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By introducing sound environmental management practices and reducing your environmental impact overall, your business can profit from cost savings through efficiency or productivity gains.

Your business can also profit in a number of other ways including:

* receiving assistance and grants from the government
* spending less on raw materials, energy and water
* receiving recognition through numerous environmental awards
* finding new market opportunities for "green" goods and services
* improving workplace safety through reduced use of industrial chemicals and reduced waste.

You can also increase your benefits through achieving environmental best practice. You can follow voluntary industry codes of conduct or the international environmental standard ISO 14000 series.

What to do...

* Read the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts' Profiting from Environmental Improvement in Business information kit.
* Learn about how you can follow best practice by visiting our Codes of conduct page.
* Visit the Standards and labelling page to find out how to include your green products on supplier directories.
* Find out what environmental grants and assistance you may be eligible for by visiting our Grants and assistance page.

updated 4:47 a.m. PT, Fri., Aug 28, 2009
If you've been hitting the snooze button lately on weekday mornings instead of hitting the shower — or find yourself taking the long way around to avoid passing by the corner office, you may just be working for a TOT, that is, a "Terrible Office Tyrant."

TOTs are bosses who act strikingly similar to children, oftentimes toddlers in their Terrible Twos. Why does this happen? Because we're all human, and behind the professional facade are grown kids who act out and can't moderate their power. Unfortunately, at some point from 9 to 5, they just cannot allow the child within to stay there. So in the workplace, these tykes ruin your day and wreak havoc on office productivity.

A TOT can also be a little lost lamb — a clueless or helpless child, afraid to reveal the slightest incompetence. Still, their mood swings, fickleness, or endless questions can make you want to crawl under your desk, or put your e-mail on permanent "out of office reply." Regardless of which type of TOT you are working for, TOTs are a distraction, leaving you to wonder whether you work in a schoolyard or a business.

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The key is how you manage them.

The first step is spotting a TOT. At first glance, your boss's childish behaviors can be mistaken for a sporadic outburst. But after a while, you'll observe a pattern. Fortunately, by recognizing the parallel between out-of-control kids and bosses, you'll discover that the same basic techniques often work effectively for both.

With some keen insights, you can metaphorically place your TOT in the back car seat (just don't enlighten your boss with the analogy). You can maneuver around the most challenging and counterproductive behavior of the day — or hour — with your newfound empowering tools, some practice, and a lot of diplomacy. You can tame your TOT and thrive in your career.

CEOs are not particularly fond of TOTs either. Childish managers sap productivity and hurt the bottom line. I advise CEOs to TOT-proof their company by making it safe for success — so that employees can make mistakes, communicate, and innovate. Where TOTs lurk, so does turnover, absenteeism, loss of customers, poor employee recruitment and retention, and profit erosion.


More from BusinessWeek
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How to excel at work and make it home for dinner
Increasing your career currency

Conversely, a firm dedicated to being "TOT-free" is successful, progressive, worth investing in and working for, as evidenced by countless lists of desirable, profitable places to work and most admired companies.

So how can you tame your TOT? Here are the five hallmarks of a Terrible Office Tyrant, and and tips on managing them:

Tantrums
Your sales team falls short of the projected quarterly figures. So your TOT throws a tirade that makes one thinks of a 2-year-old sprawled on the floor after being told "no!" Assessing the situation rationally and opening a constructive dialogue is not in the cards for your tantrum-prone TOT. These bosses cannot manage difficult situations where they are powerless, especially if your work led to the problem, or if you're in their line of fire.

What to do

Determine the best time of day and day of the week to approach your TOT: not right before lunch; Monday mornings; stock collapses or other setbacks.
When you sense the fireworks are happening, don't hang around for the show. If you are dragged in, let your TOT vent at first; never fight a tantrum with a tantrum.
Consider the acronym CALM: communicate, anticipate, laugh, and manage. Keep the lines of communication open; anticipate problems and solutions; use humor (it is the great diffuser); and manage up by being a positive, proactive problem solver.

SECTION 1: THE BUSINESS PROFILE
Description of My Business
(Session 1): Describe your product or service.


