It's well-known that around 50% of new businesses will close within the first five years. However, there is hope. A recent study by two economists from Stanford and the University of Michigan found that failed entrepreneurs are much more likely to be successful their second time around. In short, wannabe entrepreneurs can learn a thing or two from their already successful counterparts.

We tracked down successful entrepreneurs and asked them their number one tip for ensuring success. 

Vladimir Gendelman, the founder of Company Folders, hit the nail on the head with this tip: “To succeed in business, you must have a servant's attitude. Most business owners think, 'Finally, I'm my own boss!' They relish the idea of being in charge. But that idea is false. In a normal job, you have one boss, but as a business owner, everyone is your boss: customers, vendors, even your employees. When you have a servant's attitude, you recognize that it's your job to make those three groups happy,” he says.

Many new business owners underestimate the power of a business plan. Nicholas Kensington, Scottsdale Real Estate Agent, shares “I think so often so many of us think we don't need a business plan, or that it might be a waste of time. It's not. Writing up the business plan, and making sure to get rid of anything vague was so helpful. Hammering this down to be as specific as possible with what I would do next helped me greatly.” (Also read, How to Write a Business Plan.)

Being passionate about your business is important if you want to make it long-term. In addition to passion, you also have to “identify something that provides value to others,” according to founder and CEO of Hush Hush Little Baby Newborn Care, Haleigh Almquist.

Almquist says another tip for success is outing your competition: “Respond to clients faster, work longer hours and take smaller profit margins." To be in business long-term, you have to make sacrifices upfront.

We love Allen Walton’s tip from Spy Guy Security: “Hire someone to do the $10 per hour tasks so you can do the $100 per hour tasks. I can't stress this enough and am totally guilty of doing this. I try to 'save money' by doing the small tasks that practically any untrained person can do – like going to the post office or packing orders, but I should be doing the stuff that doubles my business revenue and increases profitability,” says Walton.

Almost every single entrepreneur we spoke with mentioned the value of networking. You can’t have a business without customers, so get out there and meet as many people as you can. Dr. Jeanett Tapia of Intouch Chiropractic went door-to-door meeting people in the neighborhood before opening. “By the time we opened our doors, we had 25 new patient appointments due to those long hours of getting to know our neighbors and other business owners. It paid off!” she exclaims.

Your employees are the face of your business. Treat them fairly, and your company will reap the benefits. Curtis Boyd, the founder of Future Solutions Media, says, “It's important to maintain an image of authority and generosity. You want to be the boss who rewards employees on good hard work. People will work harder for you and your business will be more successful.”

Don’t let taxes be what sinks your business. Rebecca West, an interior designer and author of upcoming book Happy Starts at Home, shares her advice. “From day one, set up a tax account (it’s straightforward, just set up two checking accounts at your bank) and put at least 10% of every single check you get into that account. One of the big things that sink a new business is not having the cash to cover those taxes at the end of the year,” she says.

Surprisingly, many entrepreneurs mentioned how to be successful in the professional world, you have to take care of your physical health. Get exercise every day, meditate and eat healthy foods. Tasha Mayberry of Best in Baby Bizshares a few tips on healthy living: Drink two full glasses of water in the morning and always eat a healthy, clean breakfast. “By doing these things, I am laser focused all day long,” she shares.

You may think you have a great idea – but do other people? Many of the entrepreneurs we spoke with said you should always test your idea or product before going “all in.” Make sure you get a few second opinions on your business and have people that are interested in what you’re doing. For example, Travis Bennett, Managing Director of Studio Digita, freelanced and developed a steady stream of clients before launching his agency. The more you can test your business, the better chances you have of success.

To ensure success as an entrepreneur, learn as much as you can from other, successful entrepreneurs, test your product or idea before launching it, and never give up. Passion coupled with hard work and determination will lead to a successful business.

Investors face the dilemma of whether to pay down debt with excess cash or to invest that money in an attempt to turn it into even greater amounts of wealth. If you pay off too much debt and reduce your leverage, you may not garner enough assets to retire. Conversely, if you're too aggressive, you may end up losing everything. In order to decide whether to pay down debt or invest, you must consider your best investment options, risk tolerance, and cash flow situation.

All debt is not equal. The type of debt you have can play a role in the decision as to whether to pay it off as soon as possible or put your money toward investments.

From a numbers perspective, your decision should be based on your after-tax cost of borrowing versus your after-tax return on investing. Suppose, for instance, that you are a wage earner in the 35% tax bracket and have a conventional 30-year mortgage with a 6% interest rate. Because you can deduct mortgage interest (within limits) from your federal taxes, your true after-tax cost of debt may be closer to 4%.

Student loans are a tax-deductible debt that can actually save you money. The IRS allows you to deduct the lesser of $2,500 or the amount you paid in interest on qualified student loans that were used for higher education expenses, although it phases out at higher income levels.

If you hold a diversified portfolio of investments that includes both equities and fixed income, you may find that your after-tax return on money invested is higher than your after-tax cost of debt. For example, if your mortgage is at a lower interest rate and you are invested in riskier securities, such as small-cap value stocks, investing would be the better option. If you're an entrepreneur, you also might invest in your business rather than reduce debt. On the other hand, if you are nearing retirement and your investment profile is more conservative, the reverse may be true.

Risk tolerance is the degree of variability in investment returns that an investor is willing to withstand.

When determining risk, consider the following:

• Your age
• Income
• Earning power
• Time horizon
• Tax situation
• Any other criteria that are unique to you

For example, if you're young and able to make back any money you might lose and have a high disposable income in relation to your lifestyle, you may have a higher risk tolerance and be able to afford to invest more aggressively versus paying down debt. If you have pressing concerns, such as high health care costs, you may also opt not to pay down debt.

Rather than investing excess cash in equities or other higher-risk assets, however, you may choose to keep greater allocations in cash and fixed-income investments. The longer the time horizon you have until you stop working, the greater potential payoff you could enjoy by investing rather than reducing debt, because equities historically return 10% or more, pretax, over time.

A second component of risk tolerance is your willingness to assume risk. Where you fall on this spectrum will help determine what you should do. If you are an aggressive investor, you will probably want to invest your excess cash rather than pay down debt. If you are fairly risk-averse in the sense that you cannot stand the thought of potentially losing money through investing and abhor any kind of debt, you may be better off using excess cash flow to pay down your debts.

However, this strategy can backfire. For instance, while most investors think paying down debt is the most conservative option to take, paying down – but not eliminating – debt can actually produce results that are the opposite of what was intended.

For example, an investor who aggressively pays down his mortgage and winds up with meager cash reserves may regret his decision should he lose his job and still need to make regular mortgage payments.

Financial advisors suggest that working individuals have at least six months' worth of monthly expenses in cash and a monthly debt-to-income ratio of no more than 25% to 33% of pretax income. Before you begin investing or reducing debt, you may want to build this cash cushion first, so that you can weather any rough events that occur in your life.

Next, pay off any credit card debt you may have accumulated. This debt usually carries an interest rate that is higher than what most investments will earn before taxes. Paying down your debt saves you on the amount that you pay in interest. Therefore, if your debt-to-income ratio is too high, focus on paying down debt before you invest. If you have built a cash cushion and have a reasonable debt-to-income ratio, you can comfortably invest.

Keep in mind that some debt, such as your mortgage, is not bad. If you have a good credit score, your after-tax return on investments will probably be higher than your after-tax cost of debt on your mortgage. Also, because of the tax advantages to retirement investing, and given the fact that many employers partially match employee contributions to qualified retirement plans, it makes sense to invest versus paying down other types of debt, such as car loans.

If you are self-employed, having cash on hand may mean the difference between keeping the doors open and having to go back to work for someone else. For example, suppose that an entrepreneur with a fairly tight cash flow gets an unexpected windfall of $10,000, and he or she has $10,000 in debt. One obligation carries a balance of $3,000 at a 7% rate, and the other is $7,000 at an 8% rate.

While both debts could be paid off, he or she has decided to pay off only one, in order to conserve cash. The $3,000 note has a $99 monthly payment, while the $7,000 note has a $67 monthly payment. Conventional wisdom would say he or she should pay off the $7,000 note first because of the higher interest rate.

In this case, however, it may make sense to pay off the one that provides the greatest cash flow yield. In other words, paying the $3,000 note off instantly adds nearly $100 a month to his or her cash flow, or almost 40% cash flow yield ($99.00 x 12 / $3,000). The remaining $7,000 can be used to grow the business or as a cushion for business emergencies.

Balanced Budgeting Methods

There are a number of different budgeting methods that account for both debt repayment and investments. For instance, the 50/30/20 budget sets aside 20% of your income for savings and any debt payments above the minimum. This plan also allocates 50% to essential costs (housing, food, utilities), and the other 30% for personal expenses.

Oprah's Debt Diet allots 15% of income to debt repayment and 10% of income to savings.

Financial expert Dave Ramsey offers a back-and-forth approach to tackling debt and investments. He suggests saving $1,000 dollars in an emergency fund before working to get out of debt, excluding your home mortgage, as quickly as possible. Once all debt is eliminated he advises going back to building an emergency fund that contains enough funds to cover at least three to six months of expenses. Next, his plan calls for investing 15% of all household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement plans while also saving for your child's college education, if applicable.

Knowing whether to pay down debt or invest depends not only on your economic environment but also on your financial situation. The trick is to set reasonable financial goals, keep your perspective, and evaluate your investment options, risk tolerance, and cash flow.

