Creating Your Own Business

You & your partner will be creating your own business from the ground

up.

You will creating everything from the type of company to the products you sell to business cards & brochures to billboards, commercials & website.

Before you can begin making decision on what kind of company you want & what products you want to create there are some business ethics & laws you

need to know & keep in mind.

Business ethics… “the study of proper business policies and practices regarding

potentially controversial issues, such as corporate governance, inside trading, bribery, discrimination, corporate social responsibility and fiduciary (based on trust) responsibilities. Business ethics are often

guided by law, while other times provide a basic framework that businesses may choose to follow in order to gain public acceptance.”

(http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/business-ethics.asp)

Corporate governance… “the system of rules, practices and processes by which a company is

directed and controlled.” (http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/corporategovernance.asp)

Insider trading… “the buying or selling of a security by someone who has access to

material, nonpublic information about the security.” (http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/insidertrading.asp)

Bribery… “The act of taking or receiving something with the intention of

influencing the recipient in some way favorable to the party providing the bribe.

(http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/bribery.html)

Discrimination… “to distinguish, single out, or make a distinction including: age, disability, ethnicity, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, and sexual orientation.”

(http://civilrights.findlaw.com/civil-rights-overview/what-is-discrimination.html)

Corporate social responsibility … “a corporation’s initiatives to assess and take responsibility for the company's effects on environmental and social wellbeing.”

(http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/corp-social-responsibility.asp)

Fiduciary responsibilities … “a legal obligation of one party to act in the best interest of another.”

(http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/fiduciary-duty.html)

Business laws… “the law governing contracts, sales, commercial paper, agency and employment law, business organizations, property, and bailments.”

(http://definitions.uslegal.com/b/business/)

Copyright… “the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the

matter and form of something (as a literary, musical, or artistic work).”

(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/copyright)

Fair use… “a legal doctrine that portions of copyrighted materials may be used without permission of the copyright owner provided the use is fair

and reasonable, does not substantially impair the value of the materials, and does not curtail the profits reasonably expected by

the owner.” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fair%20use)

Purpose Nature Amount Effect

Acceptable Teaching, research, news

reporting

Acceptable Factual, important to

education

Acceptable Small quality, portion is

not crucial to entire work

Acceptable No major effect on the

market, user legally own a copy of original work

Illegal Making money from sale of work, don’t give credit to author or original work

Illegal Very creative work (art,

music, literary films, plays), fiction

Illegal Large or entire work used,

the part of the original used is crucial to new

work’s success

Illegal Could replace selling of original, many copies made, used for a long

time, made it available on the Web

Motion Media Text Material Music, Lyrics, & Music Videos

Illustrations &Photographs

Up to 10% or 3 minutes, whichever is

less

Up to !0% or 1000 words, whichever is

less; an entire poem of less than 250 words may be used but no

more than 3 excerpts from a poet

Up to 10% but no more than 30 seconds of the

music & lyrics, alterations to a musical work can’t change the

basic melody or character of work

An entire photo or drawing may be used but no more than 5

images from the same artist, or when from a published collective work not more than 10% or 15 images, whichever is less

Fair use continued… “generally speaking up to 10% of a work can be used.”

(http://www.cyberbee.com/copyrpln.pdf)

Creative commons… “a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of

creativity and knowledge through free legal tools.” (https://creativecommons.org/about/)

License terms/agreement… “written contract under which the owner of a copyright, know how,

patent, servicemark, trademark, or other intellectual property, allows a licensee to use, make, or sell copies of the original.”

(http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/licensing-agreement.html)

Condition Image Description

Attribution You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, & indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but no in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

Non Commercial If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.

Share Alike If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.

No Derivatives

If you remix, transform, or build up on the material, you may not distribute the modified material.

http://copyright.ubc.ca/guidelines-and-resources/support-guides/creative-commons/

There are also some essentials when planning a business.

Executive summary… “brief but comprehensive synopsis of a business plan or an

investment proposal, which highlights its key points and is generally adapted for the external audience.”

(http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/executive-summary.html)

Business name & location Products &/or services offered Company’s mission statement Purpose of business plan

Company description… “an overview of the company; a brief history and mission statement.”

(http://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_definition_of_company_description)

Nature of the business & the needs you play to satisfy

A brief history An overview of the products/services ,

customers, & suppliers Summary of the business’ short-term &

long-term goals

Products/Services… Product: “a good, idea, method, information, object or service

created as a result of a process and serves a need or satisfies a want.” Service: “a valuable action, deed, or effort performed to satisfy a

need or to fulfill a demand.” (http://www.businessdictionary.com/)

In-depth description of products/services

Products/services costs Who products/services will be aimed at

Market analysis… “a phase of marketing research conducted to determine the

characteristics and extent of a market.” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/market%20analysis)

Sketch of targeted customer segments – including size & demographics

Industry description & outlook – including statistics

Detailed evaluation of competitors – highlighting strengths & weaknesses

Strategy implementation… “the activity performed according to a plan in order to achieve an

overall goal.” (http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/strategic-implementation.html)

Explanation of how you will reach target customers & market

Details about pricing, promotions, & distribution

Explanation of how the business will function

Information on sources of labor & number of employees

Data on operating hours & facilities

Organization & management team… “a common management style for modern small businesses.”

(http://smallbusiness.chron.com/definition-organizational-management-37684.html)

Organizational chart with descriptions of departments & key employees

Information about owners – including names, percentage of ownership

Profiles of management team – including names, positions, main responsibilities, & past experience

List of advisors – such as board members, accountants, & attorneys

Financial plan & projections… “a forecast of future revenues and expenses for a business,

organization, or country.” (http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/financial-projection.html)

Prospective financial information – including forecasted incomes, profits, budgets

Brief analysis of financial data – income vs expenses; profit vs cost