Targeted Market and Customers
(Session 1): Describe your customer profile and why customers want or need your product or service.


Growth Trends In This Business
(Session 1): Is the market for your product or service growing or shrinking?



Pricing Power
(Session 1): Explain the unique qualities or circumstances concerning your product or service that will enable you to maintain profitable pricing.



SECTION 2: THE VISION AND THE PEOPLE
(Session 2): Describe convincingly that you are passionately committed to your new business and have the realism to make inevitable hard choices.


THE PEOPLE
Work Experience Related to My Intended Business
(Session 2): Describe your work experience in the business you plan to start including a list of your skills and knowledge, which will be required in your business.


Personal Background and Education Credentials
(Session 2): Describe yourself, including your education.



SECTION 3: COMMUNICATIONS
Computer and Communications Tools
(Session 3): Furnish a tabulation of each piece of equipment you intend to use including a description and the budget for each. You can use the following as a guide.
Resource Requirements:

Communications
Enter a description and budget for all communications equipment.

Telephones
Enter a description and budget for all telephone equipment.

Pagers
Enter a description and budget for all pagers.

Facsimile
Enter a description and budget for all fax equipment.

Computers
Enter a description and budget for all computer equipment.

Internet
Enter a description and budget for all necessary Internet providers and access.


SECTION 4: ORGANIZATION
Business Organization
(Session 4): Explain the form of business organization you intend to use and why it is best for your business.



Professional Consultants
(Session 4): List the names of your lawyer, accountant, insurance agent and any other professionals.



Licenses
(Session 4): List what licenses you will require to go into business.



SECTION 5: LICENSES, PERMITS AND BUSINESS NAMES
Due Diligence Procedures for Licenses, Permits and Business Names (Session 5):
List the following:

DBA: List the name you intend to do business as.

Zoning: Indicate if the zoning if appropriate for your intended office location.

Licenses: List the appropriate licenses you will need at the local, state, and federal level.

Local:

State:

Federal:

Trademark: Indicate your trademark intentions if any exist.



Sellers Permit: List any sellers permits that you may need.



EIN: Indicate if you will obtain an employers identification number.



SECTION 6: INSURANCE
Insurance
(Session 6): List the forms of insurance coverage including costs are anticipated.



SECTION 7: PREMISES
Location Criteria
(Session 7): Outline your location criteria.
space requirements
future requirements
site analysis study if needed (attach)
demographic study if needed (attach)
lease check-off list (attach)
estimated occupancy cost as a % of sales
zoning and use approvals



SECTION 8: ACCOUNTING AND CASH FLOW
Accounting
(Session 8): Furnish, as a separate exhibit of your starting balance sheet and projected income statements for the first six months to one year.


Cash Flow Planning
(Session 8): Provide a separate exhibit of your one year cash flow analysis including estimated sales, all costs and capital investments.
Provide a checklist of all expense items for input into your cash flow projection.


Analysis of Costs
(Session 8): What are all of my costs: fixed, variable, product, delivery, etc.


Internal Controls
(Session 8): Explain your: Intended internal controls and cash controls, check signing policy, strategy for controlling shrinkage and dishonesty and control of incoming merchandise.


SECTION 9: FINANCING
Financing Strategy
(Session 9): Provide a chart or spreadsheet showing all of the sources of your start-up capital. Explain any government assistance or loan guarantee programs you intend to apply for.
If your business is for use with potential lenders, include a cash flow projection and projected income statements to show sources of repayment of loans. Be conservative in your forecasts.

List your sources of referrals to lending institutions. (Your accountant, etc.)


SECTION 10: E-COMMERCE
E-Commerce Plans
(Session 10): Describe in detail how you plan to use the Internet in marketing your product or service.


E-Commerce Budgeting
(Session 10): Provide a detailed breakdown of the costs involved in crating, operating and maintaining your e-commerce activities.


E-Commerce Competition
(Session 10): Describe how your best competitors utilize e-commerce and your strategy to improve on their practices.


SECTION 11: ACQUISITIONS
Due Diligence Procedures for Acquisitions
(Session 11): List the following:
Your consulting team: Attorney, accountant, banker, broker, etc.

