1) Prepare a realistic business plan.
Think of this as your business road map. Define exactly where you want to get to with your business and then you can effectively map out your path towards achieving your goals!
By creating a detailed business plan you should cover all options and eventualities and have a clear future vision that will guide you through the rest of the start-up processes.

The lack of strong boundaries is one of the chief causes of stress, overwork and overwhelm in the business environment.
What are Boundaries?
Clearly set boundaries help other people to understand how you want to be treated. They are the rules, if you like, that apply when others deal with you and your business. Many of us aren't good at establishing boundaries, something that probably stems from way back in our childhoods.

Here are some simple tips to help you improve your cross cultural communication skills:
Slow Down
Even when English is the common language in a cross cultural situation, this does not mean you should speak at normal speed. Slow down, speak clearly and ensure your pronunciation is intelligible.
Separate Questions

Here are a few ideas to get you started, all with low or no cost, which should especially help you in the early days of your business.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but is just a few ideas to start you off.
1. Get a domain name in the name of your business or of what you do. Marketing is all about building others' perception of you and using hotmail, aol, blueyonder etc just screams "I'm a one man band working at home" - even if you're not!

Talking is the least important half of any conversation. Listening is the real skill. Listening for what is being said, what is being omitted and what's being given a "spin."
You won't get what you need from any conversation unless you know how to listen correctly -- and know what to listen for. Questions, properly used, draw out what you need to hear. But they will be useless unless you listen closely enough to catch what people are telling you.

The 2004 election is over--at least in the minds of the public--and analysis runs rampant as to why Senator John Kerry lost. From a business viewpoint, one could say that he simply didn't sell the product. Or more accurately, he didn't sell the American voters on himself, and by extension the Democratic Party, as the product. We all remember phrases such as "This is the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time" and "I voted for the invasion of Iraq before I voted against it."

This is a quick checklist of a few things that you, as a new business, should expect to ask your accountant (or potential accountant).
1. What will you do to help my business?
2. What guarantees do you offer?
3. Do you offer fixed prices?
4. How long will it take you to prepare a set of accounts?
5. Can I expect to have a tax planning meeting before my year end?
6. Will you recommend my business to others?

Seven Questions to Improve Your Business, Your Relationships, and Your Life
One of the most powerful tools we have as humans is our ability to ask questions.� The more adept we are at asking them (and waiting for and listening to the answers), the more effective we will be.� Here are seven great questions to use everyday.

Your business card is a valuable piece of real estate and a powerful tool for making a connection and starting a relationship that can show your potential clients the valuable solutions you can offer them.