So you’ve jumped into the entrepreneur’s arena and taken the plunge to start a business. Congratulations. Making the commitment is a big first step to success. And you have a plan. You do have a plan, don’t you?

Let’s talk about that for a minute before we discuss your Kickstarter plans. Whether you’ve got your plan in your head or a thirty-plus page business plan makes no difference in the beginning. If that’s your approach to starting a business, it will probably fail.

Why? If it’s all in your head then your business will just be imaginary. It doesn’t get real until you put it on a doc and figure out the basics of how to use your time, what you’re selling and how many you need to sell to make a profit, how to manage supplies and suppliers, accounting, insurance, branding, marketing, advertising and sales. Are you going it alone or with a partner? How will you divide responsibilities? Will your partner be good at their agreed-upon responsibilities? These are the things to write out and organize. Keep it succinct. Google Ventures looks for smart businesses with a three-page plan for success so I recommend doing that.

Now if you’re going all in with a Business Plan Pro that will generate a thirty-page-plus document to start your business, you too are unlikely to succeed because doing a business plan like that with 3-year and 5-year projections is pure fantasy. You’re wasting your time at the outset and that doesn’t bode well for success. Rather, follow the advice above and simply figure out what you’re going to have to spend and what you’re going to have to make every month for the first six months and the first year to stay in business. Then set about making it happen.

Making it happen with Kickstarter can be a great way to raise the funds needed to start up. But less than 40% are successful meeting their funding goals and their Kickstarter campaign fails. And if you cannot meet your goal, then you’ve got a problem with the idea, your plan, or your marketing. So, before you start your Kickstarter campaign, do the things that are necessary to ensure success of reaching your goals and establishing a successful business.