The first week is all about getting ready to begin work.

It's a good idea to have a separate work area somewhere in your home to enable you to easily pick up your work from where you left off, and to get you in the right frame of mind for work when you go to sit there.

It's also a good idea to get a range of the stationery and other bits and pieces you'll need to hand.

Access to a computer

A computer will be really useful in setting up your business, as you can do so much research on line. I'm guessing that you have access to one - because you're reading this - but it may be at a library or internet cafe.

If you want to get a computer of your own you'll only need a fairly basic model.

If the computer doesn't have all the software you need with it, then you could save money by looking at Open Source Software. Programs I use are:
OpenOffice.org
Scribus
Drupal
But there are plenty more, and FlyingStartups users are discussing this topic here: What Open Source Software Do You Use?

Identify your local business support service

Each area of the UK has a local business support agency, but they do go under a number of different names. You can see some useful links below.

Emma

You can read how Emma got on in her first week.