Whether it's the need to be your own boss or an idea that will change the world, starting your own business requires persistence to pull it off. To get on the right path and ahead of the competition, you need a good plan.

A good rule of thumb for would-be CEOs is to "do what you know." Bill Bowerman, a college track coach, and Phil Knight, one of his athletes, turned their passion for running into Nike Inc. with $500 each, a waffle iron, and a demo-shoe. Not only did they know their market, but they had a passion for athletics that fueled their effort.

• Go with what you know. You will have less to learn and better intuition about the market.
• Know your competition. Google the industry, explore the Yellow Pages, read trade publications, and interview owners of similar businesses.
• Know your potential customers. Do a market survey. Design a questionnaire for your target demographic and tailor your ideas to fit their needs.

A business plan outlines your goals and serves as your company's identifying mission. A detailed business plan can be very lengthy, but aim for no more than 20 pages, and always have a one-page Executive Summary. Here are some crucial points to cover:

• Concept. What product will you sell? Who will buy it? What makes the product competitive?
• Purpose. Clearly state what you need from potential investors.
• Financials. How much capital will you need to get started and how will it be spent? Expenses should include your salary, production costs, and depending on your arrangement, money to repay investors. Don't forget to include estimated sales, cash-flow, and of course, the profits.

Be exceptionally careful calculating how much capital you will need--underestimating can be a major downfall. A general rule of thumb is to guess how much you think you need now, and then double it. Consider how fast you will likely grow, and don't rely on the customers to cover that growth. Often, you will have to pay your suppliers before the customers ever pay you.

• Operation and management. Who are the owners and other key managers? What is their background? Have they started a business before?
• Achievements. Mention what you have already accomplished such as awards, patents, customer commitments or contracts, other committed investors, and anything else that will help give reassurance to investors or lenders.

Once you have your business plan you can realistically begin hunting for funding. There are several types of investors to consider:

• Friends and family offer "pre-seed" money that helps lay a foundation. Make clear that this is a high-risk investment, that you might fail, and that you might not be able to pay them back. Services like circlelending.com can act as a professional intermediary during repayment.
• Angel Investors provide "seed money" and are willing to wait it out for long-term results. Angels provide more than friends or family can, but often expect a higher return on their money. Visit angelcapitalassociation.org for a directory of networks by region.
• Venture Capitalists (VCs) invest large amounts of money, look for big gains in a short time, and make higher risk investments. You will likely surrender much of the company control to these types of investors. VCs often invest after Angels and once a company has an initial track record. Funding like this is rare, so don't hold your breath.

Some entrepreneurs decide not to chase down investors, but to self-finance their business instead. A lot of successful companies were bootstrapped with little start-up capital--Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone, Steve Jobs of Apple, and John Katzman of the Princeton Review didn't have millions, but their tenacity and innovation made them millionaires.

While bootstrappers don't relinquish control of the company to investors, they do take a bigger risk themselves and often take longer to grow. Businesses are often bootstrapped while their founders work a primary job, or finance the business from savings or credit cards.
Bootstrapping with a partner? Set some guidelines first. Decide how much capital you are each going to put into the business, and know how much debt you are prepared to assume.

Depending on your business type, you will need to decide whether you need equity or debt financing. The more money you personally invest, the easier it will be to find financing.

• Equity financing. If you have more debt than equity, experts advise getting more equity financing. This is so you won't be over-leveraged and end up in the hole, even if your business is going strong.
• Debt financing. If you have a high ratio of equity to debt, you may want to try for small business loans. State and local governments are good resources and the Small Business Administration (SBA) has loan programs, as well as a list of grant resources.

How quickly a business can turn a profit varies widely. Understanding when you actually start generating profit is crucial and takes more attention than you might think. It is possible to make enough money to operate and not be profitable. If someone pays you before you deliver your product, you will have cash to operate, but it may not be profit. Profit occurs when revenue exceeds costs--if you continually sell product but don't make money, you will eventually find yourself in the hole. Master your understanding of cash flow--literally the flow of money coming in and going out of your company--to be successful. Visit bplans.com and use the cash flow calculator to learn more.

You'll want to use multiple marketing strategies. There is value in both the traditional and more creative forms of marketing, so consider both.

• Use business cards. One thing the web can't replace. Always carry business cards; you are always networking no matter where you are. You can make them yourself or have them made and printed. Either way, make sure they look professional.
• Get on the web. A website is the first thing people will look for when they want to know more. You don't need to spend a lot on this--keep it simple and easy to navigate.
• Include traditional marketing. Try informational brochures, signs, coupons, direct mailings, flyers, postcards, and media advertising. If you don't have money for the costly ad space in most publications, work on getting press. Whether it's local or industry, you'll need to have a spin on why you are doing something news worthy.
• Slip under the radar with guerilla marketing. If it's as good as you claim it to be, give away your product for free. Offer discounts for referrals, and take advantage of free market research by asking customers how they heard about your business. Ask for feedback and fine-tune your services accordingly. Barter products or services with other businesses, and build a business relationship with as many people as you can.
• Follow up. If you do any of the above, follow up with a phone call or another visit. Offer a discount or more information to make it worth their while.