1. Confidence - Granted, it’s easy for a team with such historic players as Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson and Alex Rodriguez to be confident, but even in the lean years the Yankees always acted like the first place team was simply keeping it warm for them.

2. Create History - Sometimes children who didn’t know their parents, or who didn’t want to know them, have a hard time being successful because there is no history of success. History begins now, and starting your own legacy will hold you responsible to a cause and a goal.

3. Know When to Spend Money - Whether it’s buying a stock, a new home or signing a big free agent, you have to know when it’s important to spend money and when it’s not.

4. Collect Monuments - In Yankee Stadium there are monuments of the great Yankees of the past, and that helps the new guys know what is expected of them. Keep pictures, sayings and other monuments of great people around you to keep in your memory what it takes to be successful.

5. Dress for Success - The Yankees invented pinstripes in Major League Baseball. You’ve got to invent a successful you, so ditch the sweat pants and dirty t-shirts and start to look successful. Don’t break the bank, but remember that image is vital.

If becoming your own boss is your goal, or even the next step in your life, here are some tips that’ll help you both get off the ground and to keep in mind, given by a small business owner:

A. Don’t have a business partner

It’s easy to think that having a partner can minimize risk and bring a variety of ideas, but it can also bring headaches, failure and lawsuits. Ownership is a tricky issue, parents often butt heads about how to raise kids, and they’re in love. Imagine owning a store with someone you violently disagree with?

B. Get payment before delivery

Trust is a tricky thing. It’s important to trust your customers, but you can only trust them so far. Everyone has their priorities, and no one’s priority is to make sure you get your money. If a client has needs at home, or if their business is going under, they probably aren’t going to make sure you get paid. Keep that in mind as you deal with individuals.

C. Don’t be afraid to fire clients

Desperate times make for desperate people. Whether you’re a web designer with a large client or a t-shirt maker with a few small clients, even the most annoying and obnoxious client can look attractive when the checks roll in. However, headaches, stomach aches, lack of sleep and more aren’t worth one idiot’s money. My father actually had a client call on Christmas Eve to complain about something, something that could have waited two days. He was too desperate to fire the client, but he should have cut the chord right then and there.

D. Word of mouth is king

Buying marketing materials, advertising space and web designers is all fine, well and good, but when it comes down to it, a suggestion from a friend outweighs them all. Whether you’re starting your own medical practice or law firm, relationships are vital and referals are the mother’s milk of a successful business.