It takes much more time to build a business than to wreck one. Here are five common pitfalls you’ll want to avoid as you pursue your business goals.

1. Letting your spouse take control of the business. Even if it’s only an occasional word processing or web design project, you probably went into business so you could “be your own boss.” Secondly, people usually choose to offer a service or product that they know something about. In other words, this is your niche -- not your partner’s. Letting your spouse take the rudder can quickly send the boat onto the rocks (and sometimes, the marriage with it).

If your spouse wants to share his or her expertise with you -- in advertising, or bookkeeping, or some other operational area that he or she knows well -- that can be a plus, and some couples work well this way. Even so, you may still want to keep in mind the old Middle Eastern proverb: "Once the camel gets his nose inside the tent, his body will soon follow."       

2. Loading up your credit cards to launch the business. Far too many solo business people sacrifice what could have been a life-changing enterprise by taking on heavy debt in the early stages of the business. Resist the impulse to outfit your home office with the latest computer, the Ritz-Carlton wallpaper, the Rodeo Drive-priced ergonomic chair. Be a tightwad now, and you can treat yourself -- in moderation -- as you hit your revenue goals.

3. Specializing in something you don’t know well. As every building contractor knows, in boom times, everybody becomes a carpenter (or a real estate agent). On the Internet, a few years ago, when companies began to realize the importance of having an “online storefront,” everyone became a web designer -- with decidedly mixed results.

Resist the temptation to chase the hot trends, which can cool as quickly as they warmed. Choose instead a specialty or niche that lets you capitalize or build on your existing skills, and that taps into one of your passions. A successful business can transform your life, and can even change the world. Choosing the right niche is an act of respect, love -- and wisdom. Treat it accordingly.

4. Shirking accountability. As the Old Salts will tell you, the most important element of business is trust. Not money, not growth, not whether the dollar is up or down or sideways, but whether your customers and your business partners and allies can trust you.

Trust is based on accountability, and whether “your word is good.” We all let someone down sometimes, but in small businesses in particular -- where the individual and the company are often perceived as identical -- dodging responsibility for fumbles can quickly spell doom. If you drop the ball, don’t blame the glove. Own up -- quickly -- and work on your game.

5. Losing focus. This is a kind of catch-all, encompassing such indispensables as marketing, work ethic, quality, and strategy. Since it’s a rare business that “launches itself,” yours will likely require sustained and effective effort -- and this means focus.

How can we spot a lack of focus in ourselves?

• A prospective customer brushes us off, and we take it personally. (As the mobsters always say in the movies, “It’s not personal, it’s just business.” And they’re right.)

• A sunny day beckons outside our window, and we abandon an important deliverable to indulge ourselves, “because we deserve it.”

• We’re tired, and we know that one more hour on a project will take it from average to spectacular -- but we don’t put in the hour.

• We’re quite aware that we need to come up with well-considered plans about the future of our business. However, we continue to allow operational distractions to gobble up our days, and force us to make strategic decisions on the fly.  

Advice is Abundant and Free

The Internet may not have cured the common cold, but we can’t complain that it hasn’t given us enough information. Veteran entrepreneurs now maintain blogs, websites, and archives of articles on almost every key aspect of business, and magazines and government resources (to name just a few) round out the mix.

Here are a few places to start, and may the camels stay out of the tents as you forge ahead.

-- Guy Kawasaki has been around the entrepreneurial block. See his site at http://www.guykawasaki.com.  

-- Inc. magazine has covered small business for years. Check them out at http://www.inc.com/.

-- If you want ideas about legitimate home-based businesses, see our list and experts at http://www.ratracerebellion.com/HBCareers.htm.

-- Small Business Development Centers can be good sources of nuts-and-bolts guidance. You’ll find details at http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/sbdc/index.html.