You will definitely need a business plan. This will become your road map; when completed it will tell you how to take this business where you want it to go. It may even convince your bankers to take the ride with you. But the really important point about a business plan is the act of producing one. These days you can download a template from a number of places on the Net. ( One is linked below under Moneyhunter). You fill in the blanks. The important, irreplacable dynamic is that the act of creating a business plan assures that you address and think through the issues confronting the industry you want to enter; how is it regulated; who are it's customers; is the customer base growing or shrinking; who are your competitors and what competitive advantage do you perceive you will have to allow you to compete successfully with them; all the details of your operation, whether its capital or labor intensive, seasonal and ,ultimately, how you are going to wrest a profit from it. A business plan doesn't have to be a long or complex document; it can be a fairly simple paper of several pages. The two important elements are that it provides evidence you have thought this venture through and also you can turn back to it time and again to test your assumptions. You can see if you've taken a detour, or even run off the road into a ditch and need to get up, dust yourself off and put the wheels back on while consulting your map for further directions.

Money Hunter , a highly rated site run by Capital Express LLC, a venture capital firm, gives sound advice about seeking capital , the need for a business plan and even a business plan template you can use to organize and outline your goals and specific methods of achieving them. Also offers advice about mission statements (and why you need one), lawyers, patents and trademarks, hiring salespeople, and dealing with national chain operations.