You have an idea. You've weighed the pros and cons. You've put together a team of people to help you. You are ready to take the leap. Now what?

Let me first touch on a small fact that affects the millions of people with great ideas. Entrepreneuring does not only require a good idea. It's not about acquiring resources. It's not just about faith in your calling from God. It's about G-U-T-S and W-O-R-K. In order to move forward, you have to make a final decision that you are in the fight until it's over.

The road will most likely be long. Your business will probably not grow from $0 to $10,000,000 in 90 days...or one year...or even five years. It will grow ONE DOLLAR AT A TIME. You will have to be flexible enough to adjust your business to market and economic conditions. The road is usually not without sacrifice, tears, prayer, and a few defeats. If you are ready to face that future, read on.

1. WRITE YOUR PLAN

Everyone who has been entrepreneuring for any amount of time has heard of a business plan - a well-thought-out, detailed report of what your business is about, what it is selling, who is involved, and how much money you will make. As known as it is, most entrepreneurs ignore this step. After all, your idea is a "no-brainer", right?

Take my advice - write and share your plan with your team. This will insure that you are all on the same page. In addition, it will give you the opportunity to hash out details that you had not thought of before. If you do not have a team, your plan will show you that you need one. What ever you do - write your plan.

2. INCORPORATE YOUR ORGANIZATION

Incorporation literally marks the moment that your business - your "baby" - comes to life. Limited liability, separation from your personal assets, ability to trade equity for capital - all of these are great reasons to incorporate. The process is easy and inexpensive.

In my opinion, nothing forces us to work harder on an idea than incorporation. Once you go through the process, and you know that you have a living, breathing entity in your charge, the desire to do something with it changes. Incorporate, send for your EIN, and take care of any state, county, and/or city occupational licenses. Also, be sure to find out if you need industry-specific licensing. Don't compromise your integrity by working without a license. The legal implications can harm you, your business, and your family.

3. EXECUTE THE PLAN

Once your business is born, it is time to get to work on the first aspects of your project. You will fall into one of two categories:

A. Research & Development

If you have the money you need to start your business, or need to do some preliminary work to begin your business, you will begin your Research and Development phase. During this time, you will develop your product, hire your staff, build your systems, print your marketing materials...anything that must be done before the business actually launches.

During this time, you will also want to identify and pursue key relationships and partnerships that will help your organization launch successfully. This is a phase that you never truly leave behind. You will want to continuously expand your products and services, increasing the efficiency of your business while enhancing your offerings.

Be sure to make a checklist of things to be done. It is easy to stay in this phase and believe that you are actually doing business when, in fact, you are really standing still. Make your list of need-to-dos and get them done fast. Try not to add things to that list unless they are crucial to launching your business. There will be plenty of time to make things better once the money starts rolling in.

B. Capital Raising

If you need money to enter your R&D phase, you will need to put together a capital offering. Capital offerings can range from borrowing a few thousands from a relative to raising millions through debt or equity offerings.  The important thing to know is that you MUST educate yourself on what it will take to raise the amount that you need.

Raise MORE THAN ENOUGH to be successful. No business ever went out of business because it had too much money. Be prepared to lose some money on mistakes - I call that "Mistake Money". Make provision for that in your numbers.

What are the key elements needed to raise money? Glad you asked!

For equity or debt offerings, you will need:

1. Business Plan
2. Offering Documents
3. State Filings (In compliance to state Blue Sky laws)
4. Terms Sheet
5. Subscription Agreement

For small capital needs (less than $10,000), you will usually only need your business plan and a clear-cut agreement to the terms. You are also usually restricted to friends, family, and institutional lenders.

The most important thing to consider when raising money is legal compliance. You must make sure that your offering is LEGAL - that you can legally trade money for interest in your company. If you do not go through the proper procedures, it can come back to haunt you later. Find someone knowledgeable about this process to walk you through it and help you as needed.

4. LAUNCH YOUR BUSINESS

Get started. Put a strong emphasis on cash flow. Cash Flow is your main artery as a small business. You must get your cash flow going as soon as possible. Reaching your breakeven point is of major significance, allowing your business to grow, expand, and rule the market.

Mike Bittel, a friend of mine with an extensive background in startup financials, told me about a client that once stated that he didn't know much about money or finances, but he did know that once you reach breakeven, your cash flow skyrockets. That's exactly how it works.

There is one last point to note regarding "opportunity". When you launch your venture, you will be presented with all types of opportunities. Friends, family, and strangers will come to you with "big potential" opportunities that promise a great return. My only advice to you is to weed out the opportunities that distract you from your core business. Spreading yourself too thin can kill your business and credibility. Take it from someone who has gone through the wringer with this! Your business is big enough to require 110%. If you have 15 opportunities all spinning, something is going to suffer - your health, your family, your walk with God, and/or your business. Focus is key to breaking through to the other side.

Am I suggesting that you should close off any opportunities that may help you and family? Absolutely not! Just use your judgement and prayerfully sift through the unsubstantiated promises of get-rich-tomorrow brother-in-laws and true opportunities that can take you to the next level. Few things produce great wealth fast. Expect your business to grow one dollar at a time.