When Curt and Karen Waisath's second child arrived home, they took a big leap. The family's sole wage earner, Curt, walked into his employer, Henry & Horne, to announce the arrival of his son and gave his two-week notice.

That was in June 1997, two or three years after the couple had begun intensive research and development to create a new type of candle.

"I don't know what we were thinking," Curt Waisath says with a laugh today. "We knew we had a great product and together we were committed. We were willing to take the risk and to start over if necessary."

Today, Gold Canyon Candle Co. is a thriving business, employing more than 275 people in its peak season. The first candle was sold on Oct. 1, 1997, and the first employee hired on Nov. 1, 1997.

Waisath says he always wanted to own a business. His wife, Karen, comes from a family of entrepreneurs. They had been looking for the right opportunities for while. The candle idea came about because Karen bought candles that smelled good in the store only to disappoint her when she lit them at home. The two created a candle product that delights the nose both at the store and in the home.

"We've never tried anything as hard as this. It's a mindset, a leap of faith and quitting my job prior to having a product made us do it," Waisath says. "There's the entrepreneurial moment when you say, 'Yes, we can.' The rest was pure staying alive."

Todd Lifson, a partner at Leading Edge Alliance firm Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Company, has started three businesses himself. He says people interested in owning a business typically start one of three ways. They start a business, like Waisath did, buy an existing business or purchase a franchise.

He says business ownership first requires a self-assessment. Know who you are and what you do best, Lifson says. "Are you someone who wants to start from scratch? Or do you want a shortcut and have the money to buy a business," he asks.

Perhaps you are somewhere in the middle and want the comfort of an established operation but the challenge of opening a new franchise.

With a self-assessment complete, the next step is proper planning. Lifson says this includes determining financing, structure as well as systems for accounting, technology and human resources.

"There are a lot of pieces to it," says Alan Osmolowski, a partner with Carlin, Charron & Rosen, a Leading Edge Alliance firm.

Entity choices include establishing a corporation, a partnership, a limited liability corporation or sole proprietorship. "There are pluses and minuses with each, as well as tax liability considerations," he says.

Osmolowski says LLCs are emerging as the entity of choice most recently because they offer flexibility.

But most important in the establishment of any business is a business plan. "I can't stress that enough-the importance of sitting down and developing a business plan," Osmolowski says. "Entrepreneurs tend to jump in first and ask questions later."

Suzanne Lozano, a CPA with Leading Edge Alliance firm Yeo & Yeo, says business plans allow the creators to see if their idea is feasible. "Some of them are not," she notes.

Yeo & Yeo has developed a "Starting a Business Checklist" for its clients to use.

One critical step, experts agree, is putting together the right advisory team when starting the business.

Your CPA, attorney and possibly other investors all can be good choices for the advisory board as the business is developed, Osmolowski says.

"Get a banking relationship right from the beginning," he adds, noting securing loans often requires collateral and sound business plans.

One of Lozano's specialties is working with doctors setting up medical practices in Michigan. In fact, Yeo & Yeo works with the Michigan State Medical Society on a program for new doctors.

"There are so many details that physicians and their office managers don't think about, such as payroll and insurance," she says. "There are many steps in establishing a medical practice, especially regarding insurance claim filing. If you don't follow the process correctly in the beginning, reimbursement is delayed."

A solid business plan can act as road map, Lozano says.

Even if after the business starts the plan is not as useful as hoped, the process of creating one was useful, Osmolowski says. "You readjust your strategy as necessary."

As a CPA, Curt Waisath had the financial background and understanding that many new business owners do not. "That's a key," he says.

Another essential component to Gold Canyon Candle's success, Waisath says, is hiring good people-hard workers who love what they do and take ownership of their responsibilities.

"The critical things to jump our success were hiring the right people at the right time," he says.

Waisath says starting a business from scratch is not for the weak stomachs. He recalls all the nerves and emotions that caused him to be sick each morning that first year in business.

"You're thinking, 'we have to make payroll, rent,'" he explains.

"The enthusiasm, excitement and pressure never stop," Waisath says, though his queasy stomach has settled down.

Instead of worrying about how to meet payroll, the concerns and questions on Waisath's mind now center on how to grow the business bigger and how to do things better, more efficiently, he says.

Lifson says entrepreneurs often do not take time to reflect on their successes the longer they are in business. "It's very exciting and fun to be able to make your own decisions, to live and die by those decisions," he says.

"Look back, though, at what you started, what you built, your personal satisfaction and how you're adding to society," Lifson says. "You're a catalyst to what's happening in the world." e