What's The Plan?Business plan? What business plan? You'll just wing it, right? Wrong. Here's how to put your business on the right track (plus all the tools to make planning easy).

If you thinkwriting a business plansounds about as appealing as spending a Saturday in traffic court or letting Great-Aunt Gertrude set you up on a blind date, you're not alone. When you've got a great business idea, why sit on the sidelines dealing with piles of paperwork? You'd rather just jump into the game. But even Mark McGwire prepares before he steps up to the plate. And rushing into business without a business plan is about as smart as heading into the Major Leagues without spring training. If you believe the myths about business plans, you could strike out big-time.

Debunking the Myths