors. If you have good credit that is not shown on the report, speak with a credit representative and provide additional credit sources to be added to your report.

Go to annualcreditreport.com for a free report of your personal credit rating. The rating agencies are Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Each allows one free report per year.I have many small business clients who have problems with collections. Not that their customers aren’t going to pay–they just take 60 or 90 days. How can a small business with little leverage over clients speed the cycle?Being successful as a small business owner requires a high level of confidence.

This inner confidence is critical when discussing price and payment terms. Those that lack confidence will sell below market price and fail to discuss terms. Price and terms are both components of the sales discussion. It may be to your advantage to run a D&B report on the client’s payment history and be able to discuss any concerns. When you receive an order......You can read the interiew in its entirety at http://www.e2ecoaching.com/2008/10/18/a-cfos-advice-to-entrepreneurs But this blog is less about my interview and more a lesson in networking.  Notice at the end of the interview you have an opportunity to submit a comment. This also allows you to place a link to your website. Now hold on! If you run off and enter a comment and link and think that's all there is to it then you are missing a greater opportunity.

In the true intent of networking you should not be adding a comment and weblink for self-serving purposes, but rather to expand your visibility by providng an insightful comment so that others who read your response will want to know more about you. And since you truly understand networking and look to help others (and pick up 3 credits for Networking 101) you are going to pursue this additional networking step.After reading the article and posting your most insightful comment, you will forward the link to several others who may also benefit. And here's a wrapup of how that goes....

1) By reading the interview and forwarding the link you help me by showing that my insight into business is useful to owners who can then apply this information and improve how they operate their businesses.

2) You draw attention to your services by placing a well-considered comment that makes a reader want to learn more about you and drives traffic to your website and services.3) You forward the interview link to others who will include persons in your network AND outplaced executives (particularly those who have recently lost jobs in the financial community).

Outplaced execs may have a need for Mitch's services, and in this way you help Mitch (who was good enough to present this networking opportunity to all of us).4) Perhaps through Mitch's services someone will find new hope by identifying a way out of their past W-2 life and into the world of entrepreneurship.

Win-Win-Win-WinI Win -- You Win,  Mitch Wins, someone finds a new career and you were the reason they stumbled across this opportunity, a Win for them and a big pat on the back for you.