To the original question, we took over the management and operation of our business -- an ongoing business with a long history -- about four years ago, and are now just about to enter our fifth season. I am not sure we have enough perspective yet to consider what we might have done differently if starting over again.
We got into this without really having a clear plan or goals for the business, other than simply trying to sustain the legacy and keep the place viable. Of course it is hard to plan or set goals when you don't really know what exactly you are getting into, and when there are other contingencies in your own life to complicate things.
The suggestions about training and education, taking an "aspiring" workshop (we didn't do that), and perusing the forums (definitely did do that), are great, but there is nothing like just doing it -- you will still be facing the unexpected regardless of how much prior preparation you undertake.
Reflecting further, I am a bit wary of the concept of "starting all over again." One can't really turn the clock back, do a reset, and "start over." You can only move forward from where you are now. Certainly, you can reflect on the sequence of decisions made and actions taken that have landed you where you are now, and hopefully learn from that to make adjustments and changes in course (if warranted!) as you move forward. But it does help to have a vision of where it is that you want to go, in order to plot a course as to how you might get there from where you are now.
So circling back around, I guess I would say, Think Big! Details are important, and you do have to pay attention to them, but it is also important to have a Grand Vision of what you are trying to accomplish, to set goals and objectives that will get you there, to establish mileposts you can use to measure your progress, and to periodically reflect on that progress and assess whether or not where you are headed is really where you want to go.
