When I left the Army in 1967 I knew that I wanted to be my own boss. I was 21 years old.

For the past 40-plus years I've applied the leadership and problem solving skills I developed in the military to become a successful small business owner. Over the past four decades, I've had to steer my executive recruiting company through a couple of recessions, employee illnesses, the devastating events of Sept. 11, 2001 and other hard times. My military experience served me well throughout it all, and taught me the importance of being a compassionate leader who knows how to communicate and plan ahead for anything. My military experience taught me how to survive in the world of business.

Entrepreneurs and small business owners represent a significant portion of the U.S. economy, providing jobs to millions of employees nationwide. However, veteran-owned small businesses make up a nominal percentage of this growing sector in the U.S. economy.

Jason Olim, founder of Freshmanfund.com and previously CDNow.com, is an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Wharton Business School. He believes that entrepreneurs aren't necessarily born...they emerge.

Olim describes emergence as:

• Adoption of an idea
• Self-identification as a person with an entrepreneurial idea
• A decision to pursue the idea
• An ultimate undertaking of action
• Self-identification as an entrepreneur

Regardless of the type of business you may want to start, there are some important facts you need to know before you decide to become an entrepreneur and establish your business structure and plan.

Key fact: Most new small businesses fail within the first year because they are underfinanced.

So, if you’re serious about starting or running your own small business, you need to do due diligence on the types of start-up and operational costs you can expect to incur. A new small business owner should have access to a sum of money (at minimum) equal to the projected revenue for the first year of business, calculating anticipated expenses.

Dr. Michael Silverman, author of “Unleash Your Dreams: Tame Your Hidden Fears and Live The Life You Were Meant to Live,” is a New York psychologist and neuroscientist who studies the human brain and decision making. Here are some of his top tips on what it takes to become a successful, risk-taking entrepreneur:

1. Define your entrepreneurial goal
 
2. Assess your perception of risk taking
 
3. Be open to a helping hand
 
As Dr. Silverman notes, there is a misconception that being an entrepreneur means doing everything independently. In reality, however, most successful entrepreneurs could not have excelled if not been for their support system.
 
In sum, being a small business owner can be a high-risk undertaking, but it can also be very rewarding. It's not for everyone, but it certainly was the right path for this former soldier.

Brian Drum, CEO, Drum Associates was recognized in 2004 as the U.S. Small Business Administration's NY District Small Business Person of the Year.