Take a look at your personal finances to determine where your money will make the most impact. If the hard math doesn't help you to decide between one or the other, try tackling both at the same time, or else put your focus on the financial goal that will give you the most peace of mind.

We've all weathered economic uncertainty in the past decade as financial institutions, companies and countries have stumbled, struggled and are now working to stand back up. But even in times of relative calm for the global economy, it's not unusual to worry and wonder about your own financial security.

Financial stability, apart from being able to pay unexpected bills and fund your own retirement, gives you the confidence and strength to go through everyday life. By saving money and increasing your income, you can move toward banking your first $100,000. And once you do that, the way to the next $100,000 becomes easier.

Saving your first $100,000 is a goal that is neither short-term nor easy. To get there you need to start training your mind. You need to understand how to achieve this goal and plan accordingly. If you are the kind of person who rarely budgets or takes note of expenses, now would be the time to start.

All actions need to be oriented towards achieving the goal of saving. Little things can add up. Reducing that daily Starbucks habit or taking public transportation to work instead of driving a few days a week can help. If you understand that these are minor sacrifices for a little less financial uncertainty, the going will be smoother.

It's all very well to imagine yourself in a country home post-retirement, but that distant vision may not get you going today. To really stay motivated, break your long-term saving goals into short-term goals. They can be weekly goals.

For example, a man who ran a dry-cleaning service decided he would take some small change everyday and put it into his daughter's college fund, starting from when she was five years old and continuing until she reached 18. Setting aside a little change didn't hinder his business or day-to-day life, but it did mean that he had a tidy sum saved by the time his daughter was ready to go to college.

Starting the process early and saving small amounts steadily helps you know you have made progress covering the distance of a long journey. You can have daily saving goals too. This will help keep you fired up for the longer-term goals. Savings accounts, certificates of deposits, money market deposit accounts and Treasury bills are good short-term money-saving instruments. A savings account is particularly useful as an emergency fund keeper. 

If you are employed and your employer offers one, go for a 401(k) tax-deferredsavings plan. The amount you contribute to the plan and the earnings on it are tax-free until you pull the money out for retirement. The percentage you contribute also reduces your taxable income by the same percentage.

Early on in your career, you can invest in stocks more aggressively. If your employer does not offer a 401(k) plan, then consider opening an individual retirement account (IRA). Earnings in an IRA account are also tax-deferred. To enroll in either, all you have to do is fill out a simple form and contribute. This is a structured way to save, where the interest is compounded, with tax savings to boot.

We want it all. We want the home, car, home theater system and the double-door fridge. With a few easy key strokes online, we can have it. But it turns out that instant gratification has a hefty price that can take years to repay and even years off your life.

Prioritizing debt and reducing it is the first critical step to saving. Take a look at all of your loans and see how long it will take you to whittle them down. If you do have savings or fixed deposits, you can liquidate some to reduce your debt burden. If you get a bonus or a dividend, think of prepaying a part of your mortgage to reduce your interest burden.

In the case of credit card debt, talk to your credit card company and negotiate a lower interest rate if possible. Companies will sometimes offer to take on other credit card company loans at a lower interest in their pursuit of new customers. If you need to take out a loan, make sure you look around carefully and choose to borrow money with the lowest interest rates. You'd be surprised by how many people don't do that. Ask friends and family who might be willing to extend interest-free loans for shorter periods.

Look at how your employer can be your partner in your savings goal. Many employers offer a company match – that is, they contribute – to the 401(k) plans they have. Contribute aggressively. Avail yourself of any other benefits your employer may provide, like special discounts at stores, museum or health club memberships or health savings accounts. If your employer provides assistance for skill upgrading or "back to school" programs, take advantage of the opportunity.

Generating revenue is the other tactic that will help you reach a $100,000 goal faster. Do you sew, do some other craft or teach? These are some hobbies that can help rake in some extra money. You could tutor children for a few hours a week or sell your crafts at the weekend market. You could spend some time investing in stocks or do some freelance projects. Don't let any of your skills or talents go to waste. They will help you earn some more money and keep you more fulfilled.

There are always things you can do to keep your costs down. Some examples include: making more home dinners; walking short distances when possible rather than taking the car; taking your kids to the park or zoo rather than to the local mall; buying your groceries in bulk for the month, rather than making small purchases frequently; giving up smoking and other costly habits; taking lunch to work; using your car until it can't be used anymore; or buying a house within your means.

If you can't buy a home within your means, choose to rent; if you are not using that gym membership, then don't renew it. You can also recycle and reuse items as much as possible, use alternative energy to light and heat your home, and sell whatever clothing or household items you don't use. The list is endless.

There are many ways of saving in everyday life. The dollars and cents will all add up to your $100,000 goal. And though it may seem hard to credit at first, your quality of life will improve and not suffer.