As promised, here are five great opening principles for business start-up from Guy Kawasaki's The Art of the Start.

I mentioned earlier that I have been working my way through this slender volume in my sparse free time since receiving it as a Christmas gift and will likely be sharing a few passages of interest in this blog with the suggestion that you go check out the book for yourselves.

Guy's top five start-up principles seem particularly relevant to the bootstrap entrepreneur with his/her focus on getting products to customers and worrying about lengthy business plans and power point presentations when the business is established.

But it also seems to me much of this could apply to Venture Capital or conventionally financed companies as well and should be considered by anyone trying to figure out how to get that big idea off the drawing board.

Here are the high points:

1. "Make meaning." Here Guy suggests launching a new product or service should be a noble pursuit impacting the world. (A less lofty but jargonier way of saying this is that entrepreneurs should strive to create value.) A further breakdown suggests a worthwhile product or service should:

• "Make the world a better place"
• "Increase the quality of life"
• "Right a terrible wrong"
• "Prevent the end of something good"

2. "Make mantra." Having sat through one too many mission statement crafting sessions, I can definitely attest to the fact that the shorter the phrase you can use to communicate your business aims the better.

3. "Get going." Classic bootstrapper philosophy! Get your product to the customers. A business plan does not mean you are in business.

4. "Define your business model." Like the mantra, this should be short. How are you going to make money? Guy suggests "If you can't describe your business model in 10 words or less, you don't have a business model."

5. "Weave a MAT." (Here MAT is an acronym)
---"Milestones"-Steps from proving your business concept to reaching a break even point should all be followed along the start-up path
---"Assumptions"-An important point here is that some of the assumptions you made when starting your business may be just plain wrong and so must be tested and then adjusted accordingly
---"Tasks"-A list of things you've got to do to get that business started should be compiled as part of your effort. (I think these will probably be different for every business and don't agree that they are less important or even unrelated to milestones and assumptions. They may, in fact, be the means to moving forward on both.)