Got a pen handy? To best estimate your startup costs, you'll need to make a list and the more detailed the better. A smart way to start is to 【C1】______ everything you'll need, from 【C2】______ goods (such as inventory, equipment and fixtures) to professional services (such as remodeling, advertising and legal work). Then, start 【C3】______ how much you'll need to pay for all those goods and services. Some of the expenses 【C4】______ during the startup phase will be one-time costs, such as the fee for printing 【C5】______ your brochures, creating your LLC or acquiring a permit, while others will be 【C6】______ , such as rent, insurance or employees' salaries. In 【C7】______ , it's best to use a two-step process. First, 【C8】______ an estimate of one-time costs needed to get your doors open, and then develop an operating 【C9】______ for the first six months or even the first year of the business. 【C10】______ you're still having trouble figuring out how much money you need, do 【C11】______ on other companies in your industry and region of the country. Talk to their owners about 【C12】______ they figured out start-up costs and ask 【C13】______ about expenses they forgot. The SBA offers free 【C14】______ through its Small Business Development Centers and its 【C15】______ , SCORE. You can also seek advice from an accountant or attorney 【C16】______ dealing with small businesses. When in doubt about your projections, you should always 【C17】______ on the side of overestimating your up-front investment cost and 【C18】______ sales. Eric van Merkensteijn, a University of Pennsylvania business professor who left 【C19】______ in the late 1990s to open a restaurant in Philadelphia, offers this advice: Figure out your start-up costs, then double that number. Then double it again. Only then will you have a(n) 【C20】______ number, says the professor, who closed the business in 2004 and returned to campus. 【C1】