The title indicates these points are of value to start-ups; and they are. In reality, they are worth remembering for businesses of any size.

Cash is King - Cash is a frequent topic of conversation, but stating cash is king, puts it in its proper perspective. Without cash your business is dead. It's important to know as much about your cash position as possible. Know what your absolute, available cash is every day. Forecast your cash position, if possible by the week, and certainly no less than by the month.

A little success can create a lot of overhead - We feel good about ourselves and our businesses when things are going well. When we're signing up new customers and when revenues are growing. It's easy to feel we've turned a corner and things will to continue to be positive. It's also easy to feel we can now relax the purse strings and buy the equipment or increase the staff we had been thinking about. Before you make those moves; step back and think twice. Do a 'with and without' cost justification of the expenditure and be absolutely positive you can afford to commit the current, as well as future cash, to the expenditure. Otherwise, when the inevitable slowdown or reversals come, you could find yourself short of cash to operate your business.

It's blocking and tackling stupid - We all enjoy planning and initiating bold initiatives, especially when they work out the way we thought they would. As stimulating as bold initiatives can be to us as business owners, we need to keep in mind it is truly the behind the scenes, day-to-day routines, the blocking and tackling, that keeps the business running smoothly and the customers satisfied.

It's good to understand the P&L statement; it's mandatory to understand the cash flow statement - Simply put, your P&L statement will let you know, if you're making money and your cash flow statement will let you know, if you have money... cash. Your P&L can be a good indicator as to how effectively you're managing the business. Only your cash flow statement, not your P&L, will let you know if you have the cash required to continue operating.

You don't run your company; your employees do - Before you get all upset over this point, give it a second thought. Yes, you own the company and you may well have frequent interaction with a number of your customers. However, your employees have direct contact with all of your customers in a variety of ways every day. One negative action, planned or unplanned, can undo years of good will and lead to a loss of the customer. Make certain you have happy, loyal and committed employees.

You can grow broke - Even if you avoid the unnecessary overhead, mentioned above, there are costs associated with growth that require cash you may not have. It's important to recognize the carrying costs for increased inventories, and/or receivables in determining how much growth you can afford to fund. A big order or a series of larger orders will put demands on your cash well in advance of your ability to receive that cash from payment of the receivables for the orders.

Cash ain't cash unless its cash * - If it seems like I'm hung up on cash, you're right. That's why almost every one of these tips, in one way or another, involves cash. I've seen too many examples where a business owner thought they were doing the right things, but they weren't paying attention to their cash and ultimately got in serious trouble. Don't confuse yourself by thinking that your receivables or the conversion value of inventories or anything else is cash. Cash is not cash unless you can write a check today and it can be covered today.

Do you know your cash balance today?