Michelle DeAngelis is the founder and president of Michelle Inc., a management consulting firm that has served Fortune 500 companies for 14 years. In her book, Get A Life That Doesn't Suck, she details tricks helpful to entrepreneurs looking for guidance on living life and starting their business successfully. WomenEntrepreneur.com asked her to discuss five key tips from her book from an entrepreneurial perspective.

1. Choose. "Be really focused in knowing what you want so you can make good choices. If you are determined to create a startup business but have no money and bad credit, it's up to you to identify the other options available to you for funding: Borrow money from family, sell something that you can live without--it's always a choice.

"I think entrepreneurs tend to operate as lone wolves. Know when to ask for help and when to pony up to pay for it."

2. Think good thoughts. "Most entrepreneurs I know are aware of the pitfalls of starting their own business but don't focus on [them]. The most successful entrepreneurs focus on the good things, the possibilities that lie ahead of them, rather than the obstacles. This does not mean be Pollyanna; it's about holding a thought pattern that sets you up for success."

3. Start. "Entrepreneurs can have lots of ideas, but unless they get into action with those ideas, nothing happens. For the entrepreneurs who are, let's say, coming from working for another company and who want to launch on their own but are scared of losing security, getting into action is what pushes you through the fear. I've seen this time and time again, where entrepreneurs think they're boxed or trapped; but the minute they take a small action, the minute they start, a door will open that they never would have predicted would open. It creates an opportunity and, zoom, you've started.

"Starting can literally mean picking up the phone and calling a contact who could be a mentor [or] putting $5,000 on your credit card as funding for something. Taking action does this amazing thing, it creates a tailwind that's important . . . If you have a list of 47 things, then that's where the choosing comes in: Choose what your priorities are. All of the aha's are interrelated in that way."

4. Get a system. "My experience has been that for entrepreneurs, managing in general is not their greatest strength. They either need to put some systems in place to make sure they keep the right records and keep promises to clients [or], if they simply cannot do that, they need to barter with someone who will. If their hairstylist is looking for work and is a really organized person, they can have this person help them out.

"One of the biggest mistakes for a startup is not keeping promises--to suppliers, colleagues, anyone in the community. Most entrepreneurs are very focused on their product, their service, their purpose--not the infrastructure to support it. Without systems in place, it would be a little bit like building a great big house on quicksand. You've got to have the underpinnings there for it to be a success."

5. Say what you mean, do what you say. "Your integrity is up to you. Few things are more important than your reputation. The worst thing you can do is make a lot of promises and not keep them, represent that things will happen and then not make them happen. The 'say what you mean, do what you say' is what allows you to operate in the business world in a reliable and admirable way, and everybody is more comfortable doing business with people whom they respect and admire.

"A lot of businesses get referred based on relationships, so don't say it unless you're prepared to do it, and certainly don't overpromise. That's a common thing that happens when an entrepreneur is eager when starting up. It's learning to try to satisfy the client, the vendor and situation at hand and being realistic about what you can do.

"Personally manage your systems: The successful businessperson brings [his or her] support person to meetings, where the sales [team] will promise one thing and the manager/entrepreneur is there to make sure it gets done. If your instinct is to say 'yes, yes, yes,' but the request requires you to really look at its feasibility, then don't say yes. Say, 'I would love to, let me get back to you.' It's seldom that you have to respond on the spot. Impulsivity is a trait of self-starters.

"The important thing is to set aside the emotional and ask for what you want in a graceful and neutral way. And the message here for all of these tips is: Help yourself create the outcome you want. If you don't think good thoughts, make good choices, then you're not taking your business where you want to go. This leaves a gap--this space between your thoughts and what you don't do--and the gap is where life sucks. Following these tips closes the gap."