If you're an entrepreneur, you're probably going to screw up at some point. That's ok. Entrepreneurship is a constant process of quickly testing hypotheses, failing, refining and testing again. If you're not failing, you're not learning, right?

Well, not all fails are created equal. Some are wholly unnecessary, and I'd like to list my top 15 here. Note that many of these are based on advice from actual entrepreneurs who would rather you learn from their mistakes than repeat them.

Crowdfunding your startup through sites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGO has become an interesting, and in many cases, quite viable way of financing your project. A number of individuals and companies have been able to raise pretty substantial amounts of money through these services, going well beyond what they initially set as their funding targets.

Most notably of late, was the success of Lunatik/TikTok iPod Nano wristwatch, which set the record for the most money raised via Kickstarter to-date: almost $950,000 from over 13,000 backers. Not too shabby considering Scott Wilson and his MINIMAL design studio set out to raise a mere $15,000 in order to get licensing and manufacturing for the project under way.

The PIPELINE Entrepreneurial Fellowship Program announced today the national panel of experts who will help select PIPELINE’s "Innovator of the Year" on January 27 in Overland Park. The judges will have full participation in the day and evening events, and will share their insights with the crowd during a PIPELINE "Entrepreneurial and Innovation Trends" panel at 4:00 p.m., at the close of the Competition and before the evening event. All ticket holders for the evening function can attend this session.

"Our country is looking toward innovation and entrepreneurship to strengthen our economy at a pivotal time. PIPELINE has captured national attention as a strong ally in this work, so I am excited to join as a judge to meet the Innovators and learn more about how this aggressive program works."

Through targeted business assistance, the Florida Economic Gardening Institute (FEGI) and its program GrowFL helped entrepreneurial growth companies create at least 418 jobs throughout the state in just its first year. Based on proven business support strategies referred to as “economic gardening,” the State of Florida-funded program targets companies in the second stage of growth that have passed the start-up phase and are most likely to create jobs.

Of the 208 companies that have participated in the program to date, 124 responded to GrowFL’s recent job creation survey. Those companies reported creating 418 jobs as a result of participating in the GrowFL program. CEOs of second-stage businesses have had more than 1,300 encounters with the program, against the program’s initial goal of 1,000 encounters.

Fears of a stalled recovery and a loss of American economic power globally are on the minds of many these days.

In a 21^st century world where new products and innovation mean everything, the sciences – the engine of so much past American innovation – have suffered major cutbacks in funding from Congress.

On Thursday’s edition of On Point, host Tom Ashbrook asked whether science can nevertheless dig the country out of its financial hole, this time around.

It can, said Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Susan Hockfield.

We’re kind of crazy about culture at my company. We know that happy employees make happy customers make happy shareholders. Plus, it’s just a lot more fun to go to work when you enjoy the environment, your co-workers and the company’s mission. We make it a point to study great cultures—Disney, Zappos and NetFlix are on our list- and we’re huge followers of Jim Collins’ work regarding culture building. We even have a staff position dedicated to running the company’s culture.

When it comes to the price of gasoline, Christopher Steiner may be the ultimate contrarian. While other Americans bemoan prices of $3 a gallon or more, he says $3 a gallon is far too cheap.

Mr. Steiner believes that the United States will not beat its oft-cited "addiction to oil" until our most visible use of oil becomes a lot more expensive.

He is so convinced that in 2008 he wrote a book to convince others, provocatively titled, "$20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better." The book, whose paperback version came out in July 2010, was inspired by the changes that he had already observed.

Some people are fortunate enough to know what they've always wanted to become. They were the kids in school that said "I want to be a doctor," and are now running a clinic. What about the rest of us? 

According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average professional holds 14 jobs by the time they turn 40.  Nearly half of all adults aren't happy with their careers.

The Great Recession changed the way many people live—and its repercussions appear to be altering how some people choose to die.

At least two prominent tissue banks have seen an increase in the number of individuals who are interested in donating their bodies to research in exchange for a break in funeral costs.

Starting a small business or transitioning between jobs during a recession can be a risky move.

While no industry can guarantee stability these have demonstrated their resilience providing the most opportunities for steady income and employment as the economy recovers.

An investment banker was standing at the pier of a small coastal village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The banker complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The fisherman replied, "Only a little while."

The banker then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?"

A GREAT STORY ABOUT LIFE......RICH BENDIS

After a wild year that saw the emergence of so-called super angels and a surge in valuations for seed-stage start-ups, we caught up with Michael Kim, who invests in seed-stage funds, to talk about what to expect in 2011.

Kim is a former venture capitalist with Rustic Canyon Partners and a former member of the board of trustees for the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System. He left Rustic Canyon in 2009 to start up Cendana Capital, a fund of funds that invests exclusively in seed-stage or “micro-cap VC” funds. He hasn’t disclosed details of his investing or funding, but Roger Ehrenberg’s IA Ventures recently raised a $50 million fund and disclosed Cendana was an investor in the fund.

Ideas and innovation occur in all parts of an organization. There is no on- or off-switch; to a greater or lesser extent, innovation is a natural part of organizational life. Whilst some employees face challenges for which others might already have a solution, others are just sitting on their good ideas. Very often, a large proportion of these good ideas do not become successful innovations because they are never introduced, evaluated, or even heard. In many cases strategic barriers and bottlenecks prevent organizations from developing good ideas into implemented and valuable innovations.

So, what are your big Internet marketing plans for the New Year? Will you be investing more in social media? Will you start blogging? Will you take a more proactive stance with self-promotion? Whatever your online marketing plans, the end goal is likely to attract more people to your website in the hopes that the influx of new eyes will translate into new customers, new leads and new opportunities for your business. However, you won’t be able to do any of that if your Web site is turning people off, instead of turning them on.

Below are some very common reasons SMB Web sites fail to attract customers and how to avoid falling prey to them.

As a new year quickly approaches, make sure you don't miss out on the great information 2010 has to offer.

Get proven advice from experienced entrepreneurs as well as practical marketing techniques and more from these authors.

There are good jobs, bad jobs, and jobs that make you want to gouge your eyes out with a soup spoon. Most of us can take the good with the bad, but when things at work are continuously awful, it's time to start thinking about a change.

Listen, I get that we can't all be Lego assembly testers, video game reviewers, or rock stars, but come on...how how much misery should we take before we start planning a job move?

Backed by Silicon Valley and glamorized by Hollywood, peach-fuzzed innovators like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg have popularized the image of the successful entrepreneur as a swashbuckling whiz kid in his 20's.

But a group of studies is challenging the widely-held view that it's tech-savvy youngsters who are driving America's startup growth, which reached a 14-year high in 2009. On the contrary, some new data suggests that when it comes to launching successful startups, old guys rule.