The key to starting your business off on the right foot is a smart and savvy business plan, as any business-school graduate will tell you.  You’ll need it to determine your immediate and short-term course of action, decide if you need investors or partners, and secure the bank loans to get started and stay afloat.  But how do you go about creating this mystical document?  The description of a sound business plan as one that lays out not only the steps you will take to form and grow your business, but also the cost of startup and the prospects for economic viability, at least gives you an idea of where to start.  But what you really need is a list of items to include and some tips on how to go about getting the information required to write up your plan.