As a small business owner, I am constantly being asked how I did it. How did I start my own business? How did I know where to go and what to do? How did I learn about licensing and permits and tax regulations and incorporating and vendors and everything else that goes into owning and running a business?

The very first business plan I ever wrote was praised by the Small Business Development Center counselors and loan officers and immediately accepted and forwarded to the local SBA representative for approval. And no, I didn’t use canned software.