Sure do.
- Use a VPS. Running your own server on premises gets complicated fast, especially if you rent. Pay someone else to keep your server healthy. Hetzner has fair prices and good customer service.
- Think about resource use. Lemmy sucks up a lot of RAM. Piefed runs lighter. Keep an eye on your disk space, anticipate problems.
- Get on Matrix. Lemmy and Piefed both have Matrix spaces for admins to help each other on the technical and political side. Be nice, make friends.
- Be predictable. Decide your rules before you need them. Keep it simple enough for users to understand. Give good removal and ban reasons.
- Cater to newbies. Don't use the word "instance" or "server", use the word website. Explain federation on the sidebar or in the signup process, but use general terms. Like "We're connected to a network of other websites, and you can see and interact with their posts from our site."