Steve Pavlina has a post 10 Stupid Mitakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed that lists several pitfalls that you should avoid when starting your single person business.  The article is worth reading, but I will summarize it here.

1) Be yourself – don’t try to appear to be a big business when you are just you.  Don’t try to give up being you.  Don’t try to be “business like” and leave your personality behind.  Successful business is built on successful relationships.  This means being open and honest about who you are, what you can do.  It also means dealing with people that are willing to accept you.

2) Spend money correctly -  Don’t buy fancy stuff;  Don’t over invest.  But at the same time don’t be afraid to spend money on things that will improve efficency.

3) Actually create value – Make sure that you are actually offering a product or service that is worth something, that actually contributes.  If you are not offering value, then you will not, and should not be in business for long.

4) Don’t accept or chase every deal – Some customers and deals are not worth it.  Be sure it is worth the time and effort to get that customer or maintain a business relationship.  You might be squandering the resources, time, and energy that you need for the “gold deal”