Here's a post from Suw Charman's Corante weblog offering tips from somebody who's been through the start up process and learned some hard lessons on the way. It comes from a conference on web-based businesses so it's in note form and includes a bit of jargon, but it should interest anybody who advises new businesses or has had the experience of starting up themselves.

Some examples:

"How to keep it cheap

First one is don't spend money unless you have to. Unless you're sure you need something, do not spend money on it.

No stationery. We wasted £1000. Dumb.

No shiny new machines. I know you want that MacBook Pro. Don't do it. You don't need it. I survived for a year on a crappy beige PC with a CRT monitor that took up half the room.

No luxuries. When you have the cash, spend it, but in the meantime bite your lip and survive."