To understand how entrepreneurs think, you first need to drop a few myths or stereotypes you may be carrying around. Given the media’s love affair with entrepreneurs, it houldn’t surprise you that these myths have grown up around them:

Myth #1: It takes a lot of money to start a business.

Not true! In fact, every year, Inc. Magazine profiles businesses that have started on $1,000 or less. And among the mag’s annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies, you see no relationship between the amount of start-up capital invested and business success

Myth #2: Entrepreneurs are in it for the money.

Okay, some entrepreneurs think that way, but the number one reason that most entrepreneurs start businesses is independence — the ability to create something they can call their own instead of working for someone else. Entrepreneurs want to control their destiny.

Myth #3: Entrepreneurs are born, not made.

This is the same as saying that you can’t teach entrepreneurship. According to management guru Peter Drucker, entrepreneurship is a discipline, so it can be learned. Passion and persistence may be in your genes, but it takes work to develop the skills that entrepreneurs have.

Myth #4: You need a business plan to succeed.

Yes, investors and lenders want to see a business plan before forking over cash, but if you don’t need these resources at start-up, you may be able to launch your business based on the results of a feasibility analysis and then get some traction with customers (see the later section “Conduct a feasibility study”). Some Internet entrepreneurs, such as Richard Rosenblatt of Demand Media, know how to get a Web site up and make money within a couple weeks. These savvy entrepreneurs know that testing the market is more important than spending the time to write a business plan.

Myth #5: You have to be young and reckless to be an entrepreneur.

This definitely isn’t true. In fact, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report (www.gemconsortium.org) found that men and women in the 45–64 age bracket start 35 percent of all the businesses in the United States and 22 percent globally. Entrepreneurship is for all ages!