As far as zoning and permits and licenses

Depends on the business and where it is.

I have recently opened a business in Austell GA

I had to find a building, get a building permit to make any changes to the building and allow a inspector to OK it before I could move forward.

Then I had to get the fire marshal to inspect and get permit to that allowed me to move in and get business license

Then I had to get health department to OK any and all food areas

I had to get a business license and got a sales tax number from the state and a EIN number from the IRS.

And of course I had to make sure the area was zoned for the type of business I wanted before I could even start the process.