4) Look For Opportunity, Not Mistakes.

Success is result of making good decisions. Good decisions are made from good judgement. Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions. This doesn't mean you should try to make mistakes for experience. The key is to gain experience from mistakes and success of others. Seek out others in your field. Study and understand why they are succeeding or failing. Don't expect to make all right decisions and don't let fear of making mistakes inhibit you from pursuing new opportunities. Those who never make mistakes are probably working for those who weren't afraid of making them.

5) Know What People Want, Instead of Wanting What You Know.

What it all comes down to. Knowing who, what, where and why of your target customers. The success of your business is not sum total of knowledge you have gained, it still is and always will be, "sale". Success is determined by what products sell and how well they sell. It isn't what you know that counts, it's what your customers want. If you lose sight of this fact, you are doomed to failure. Never lose sight of fact that marketing your customers' wants is your number one priority.

6) Keep Vision Alive.

Never lose sight of your end goal or your dream of success. Where do you want to be in ten years? What do you want to be doing? I know how hard it is trying to get daily job done sometimes, but keep your vision alive and let it steer you in your search for success. Let it be drive that keeps you going. Every morning before you start, do something that will bring you a little closer to your dream.

7) Work, Patience and Sacrifice.

Lets face it, if it were easy, everybody would succeed. To succeed you must dedicate yourself to doing what needs done not working on clock. You must have patience and persistence to tough out hard times, and oh yes, there are hard times. Be prepared to sacrifice your time and too often your social and personal life in pursuit of success. Nobody said it was an easy road to follow, and if they did.....They were lying!

7. Develop your portal site with free or low cost tools. Some of web tools can be found at DollarTemplates.com. Hire a freelance consultant or offshore consultant to work on your portal project. It is much cheaper than hiring a full service consulting firm.

8. Develop your portal site structure and service offers. For instance, a B2B portal should include Storefronts and optional classifieds, auctions, and request for quotes (RFQ’s) serve their needs. Community features should have online polls, mailing list management, real-time news feed. They provide a highly profitable and competitive offering in most vertical portals. User personalization can also make your portal "sticky."

9. Manage your finance efficiently. Forget about free lunches or parties. Start with solid budget plans and spend your money wisely and carefully. Market your portal site by forming strategic alliances with other websites rather than spending hard-earned cash.

10. Many startups fail because of their poor management. If you want to start with low risk and low budget, consult with freelance consultant rather than hiring a consulting firm. Freelance consultants offer services and expertise at very reasonable rates. If you think about seeking venture capital to jump-start or strengthen your project, you may get a sample plan "B2B DotCom Startup Company Business Plan and Executive Summary" at B2B Resources Center at http://www.SmarTechLab.com/b2b.htm. However, it is very difficult for a dotcom startup to get VC funding now.

11. Partner with other startups or businesses to strengthen market presence. Many smaller portals are willing to team up with other portal sites to create a network presence on World Wide Web. Simply ask other portals and it would not hurt you at all!

In conclusion, it has never been easy to build a sound and successful dotcom operation, but keep your dream alive by working hard and working smart. Money will eventually be pouring in.