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