Tap these treasures of ideas. The best money you can spend is money invested in your business plan education. Don't shortchange yourself when it comes to investing in your dream. Start gathering samples of business plans and collect business plan books and get a business plan library started, it can change your future. Here's what your library needs to show: that you're a serious student of business strategy and planning, finance and economics, selling, and writing.

Sample Business Plans

Start by gathering sample business plans. Look at the annual reports and S-1s, S-4s, 10ks, or 10Qs filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of companies in your industry. See how they present their case, explain their business, and discuss their industry and competition.

What exactly are these forms and how do you get them? Good question.

These are forms that public companies must file with the SEC in order to register their securities or to maintain the registration of previously registered securities with the SEC. You can find these forms by going to www.sec.gov, clicking on the Edgar database, and searching for a public company in your industry.

The key is to find the most helpful filings. These are the ones labeled S-1, S-4, 10K, and 10Q. They usually contain descriptions of the business, its products, industry, competitors and strategies. Sections that should sound familiar to you if you are planning to write a business plan.

Go to these sections and read how the company presents their business and its products. Look at how they describe the industry and their competitors. I encourage you to read as many filings in your industry as possible. See what the