You cannot do business the way child orders from a menu in a restaurant. You might have noticed kids opting for the fanciest sounding dish irrespective of whether the dish is something that they would like or not. They focus on the short term and try to please themselves by ordering a fancy dish.
However, when the dish arrives, they will be more interested in having something that is delicious and tasty. In a span of 15 minutes, the child moves from eating a fancy sounding dish to eating a good tasting dish. If you do business like this, you are going to end up in the same way like the child-unsatisfied and irritated.
Even before you take your first step, you should have a clear idea of what you want and what you want to achieve. If you want lots of profit, you should do what is necessary to achieve the goal. If you want to consolidate and set up a firm base, you should be prepared to forgo profits in the short term.
If you do not want to rely on funding from outside, you will have to make sure the revenue is always on the high side. On the other hand, if you want to bring in investors as early as possible, you should start networking and improving your contact base immediately.
There is no perfect or right way of doing business. Nine times out of ten, a good business person is one who analyzes the situation and takes the right solution in the short term. As far as long term strategies are concerned, it should be based on a slightly philosophical basis. Why are you doing business?
Where do you see yourself 30 years from today? Do you want to remain a small businessman all your life? There is absolutely nothing wrong in trying to achieve what you want. The important thing is that you should know what you want.