Hi, You can't really summarise that in a page or two. That is why I am writing a book about all my startup failure and successes from the past 15 years.I will share with you a few lines from my book.I started my own business at the age of 14, fixing computers and installing DOS, Windows etc. I didnu2019t really look at it as a business. I enjoyed doing it and got some pocket money out of it. I managed to get my father to buy me one of the first commercially available CD recorders after hustling him for almost a year and being a good boy! So I then started selling copied CDs (We did not know what copyright was at the age of 14!) At 16 I learnt FrontPage and did some u201cweb designu201d for some local companies, using all the horrible pixilated templates built in FrontPage. Around 19 I started buying secondhand goods in car boot sales and selling them on eBay. Before I knew it, I was importing goods from China and selling them on Amazon and eBay. I then opened a DJ equipment shop online. After that, I opened a head shop, selling smoking equipment online, and then started a company supplying egg incubators, which I thought I cracked it but ended up selling it to competitor at a very low price I was left with egg on my face.Have a robust accounting plan or solution in place from day one.When it came to annual returns for my first business, it was a total nightmare! Procrastinate at your peril when entering your outgoings and incomings into a software application other kind of system. Every single penny needs to be accounted for. I was very young and my procrastination lost me my business. I had no real idea of my cash flow situation. Profit and loss calculations I tried to make were useless. Cap in, crap out.Business InsuranceWe had products catching fire and burning downs clients garage. Bad things always happen in a business. Itu2019s normal. Be prepared for it. Get all the insurance you may need.If you cannot afford to have all the different insurance options out there, I strongly recommend having at least the following (You can Google them if you want to know more!) General Liability Insurance Product Liability InsurancePeople lieTrust everybody and nobody. Before I elaborate, it is worth reminding you to always get everything confirmed in writing. If possible, have everything signed by an authorised member of the relevant company. SuppliersProduct / Service qualityI have dealt with many suppliers, mainly from China. It is not possible to always inspect every single factory or supplier in their country of origin, especially for a small business. You can, however, hire an inspection agency, who will send an agent to the supplier to carryout an inspection. However, the agency wont take any responsibility when things go wrong. If you do plan to hire an agent, make sure the agency is based in your home country where there are subject to the same laws and accountability as you. Fake, False and FraudulentBe aware of fake companies, fake startup hedge funds and fake certificate / documents.Paying for goods and services outside your countryFor large orders, payment services like PayPal will cost you a lot of money, as the suppliers will charge you the PayPal fee. If you are using PayPal for the buyer protection, there is a limit, and itu2019s very low. The best and safest way is to use a LC (Letter of Credit) service. Basically, you send the funds to a financial institute that both you and the supplier trust, they will then only release the funds to the supplier once the BoL (Bill of lading*)is provided to the LC provider.CustomersDonu2019t ever let a customer blackmail you. Make sure you have done everything legally and have the appropriate insurance documents in the event of a problem.Have a robust return policy, and clear sales terms and conditions in place. Donu2019t make exceptions to your policy except in very exceptional circumstances.Make sure all your products are shipped via an insured service.Always provide excellent customer service and make sure your customers are treated in the same way that you will like to be treated. However, some customers will still try to rip you off. Just a small snippet of my bookI hope you found it usefullSam