If you're a wannabe entrepreneur, you've probably heard this old chestnut about how some of the great CEOs launched their start-up: two guys at Harvard/Yale/Stanford come up with brilliant idea. They drop out. They spend a year in a friend's/parent's/sibling's garage fine tuning their idea. They get millions in funding. They go public. They marry models, drive Bentleys, start more successful businesses, and retire to a life of doing whatever they want.

While that's a great fantasy (we especially like the part with the models), the truth, as we all know, is that there's typically a little more involved in starting a business. That's why reader Jessica sent us the following question: who do I need to hire to help me launch my small business?

In a perfect world (see the first paragraph), every entrepreneur would have a stable of top lawyers, accountants, business consultants, business planners, marketers, and advertisers at their finger tips. But let's be realistic. If you're starting a small business you need to keep costs down. And in this market, it would be criminal to squander cash on consultants you don't need when that money could be better allocated elsewhere. Given that, here's who you need to have on speed dial to get started: a good business attorney, a great accountant, and, if you're seeking funding, a business plan writing consultant.

Unless you're well-versed in business law and taxes, a lawyer and an accountant can help you make critical decisions about your business. One of the most important things they can help you nail down is how to structure your business. LLCs, sole proprietorships, and S-Corps, for instance, all are taxed differently. An accountant can help you figure out, based on the type of company you'd like to start and other factors, which type of business makes the most sense for you.

Similarly, liability differs depending on how your business is structured. That's where a lawyer comes in. They can help you determine what type of business is the best fit for your start-up. Hiring a business lawyer has the added benefit that they can help you address any other legal considerations that may crop up during the start-up process, such as copyright or trademark issues.

If you're seeking funding, you may also want to hire a business plan writer. Given that most entrepreneurs don't have experience writing a business plan, it makes sense to contract someone who's familiar with the process. A good business plan writer will have written hundreds of plans, and will know exactly what aspects of your start-up they should emphasize to get a potential investor's attention. They can also provide you with information you might not find elsewhere about the funding process.

Hey, you don't need the garage or the Ivy education to start a great business. You just need a small, but solid team of consultants.