Perhaps you are a new entrepreneur about to launch a business or innovation you have been dreaming about for years. Or maybe you have an established business and things are going well, or maybe even too well. In both instances you are going to need capital - the 'oxygen' that every business needs to grow and prosper.

So now you are writing your first business plan or touching up the old one in anticipation of raising capital. Capital can only come into a business in one of two ways. Capital that is generated internally through positive cash flow from business operations (e.g., selling stuff), or from external funding sources. The new entrepreneur is limited to only one option - external funding sources.