Verification of seller's revenues: how you plan to authenticate.

Sellers records to be inspected: Financial statements, income tax returns sales backlog, cash deposit records, utility bills, accounts payable and receivable, backlog, financial comparisons of similar businesses, etc.

Inspections and approval of leases and contracts.

Appraisals, as appropriate.

If a franchise, interview with randomly selected franchisees.

Finance plan for acquisitions: include sources including seller financing.

Market conditions.

Value of goodwill.

Method of purchase: stock, assets, etc.


SECTION 12: MARKETING
Marketing Plan
(Session 12): Describe your overall marketing and sales strategy including how you plan to get and retain customers.


Advertising and Promotion Plans
(Session 12): Describe your plans and budgets for advertising and promotions.


Purchasing and Inventory Control
(Session 12): See "how to buy" checklist.


Training Policies
(Session 12): Describe your plans for hiring and training your sales associates.


The Competition
(Session 12): Describe your strongest competitors and how you intend to compete.



How I Plan to Take Advantage of Competitors Weak Points
(Session 12): List your competitor's shortcomings and how you can capitalize on them.


SECTION 13: GROWTH PROGRAM
Expansion
(Session 13): Describe your growth: You might include development of profitable pilot operation, sources of financing, cash flow, accounting system in place, incentive compensation plan for managers, benefits package and policies, economics of scale.


Handling Major Problems
(Session 13): Describe scenarios of adverse conditions and how you intend to respond to them. For example how you would plan to handle a 25% reduction in sales, or new competitions, etc. Prepare a cash flow projection based on lowered expectations and
Prepare a cash flow projection based on lowered expectations and show how and where you would reduce costs to maintain liquidity.


SECTION 14: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Due Diligence Procedures for International Trade(Session 14): List the following:
Export Counseling: List your sources of counseling including your export legal counsel.

Export Readiness: Describe the economic reasons and justification for your plans. Outline the personnel, budget and procedures you plan to implement.

Agent/distributor Agreement: Provide a draft of your agent/distributor agreement and the agents/distributors you are considering to do business with.

Analysis of Competitive Considerations: Explain the due diligence resources to be used in the evaluation opportunities including appropriateness for your business.

Evaluation of Country Risk: Explain the resources to be used in the evaluation of country risk (is the country in good standing?) including potential sources of financing.

Describe your plans to insure protection of your intellectual property rights.

Describe your marketing and advertising plans.

Evaluate potential problems regarding product adaptation to standards and measurements.

Describe the licensing requirements for export or import of the product or service you plan to market in international trade.

What is International Trade?
International trade can be defined as either the buying (importing) or selling (exporting) of goods or services on a global basis.

Thanks in great measure to the Internet, many starting businesses can enrich their prospects of success by incorporating IT into their overall business plan. In some cases, a business can be enhanced by incorporating IT marketing to supplement a domestic operation. In other cases, a business can depend solely on international trade. Let’s review some examples:

Exporting
Quality Naturally Foods, Inc., in the City of Industry, California, manufactures prepared bakery mixes for its sister companies Yum Yum Donuts and Winchell Donuts. These and similar mixes are now sold to outlets in Japan. The added volume has reduced costs of production which has benefited all customers.


Amazon.com, the preeminent online marketer (and inspiration for thousands of online entrepreneurs) has a home page toolbar called “International”. Amazon says: “Around the World, wherever you are, get what you want—fast—from our family of Web sites.”
Read Transcript Importing
Good Tables, Inc. of Carson, California, formerly manufactured furniture in its California plant but was losing sales due to cheaper foreign made products. The manufacturing was moved to Mexico in a “maquiladoras” factory.

Funrise, Inc. Woodland Hills, California, has become a world leading marketer of toys. Design, packaging and production are outsourced, primary to vendors in China.

Hollow Corporations
International trade is especially appropriate for the rapidly growing number of “hollow corporations.” Session one of this course refers to a hollow corporation as a business without a factory and with a minimum number of employees in which manufacturing is performed by outside suppliers. A hollow corporation might depend on outside suppliers for virtually all of its products, such as an American toy company importing product from China. Or, it might depend on outside suppliers for selected components in its overall product line, such as The Boeing Company. (Boeing is using Japanese firms for components of the new 787 airliner.)

