:)has anybody any imformation on how to set up a business and get this running prior to e2visa [?]
Very very difficult to set anything up here without being here. To be frank it is hard even when you are here as the amount of bureaucracy you have to go through in the first few weeks is enormous and daunting. I could not have coped with it by remote control. The only practical way I can see is to liaise with someone already living here to help you set it up. They could then do the spadework for you. But would likely want "in" on the business. Finding someone you can trust would also be difficult as it is very competitive here.
You could apply for a B1 visa to go in and do your own spoadework but this is preliminary stuff, you cannot actually run the business per se on a B1. These are the things you can do on B1
While in the US as a business visitor, an individual may:
Conduct Negotiations
Solicit sales or investment
Discuss planned investment or purchases.
Make investments or purchases
Attend Meetings, and participate in them fully.
Interview and hire staff.
Conduct research.
The following activities require a working visa, and may not be carried out by business visitors:
Running a business.
"Gainful employment".
Payment by an organization within the US.
The problem is that there would be a gap whilst changing status from B1 to E2 where you would have the business set up but would not be able to tun it. In tht time, you may lose the contracts and staff already in place. It can take weeks even months and you woukd have to return to the UK.
This business thing isnt easy, It wasnt meant to be, There is no easy way around it. Most of us had to buy a business that was already running as a "rite of passage" wheras in most cases we could have set them up ourselves and would have been a lot better off doing so. The business I bought was overpriced for what it is in my opinion but it got me here. And it is all about "being there" in Florida.