Successful and cost-effective advertising is an important issue to consider when starting up a business. A comprehensive business plan should include details of advertising strategies, a helpful starting point for which is an analysis of the advertising currently being used by competitors in the same line of business. The rise of the internet has provided a variety of new opportunities for advertising, of which an innovative business should take full advantage. A
well-designed website should ideally combine a professional appearance with user-friendly functionality, and be widely promoted to draw as much traffic as possible. This not only increases the visibility of a company, but assures potential clients that the company has a forward-thinking, enterprising outlook, and is willing to embrace as well as exploit the latest technological developments.

Well-regulated, ethical practices should always be an area of primary concern for any business. In an environment where multinational conglomerates predominate, owners of small businesses may feel anonymous enough to become flexible about their code of ethics. However, the increasingly inescapable attention of the media allows an unprecedented number of individuals to access news and information with greater speed than ever before – unethical practices can become a matter of public knowledge overnight, with devastating consequences. Codes of ethical practice should apply not only to clients, but to employees, who are just as able to draw inappropriate behaviour on the part of their employers to the public's attention. In today's society, businesses of any size must be able to demonstrate transparency and accountability in their dealings with employees, clients, and the public alike.