Its pretty often that I heard of people I know wanting to start up a company to call their own. To escape from the corporate machine, gain financial independence, etc ...
First Step? Normally this would be the analysis or planning phase where the good ol' business plans are written, surveys are done, market analysis ... etc. Now, point of this post isn't to ramble about the types of foundation work that needs to be laid down prior to starting up (though that could be another post in the future). My aim is just to briefly bring focus to the dangers of both under-planning and over-planning.
Under-Planning : I guess if you find yourself asking "what now?" too often then it may be a sign of udner-planning. Without doing the proper homework before starting up, one may easily find that there wasn't any demand for the product/service in the first place. Or worst, to plunk down hard capital into a business only to discover that there already is a competitor doing the exact same thing but faster, better and cheaper than you ever can.
Over-Planning : All good things come in moderation and so does planning. The problem may arise when one goes into "lets check out all parts of the plan again, just to be sure. Then we'll just stick to the plan and things will be nice and dandy". Tough luck but that's not the way the world works. Some factors in the business is bound to change sooner or later so having a static plan is not going to be a good idea. A rough idea of where one is heading would suffice. The only thing worst that could happen is known as "analysis-paralysis" where you try to make sure your plan fits all textbook theories. In which case, one can mostly forget about starting up at all.
Conclusion: Aim for just enough information backed with a rough plan which would allow you to get down to work without being either too unaware of actual circumstances or becoming too obsessed with details.
(PS: A good read : 5 Ways to Start a Company (Without Quitting Your Day Job) )
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