In the chaos of an entrepreneurial venture, you might find yourself saying, doing and allowing things that would be taboo in a normal business environment. For example, if every entrepreneurial venture had a “curse jar” that required a five-dollar “donation” for every curse we might be able to solve the national deficit pretty quickly. However, there are certain inappropriate behaviors that have a lasting effect that can set poor standards, establish values contrary to the interests of the company and create a toxic culture that can be hard to clean up. You must establish a set of ideals and perspectives that are non-negotiable for everyone.

Taking time away from your business to raise money seems like a distraction from the business. But, in fact, getting your company the capital it needs can be the most important thing that you do. However, when we undertake the effort, it often seems that we hear different feedback from every investor and that each investor meeting is like starting from scratch.

It is really hard for us entrepreneurs to understand on a daily basis how everyone on the planet (and maybe even other planets) aren't toiling day and night. After all, doesn't everyone out there know that were are trying to bring our business to life. There is no lunch hour. There are no days off. What is a vacation? This is how we normally think about the world on a day to day basis. But what happens when we hit August and the winter holidays?

As entrepreneurs, we often lack the capital and resources we need to move our business forward. What we do not lack is the ability to think differently about problems and solutions. When my company almost collapsed in the financial crisis of 2008, it was only my ability to come up with solutions when none existed that helped us bounce back. There are so many times that you will be faced with a problem that seems like it is insurmountable.

Communication is key. As an entrepreneur, you are the leader of your organization, which means you set the tone. That means that every little thing you say will have an effect on your team, whether you realize it or not. The fast pace and intensity of each day leaves little time to worry about your tone of voice, but what you say and how you say it makes all the difference. Here are a few Do’s and Don’ts to sharpen your communication skills:

With the advent of technology and the amount of capital floating around, you get competition from anywhere. So when you are talking to a potential partner or investor, how do you protect your idea? Certainly taking some basic steps can help. This includes signing a mutual non-disclosure agreement and filing for trademarks and patents. But if someone really wants to steal your idea, even these vehicles can fall short.

Communication is key. As an entrepreneur, you are the leader of your organization, which means you set the tone. That means that every little thing you say will have an effect on your team, whether you realize it or not. The fast pace and intensity of each day leaves little time to worry about your tone of voice, but what you say and how you say it makes all the difference. Here are a few Do’s and Don’ts to sharpen your communication skills:

Every entrepreneur faces an overwhelming set of tasks to be accomplished. The list is endless. Strategy. Technology. Team. Business models. Plans. Tactics. Functional areas. Branding. Staff. Money management. Offices. Fundraising. For every ten hours of time, there are one hundred hours of work. Put aside the passion, energy, emotion and pressure and think of all the things that need to get done.

We lose perspective as entrepreneurs. I want to help people recognize this and manage our teams and ourselves through it. We lose sight of the fact that the rest of the world does not wake up with the passion, determination and focus that we do. Something has spurred us to take this wild journey to create our venture. Our heart and soul are in it. Our business life and personal life (if you have one) are intimately intermingled. We think about it twenty-four hours per day and our dreams are not of sipping piña coladas or a relaxing day at the spa, but rather having our first real paying customers. It is unlikely anyone else is losing sleep, shunning their personal lives, or investing their heart and soul.

What happens when we have team members who are not used to the pace or the pressure of an entrepreneurial venture? I'll give you an example: I was driving to a meeting with ADP  with one of our female sales reps and we were late. I’ve been known to put the pedal to the metal and we were buzzing through the streets of New Jersey trying to get to there on time. I was also talking on my phone. In the midst of casual  conversation with her, she said,  “Can  you pull over for a second?” She opened the door, stuck her head out the window  and threw up. She leaned back in the car with a look of horror on her face. This  is when the ridiculousness of an entrepreneurial mind takes over.

For all of us that have become entrepreneurs, we believe that what we're doing is unique. We put our heart and soul into our idea but sometimes our obsession clouds our judgement. Let's say that you are about to start a meatball restaurant, and your friends say to you - "there are already tons of meatball restaurants." Event though that's true, you are likely to say - "but you've never tasted my meatballs."

The day we lose our passion for our idea or business is the day we should stop being an entrepreneur. But that does not mean that our passion can make us blind. When we are under the influence of our passion, we often don't see what is going on around us and reduce our chances of success. The key is to realize that this can happen, and create tools and process to bring more objective points of view to the table.

If we walked into a Board room at Apple and said, "we are going to pursue every market with every product", everyone in the room would laugh and security would escort you out the door. 

There are many startup coaches out there that believe that in today's fast paced world, creating a business plan adds no value. After all, chances are that the day you finish it, it will be irrelevant. The market will have moved. Your competitors will have changed. And your basic assumptions will be out the window.

We have all had friends and family say to us, "you need to get some sleep." Our immediate reaction is "who has time to sleep - we are trying to create a business here and we have a million things to do." As entrepreneurs, it seems like foregoing sleep is not only a necessity but a badge of honor that comes with the title "entrepreneur." Nothing could be further from the truth.

We all have friends and family who offer to help us in our businesses. Unfortunately, we don't take advantage of these valuable offers in a way that really helps our business. To do it right, think about a specific need you have that is small and focused but that can help you.

Raising money can be a full-time job and takes years of experience to understand how it works. There are many individuals sometimes called brokers, that spend their lives helping companies raise the capital they need. Generally these third parties earn their keep by receiving a percentage of the amount that they raise - usually 5 to 10%. So when does it make sense to use a third party like a broker raise money?

Companies use the word "accountability" but it is hard to know how to put that in place in the fast moving environment of an entrepreneurial venture. In many cases, the leader or founder of the company tries to drive accountability by talking directly to someone about a goal, activity or deliverable. And while that should work in many cases, often times in a one on one an individual may not respond. So what can you do?

When we are talking to investors, we are passionate about our product or service. While this is a good thing, it causes us to use language that can be a turnoff to investors. If you are describing how your customers view your product or service, and you respond, "our customer LOVES our tracking software", it strains your credibility.

What sets one sales effort apart from another? If we all have competition, how do we earn the right to advance in the sales process. Every good sales professional will respond to customer requests for more information about your product or service quickly and thoroughly. But there are very few salespeople that will provide customer proactively provide customers with valuable information. In other words, provide "more than they ask, before they ask."

Raising money can be a full-time job and takes years of experience to understand how it works. There are many individuals sometimes called brokers, that spend their lives helping companies raise the capital they need. Generally these third parties earn their keep by receiving a percentage of the amount that they raise - usually 5 to 10%. So when does it make sense to use a third party like a broker raise money?

This is a tough one. People that know you and believe in you are often very willing to give you money to pursue your business. They often don't put you through the rigors of due diligence the way an independent third party does. So in this sense they are a common source of capital for early-stage companies. But there is a catch. Because you have a personal relationship with these individuals, the nature of your relationship is not simply as an investor. Often times they will have higher expectations of you and you may have higher expectations of yourself because of that personal relationship.

One of an entrepreneur's most challenging dilemmas is how much money to raise. It has far-reaching implications, not the least of which is how much ownership in your company you're going to give away. While there is no magic answer to this question, here is a simple guideline that might help you in your fundraising efforts.