Session: 14
Finding overseas markets or suppliers and dealing with shipping complexities are only two of the challenges facing small firms seeking to participate in international trade. Entrepreneurs should be cautioned that international trade involves many complexities above and beyond the basic disciplines necessary for operating a domestic business.

* Warning Label

* What is International Trade?
o Exporting
o Importing
o Hollow corporations

* Is International Trade Appropriate for Small Business?

* Advantages and Disadvantages of International Trade

* Online Resources

* Common Mistakes Made in International Trade

* Importance of a Business Plan

* Suggested Activites

Session: 13
A growing business needs to have appropriate expansion policies in place, plans to motivate key employees and know-how in handling common business problems. Here's the advice from been-there-done-that experts.

* Rules to Follow Before Expanding

* Starting with a Pilot Operation First

* Problems in Expanded Business not Present in a Start-up
o Delegation of responsibility and authority
o Monetary incentive plans

* Ways to Motivate Key Employees
o Leveraged profit sharing plan
o Unleveraged profit sharing plan
o Commission plan

* Key Elements for Profit Centers
o Overall considerations
o Long-range financial planning

* Common Business Problems
o Uncontrolled cash flow
o Drop in sales or insufficient sales
o Higher costs
o New competition
o Business recessions
o Incompetent managers or employees
o Dishonesty, theft
o Basic rules for handling serious business problems

Session: 12
You are furnished with check-off lists to maximize your marketing results and avoid the most common mistakes made in opening a business.

* Opening for Business
o Before you start checklist

* Marketing
o Pinpoint your customers
o Recruit the "good" employees
o Train your employees thoroughly in marketing skills
o Check list for hiring and training of your marketing team
o What and how to buy
o How to buy checklist
o Marketing tools
o E-commerce
o Promotion and advertising
o Mailing lists

* Most Common Mistakes
o Checklist to avoid pitfalls

* Suggested Activities

Session : 11
You will learn how to make objective decisions when considering the purchase of a business or a franchise--and how to evaluate how much you should pay.

* How Should I Go About Buying A Business?
o Opportunities
o Financial ability
o Evaluating a Business
o Verify revenue information
o Buying an existing or new business

* Pro's and Con's of Buying a Franchise
o Pro's and con's of buying a franchise
o What I should know about a prospective franchiser
o Becoming a franchiser

* Suggested Activities
o Visit different operations
o Attend trade shows
o Understand your intended business
o Analyze any appropriate existing business
o Analyze a franchised operation

Session: 10
E-Commerce is the fastest growing segment of our economy. It allows even the smallest business to reach a global audience with its product or message with minimal cost.

* E-Commerce Overview
o What is E-Commerce?
o Is an E-Commerce website right for your business?
o Money transactions

* Setting Up a Website
o Registering your domain name
o Hosting your website
o Building your website
o Hiring a professional website developer
o Designing your own website

* Tips For Developing a Successful Site
o Make your site easy to use
o Provide useful content
o Encourage customer feedback
o Develop a mailing list

* Online Marketing and Promotion
o Search engines - your primary marketing tool
o How does your website rank?
o What are people searching for?
o How to manage search engine placement
o Key components to successful search engine marketing for a website
o Search Engines and Resources
o Targeted E-Mail

* eBay
o How to get started
o Listing basics
o Fees
o Get the most from your eBay experience
o Don'ts of eBay

Session: 9
You will learn how to locate, negotiate and maintain sources of money to get you started and help you expand your business.

* First Things First

* How Much Money Do You Need?
o What do you need it for?
o Unsecured Loans
o Secured Loans
o Collateral

* Loans vs. Investment

* Where to Get the Money
o Types of Funding Sources
o Lender Comparison Table

* The Art of Getting the Money
o Business Loans
o Repayment Plan
o Other Quick Tips

* After You Get the Money

* Activities

Session: 8
Before you start your business, you will need to learn how to keep score (basic accounting) and how to maintain cash in your bank account (cash flow control). This session explains both in simple terms.

