You want to be your own boss.

You want financial independence.

You want creative freedom.

You want to fully use your skills and knowledge.

Next you need to determine what business is "right for you." Ask yourself these questions:

What do I like to do with my time?

What technical skills have I learned or developed?

What do others say I am good at?

How much time do I have to run a successful business?

Do I have any hobbies or interests that are marketable?

Then you should identify niche your business will fill. Conduct necessary research to answer these questions:

Is my idea practical and will it fill a need? What is my competition?

What is my business advantage over existing firms?

Can I deliver a better quality service?

Can I create a demand for my business?

The final step before developing your plan is pre-business checklist. You should answer these questions:

What business am I interested in starting?

What services or products will I sell? Where will I be located?

What skills and experience do I bring to business?

What will I name my business?

What equipment or supplies will I need?

What insurance coverage will be needed?

What financing will I need?

What are my resources?

How will I pay myself?

Having worked your way through above questions should have given you an indication of whether or not you still want to go into business. If you have decided against, then at least you have learnt something. If you are going ahead with your venture then congratulations and have a successful business.

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Provide financial statements for at least last three years, plus a current dated statement (no older than 90 days) including balance sheets, profit & loss statements, and a reconciliation of net worth. Aging of accounts payable and accounts receivables should be included.

Proposed Business:

Provide a pro-forma balance sheet reflecting sources and uses of both equity and borrowed funds.

Projections:

Provide a projection of future operations for at least one year or until positive cash flow can be shown. Include earnings, expenses, and reasoning for these estimates. The projections should be in profit & loss format. Explain assumptions used if different from trend or industry standards and support your projected figures with clear, documented explanations.

Collateral:

Provide a list assets to be held as collateral. Few financial institutions will provide non-collateral based business loans. All business loans should have at least two identifiable sources of repayment. The first source is ordinarily cash flow generated from profitable operations of business. The second source is usually collateral pledged to secure business loan.

Depending on your particular circumstance you may need to provide one or more of following documents:

Lease, Franchise Agreement, Purchase Agreement, Letters of Intent, Articles of Incorporation, Plans, Copies of Licenses, Letters of Reference, Contracts or Partnership Agreement.

You may freely reprint this article provided author's biography remains intact: