Starting a business is something that many individuals dream of — it’s one of the distinguishing characteristics of our nation's free enterprise system. Turning this dream into reality, however, is not an easy task. People are free to start businesses, but they are also free to fail.

The decision to start a business is an intensely personal one — no one can make it for you. To make the right decision — the best one for you — you need to consider many elements about yourself and your prospective business. The purpose of this workbook is to help you think about your business idea and perform an initial business feasibility analysis. It will guide you through consideration of market, management, and money questions. To analyze these areas adequately will take significant time and effort, but your work will pay off many times over. Guided by this workbook, you can collect information necessary for business success and the acquisition of financing.

This workbook is not a guide to writing a business plan. That is an extensive process that varies from business to business. Before you proceed to do a business plan, you should have already completed the basic business feasibility analysis.