* Step One: Gain the knowledge

* Step Two: Select an accountant
o Methods of Accounting
+ Cash Basis Method
+ Accrual Method
o Tax Liability Issues
+ Income taxes
+ Payroll taxes
o Financial and Technical Assistance
o Internal Controls
o Quarterly Returns
o Bank Account Reconciliation
o Employee Benefits Policy

* Step Three: Do your own bookkeeping!
o The Three Major Financial Statements
+ The Balance Sheet
+ The Income Statement
+ Cash Flow Control

Session: 7
A wonderful business can be crippled by a poor location or a poorly negotiated lease. You will learn how to create your own site model and the important aspects of a lease agreement.

* Location, Location, Location
o Zoning Categories
o Criteria for Home Based Business
o Criteria for a Manufacturing, Warehousing or Industrial Business
o Criteria for a Retail Business

* Leasing Do's and Don'ts
o Do's and Don'ts
o Points to Consider Before Signing a Lease or Purchasing Property
o Lease Check-Off List
o To Rent or to Buy Considerations

* Do Your Homework

* Site Location Criteria
o Evaluation Table

Session: 6
This session will explain in simple terms the various forms of insurance you will need and explain the importance of each of them.

* Insurance Coverage For Small Businesses
o Business Property Insurance
o Liability Insurance
o Worker's Compensation Insurance
o Other Insurance Coverage
o Excess Liability Coverage
o Employment Practices Liability Coverage
o Life Insurance

* Suggested Activities

Session: 5
Choose a suitable name for your business and find out what licenses and permits you may require, and how to get them.

* First Things First

* Licenses & Permits
o Local Licenses and Permits
o State Licenses and Permits
o Federal Licenses and Permits
o Where do I go to get a licenese?
o How about if I am working from home?

* Business Name or DBA (Doing Business As)
o Do I need to have a DBA?
o What are the benefits to establishing a DBA?
o What is the process of getting a DBA?
o Banking Under Your Business Name
o Should I Trademark My Business Name?

* Seller's Permit
o What is a seller's permit?
o Where do I get a seller's permit?

* Employer Identification Number (EIN)
o What is the importance of EIN?
o Do I need an EIN?
o An EIN is required if:
o How do I apply for an EIN?
o Useful Links

* Business License and Permits Checklist

* Suggested Activities

Session: 4
This session will clearly spell out your options for deciding the form of business that is right for you.

Decisions that every entrepreneur must make:

1. Whether to go into business alone or with a partner.
2. What type of business organization to use for the business: proprietorship, partnership, corporation or limited liability company.
3. What professional advisors to select.

* Should You Have a Partner
o Arguments For
o Arguments Against

Session : 2
This key ingredient for a successful business is too often skipped. This session will show you how to create your own individualized business plan and provide the tools to make it easy.

* What is a Business Plan?

* Why Prepare a Business Plan?
o What to avoid in your business plan

* Business Plan Format
o Vision statement
o The people
o Business profile
o Economic assessment

* Six Steps to a Great Business Plan
o Basic business concept
o Feasibility and specifics
o Focus and refine concept
o Outline the specifics of your business
o Put your plan into a compelling form
o Review sample plans

* Business Plan's Necessary Factors
o Understanding your market
o Healthy, growing and stable industry
o Capable management
o Able financial control
o Consistent business focus
o Mindset to anticipate change

Session 1:
The most common serious mistake made in business is not picking the right one to begin with. This session will provide you with important evaluation techniques.

* Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur

* Step-by-Step Approach
o Decide if you really want to be in business
o Decide what business and where
o Decide whether to start full-time or moonlight

* Selection Strategy

* Things to Watch Out For

* Required Activities
o Comparative Evaluation
o How to Evaluate a Specific Business you have in Mind
o "For" and "Against" List
o Get Completely Qualified

The basics of good business letter writing are easy to learn. The following guide provides the phrases that are usually found in any standard business letter. These phrases are used as a kind of frame and introduction to the content of business letters. At the end of this guide, you will find links to sites that give tips on the difficult part of writing successful business letters – arguing your business objective. By using these standard phrases, you can give a professional tone to your English business letters.

