9. Respect grey hair and bruises

As entrepreneurs you are on a journey and, like most travellers in unfamiliar territory, you know there are aspects of the landscape around you that you do not know and cannot read or understand. Nobody, no single group of people, knows it all when it comes to the entrepreneurial journey. Don't be afraid to look for advice and to do so far and wide. We've used mentors in formal relationships and we've picked people's brains over a bottle of wine. We do the same for others - that's what Ugly Duckling is about. There's no substitute for experience, and however true it may be that everyone's journey is different, there is so much to learn from those who have gone before - as entrepreneurs or on a different journey - that you will be failing yourselves if you don't open your minds to it.