Shopping for business cards? Wanting to start a new business? Don't rush into ordering them until you make sure that your idea is really feasible.

Yesterday, I sat down with the man from the Small Business Administration and discussed the preliminary steps to starting a business in the correct way.

He shared the first four steps that he felt were essential before writing up your business plan.

1. Define Your Idea

2. Define Your Target Market

3. Define The Barriers

a.) Financing

b.) Regulatory

4. Define Your Actions

This should equate to about a 4 to 5 page document.