Re: b) First equipment & supplies to obtain
Start out getting (or making) your protective clothing so you can begin learning from other beekeepers, and read Beesource! It has more info than any book. Pay attention to the older, more successful beekeepers, and the ones in your area.
My guiding philosophy has been to have equipment on hand, ready to house any bees I come across, be it a swarm, a cut-out, or a gift colony.
I started with a $25 table saw from a garage sale, a $25 set of dado blades, a framing square, a staple gun, a compressor, about $28 for a gallon of Titebond III wood glue, a home-buildt smoker made from 2 coffee cans, and a cut-down nail bar for a hive tool. I did fork out $60 for a bee jacket - hats & veils get you stung way too often - about 50 queen excluders, and I bought a box of foundation.
Looking back, I now consider a frame grip an essential tool, and my strong preference is for a J-hook type hive tool, though I carry a 90 angle one also. A metal bucket is a darn good idea to keep you smoker from starting something on fire. A flatbed, one-ton truck is the big investment for a sideliner, and eventually a forklift - hobbyists are thinking "Whaaaat?"
You'll want to visit several beekeepers' honey rooms before setting up yours, or just decide to take it to someone who does it for the public. Honey equipment is largely dependent on scale of your operation, and entirely unnecessary at first.