Clarify your vision. As an entrepreneur, a lot rides on your talent, your passion, and your energy. Chances are that if you are starting a business now, you are an idea person and have quite a bit of courage (and an independent streak, too). Before you begin investing money, time, and energy in creating your business, spend some "seasoning" time testing, expanding, and getting to know your idea from all directions. Know what you think—and feel—about your idea. Resist the temptation to get caught up in the wave of your own enthusiasm and believe your own marketing spin. Do the work to put all the financial projections together, ask yourself whether the business matches the "real" goals you have in life, and test the image of the business thoroughly. (Startup Nation, at www.startupnation.com, has a number of great tools for developing a life plan and establishing your business in the context of a life well lived.) Once you’ve gone through this clarifying stage, you’ll be able to start building on your idea with confidence.

Identify your resources. Nobody does this alone. You might bootstrap your business through its first few months, but soon you will need resources to help manage and build on your success. Business resources such as Office Live Small Business help you manage business data and relationships effectively and flexibly; resource roles—such as finding the right accountant, banker, attorney, and insurance agent—are invaluable. As you begin to pull together the pieces of your business, count your resources as a huge part of your overall assets and be intentional about the way you include them during your startup stage.

Gather your supports (and use them!). Having business advisers is an invaluable part of navigating a small business, whether you’re a sole proprietor working at your kitchen table or part of a progressive team that spans the globe. Early on, identify four or five friends, peers, or professionals who understand the nature of your industry, the challenges you are likely to face, and the various responsibilities you are balancing. If someone you respect agrees to mentor you, even better. Look for examples of people who have been successful in the area you aspire to and set up a planned meeting schedule (for example, once a month for lunch) so that you can regularly check in and get feedback.

Create (and work) your systems. We tend to spend a lot of time doing things we’ve already done—worrying about this particular problem, bumping up against that personality type, freaking out over a specific deadline that rolls around at the same time every month. Save yourself a lot of time and psychic energy by setting up systems to help manage things for you. Do your marketing on Mondays; end the work week on Fridays with follow-up thank yous to new clients. Pay your bills on a specific day; plan presentations for Wednesdays. Thinking of your work in month-long blocks of time helps you release the stress of wondering when you’ll get to something. Once something is scheduled, you’ll know it is being taken care of and you can free your mind to be creative in this moment. And that makes room for the great ideas you need in order to grow your business today.

Keep the inspiration flowing. Entrepreneurial exhaustion is the downside of passion—it’s that moment when you flop into the recliner, feeling worn out and used up, knowing that you’ve done as much as is humanly possible in a single day. This state of mind is not unusual, even for high-energy, high-output people. When you feel an energy crash coming on, relax into it and take it as just another form of inspiration—the type that’s inspiring you to rest and rejuvenate. Allow your mind to get quiet; do something you enjoy; take an evening or weekend off; let your mind, body, and spirit rejuvenate. Having a startup business is a lot like having a newborn in your household—it needs almost all your attention and energy at first. Like a new parent, enjoy moments of quiet (yes, your business will nap once in a while) and look for opportunities to talk with others who understand and support what you’re dealing with. If you build time and opportunity for inspiration into your business right from the start, it can blossom in creative ways as your business begins to grow.