Do you dream of starting your own business, but are not sure where to begin?

Many people go into business for themselves every year, and the success rate has never been better. The small business owner now accounts for 64 percent of all private-sector employment in America. However, many small businesses fail within their first five years. If you want to increase your chances of making it work, be sure to focus on certain key areas before rolling out any plan.

Here are 7 things successful small business owners do:

1) They establish a healthy cash flow cycle prior to spending money on other activities or expenses.

2) They create an effective marketing plan at the beginning that takes into account budget constraints and includes metrics for measuring effectiveness.

3) They have a talent for delegation and know their strengths and weaknesses enough to hire the right team around them to improve upon those areas.

4) They are flexible in changing situations or conditions because they recognize that not all plans will go as expected, but it is how you handle those changes that will ultimately make or break the business.

5) They recognize problems early on rather than waiting to find out about them later (often too late), which helps keep customers happy and leads to repeat customers.

6) They never give up; successful small business owners know that there will be times when things don’t go as planned, but if they continue working toward their goals eventually they’ll reach success.

7) Successful small business owners know that a key to their success is the ability to work well with others and accept constructive criticism.

Not sure how to get started? Looking for resources or guidance? There are many small business organizations around the country that can help you get going in the right direction. For example, SCORE has mentors who have been through it all before and would be happy to share their expertise with you. In addition, SBA district offices often have classes or special events geared toward helping new businesses get started off on the right foot.

An example of such an organization in the state of North Carolina is the Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC), a part of The University of North Carolina, which provides free one-on-one confidential business advising/consulting services to entrepreneurs and small businesses for technical assistance in various areas.

These are just some examples out there there are many organizations where you could seek guidance, so be sure to do your research before getting started.