Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Melissa Houston covers financial issues that affect women in business. Creating a successful business starts with a strong plan.

Business plans vary in content according to their intended purposes, but the basic format remains the same. It consists of three elements: First, discuss the business model and describe your products ...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Writing a business plan is like the architectural plan for a home or a brick-and-mortar building. You need to know what materials you ...

Credit is tough to come by these days. Though interest rates are down, banks and other sources of capital are tightening the screws. According to the Federal Reserve, banks today are much more ...

According to Small Business Trends, a third of small businesses get started with less than $5,000, and 58% got started with less than $25,000. 26% of business owners started because they were willing ...