Once a business idea is selected, it is highly recommended that we sharpen the concept by a detailed planning process. The result of this step is a comprehensive business plan, with its major components being the marketing "mix," the strategic plan, operational and logistical structures, and the financial proposal. The purpose of the business plan is to recognize and define a business opportunity, describe how that opportunity will be seized by the management team, and to demonstrate that the business is feasible and worth the effort.

While this may seem a daunting task to first-time entrepreneurs, many “veterans” have found that there are software packages that can help to organize and format the material required for a comprehensive plan. These packages are particularly helpful to those who are intimidated by starting from a blank piece of paper. So is there a downside to purchasing software that has most of the text “in place?” The text is not always well-written, “fill-in the blanks” tends not to produce very fluid copy, and the parts you write may be in a different style than the words surrounding it. Some experts suggest that the real usefulness of such packages lies in the examples, when they are in a business similar to yours.