Isn’t it funny how life can take you down totally unexpected paths?

That’s exactly what happened to me when I started a company that became THE largest publisher of animation artwork for television commercials. We created the first ever animation art lines for Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Bush, M&M/Mars, Pillsbury, etc. This was my first experience in learning how to run a successful business.

Despite the early success of my first business, I made a complete career change and sold my company off to start a whole new company. The company I own now makes—wait—a whole line of celebrity rubber ducks! This second business has taught me even more about how to run a successful business.

Yup! We were even voted one of the top 100 gifts by Entertainment Weekly making ducks of everyone from The Wizard of Oz to Barack Obama to ducks for professional sports teams and Fortune 500 companies…

After creating 2 companies from scratch I can honestly say that I’ve learned A LOT of different lessons regarding work, money, entrepreneurship, and business so far in my life.

Here are 8 tips you’ll love if you want to know how to run a successful business:

1- You don’t need to know everything, but you do need passion. One of the biggest myths for small business owners is that you have to have a background in what you’re getting into. This isn’t true. What you do need to have is passion. You also need to be able to work with people who know what you don’ know and who augment what you do know so you can truly accomplish what you want to.

2- You don’t always need a formal education. Business degrees are overrated and street smarts will always rule the day. If you look at some of the greatest entrepreneurs in history, so many had a modest or even no education. They had drive and more importantly, they surrounded themselves with people who were a lot more talented than themselves!

3- First impressions matter, so come out strong in the beginning. Want to know how to run a successful business? Make a great first impression on the market. What I wished I knew when I began is that when starting any venture, it is best to really come strong out of the gate with as good a product, great licenses, etc. as possible since you often truly do not get a second chance to make a first impression.

4- Be realistic and be patient. I do a lot of interviews in the media and I always tell every budding small business owner that you have to set realistic goals and not try to own the world and your niche tomorrow. Patience is key.

5- Pick one thing to be THE BEST at. If you want to be successful in business you can NOT to try to be all things to all people. Find what you do best and find the core market that really wants what you have to offer. Concentrate on the people in that market.

6- Keep low overhead. This is huge for business owners….it’s not how much money you make…it’s how much you keep! Keeping a low overhead is key because high overhead costs are what take down more businesses than you can imagine. Even if you’re starting up working from home should know that you can still bankrupt yourself through ill conceived overspending, especially in technology…

7- Spend your time wisely. What small businesses have to do is learn to responsibly outsource and focus on what they do best. You have to know what you can do and what you should not do and what is really the best use of your time.

Oh, and if you want truly run a successful business, remember that you have to become a master of communication when you do outsource. It’s the key to making any business work.

8- Be unique. Don’t try to be Wal-Mart. Be different than Walmart. The best thing a company can do is distinguish themselves from their competition by offering something that no one else can. And if another company is selling a similar product, just make sure that your company can do it better!

About the author: Craig Wolfe is president of CelebriDucks.com. Voted one of the top 100 gifts by Entertainment Weekly CelebriDucks is The Place to Buy The World’s Finest Rubber Ducks.