Whether you are working for a start-up website that sells iPhone cases, or for the Ecommerce department at Walmart, it can be easy to make mistakes that hemorrhage money. But, according to Tripp Sessions, Former CIO of Benchmark Brands, there are six basic rules that can keep you from making expensive mistakes:

1. Don’t Do Stupid Stuff: ‘Stupid Stuff’ including, but not limited to, picking the wrong time for your project to fail, not building company wide coalitions to sponsor your projects, forgetting to budget properly, thinking bad news gets better with age, being too aggressive or not aggressive enough about money and surprising your superiors. You know, anything that might loose your company a hefty stack of money…

2. Know When to Hold ‘Em, Know When to Fold ‘Em: Know when to go to your boss if you need help. It is better to get his/her assistance or learn from his/her expertise when your project has hit a roadblock.

3. Start at the Very Beginning: Don’t begin a project unless you know exactly what you want to get out of it, and how exactly you are going to implement it.

4. Just Say No: Learn to say no to things that you know are not going to help you complete your project, or when you know other projects that colleagues present to you aren’t going to work.

5. Don’t Forget the Customer: Make sure to get in contact with the customer who is engaging with your product. Rather than seeing your customers as faceless names in your big data pool, actually listen to what they have to say.

6. Go Boldly Where No One Has Gone Before: Know when to push the envelope as well as who you can turn to in your company that will be open to trying out riskier innovations.