Over the past decade, Growthink has developed more than 1,500 business plans for clients in a wide variety of industries. From this vast experience, we have developed a proprietary engagement methodology that ensures high-quality, fully customized business plans for every client.

Our process consists of seven distinct phases, designed to maximize quality and client satisfaction.

1. Management Interviews: Here, we collect and document your "verbal" growth plan, including your vision, key accomplishments to date, mission-critical challenges and opportunities, key objectives and goals, and growth strategies. In this phase, we also identify and refine key research questions, and work to define and communicate an effective "story" for the business plan.
2. Strategic Market Research: In this phase, we size the relevant market place, analyze competitors, profile existing and prospective customer groups, and assess the business opportunity. Growthink also conducts "benchmarking research" during this phase of its engagement process. This involves identifying other companies that have succeeded and/or failed with similar businesses and/or initiatives.
3. Checkpoint Document: At this stage, we deliver a "checkpoint" document to confirm that we are in agreement with you regarding the strategic direction of the plan, the business plan's focus, and the tone and language of the plan. (The checkpoint document is delivered either as a business plan outline or a draft of an executive summary).
4. Additional Research and Strategy Work: After incorporating your feedback from the "checkpoint" document, we begin additional research regarding your business strategy (roll-out, financials, marketing, operations, etc.) and communication strategy (how best to articulate your unique opportunity to existing and potential stakeholders and investors).
5. Draft Plan: Next, we provide a draft of the deliverables, which typically include an Executive Summary, Integrated Financials (historical and projected), and a complete business plan (company analysis; customer and market analyses; industry and competitive analyses; marketing, operations, and development plans; management team; appendices).
6. Review and Revise: In this phase, we review the draft plan with you and and discuss the focus, wording, and flow of the document. We incorporate any necessary revisions and refinements, and prepare the revised plan.
7. Package and Finalize: The final stage involves creating a clean, professional document, with graphical enhancements, that is copy-edited, formatted, and ready to be presented to stakeholders and investors.

Did you know that venture capitalists, loan officers, and even angel investors have a very specific way they want and expect a business plan to look?

If any part of your plan doesn’t match what they want and are used to, that’s it. They’ll never look again, and they certainly won’t invest.

Did you also know that most business plans never receive a single dollar of funding?

And do you know how to avoid the critical flaws that practically guarantee that any potential investor looking at your plan will lose interest within the first few pages and get scared off from your idea, even if they had interest before?

And finally…do you know that even when they raise capital, most businesses fail?

If you’re here because you need a great business plan to get your company off the ground or to the next level, you’ve come to the right place.

Why? Because Growthink's consulting team has a track record of developing business plans that raise money and transform entrepreneurs' visions into successful businesses.

In fact, over the past decade, Growthink has helped over 2,000 entrepreneurs like you to create successful business plans. Our clients have raised over $1 Billion in funding and, more importantly, they’ve gone on to build numerous multi-million dollar empires.

Different business structures: by function and area
Every business, from a sole trader to the largest company, is organised in a particular way. You should review this structure regularly to ensure that it fits the objectives of the business. More

Businesses can be organised by:

function
geographical area
product
project
Structure by function
Larger businesses are traditionally organised into departments according to their role. Individuals, teams and line managers in sales, for example, will be grouped together and report to the head of department, ie the sales director.

The advantages of this type of structure are:

specialisation - departments focus on one area of work
accountability - there are clear lines of management
clarity - employees understand their own and others' roles
The disadvantages are:

closed communication - for example, the sales team may not interact much with other departments and therefore may not realise how their work affects or can be informed by the activities of these departments
co-ordination may become difficult
departments may become resistant to change
Structure by area
Some businesses organise their activity according to geographical area. This is common in large multinational companies but it might also be appropriate for medium-sized businesses, eg a group of taxi firms, a small retail chain or a fast-food chain with several branches, as each site can operate according to local demand but still be directed by business policy.

The advantages of this type of structure are:

divisions can better serve local needs and communicate with local customers
you can encourage positive competition between departments
The disadvantages are:

there may be conflict between local and central management
potential duplication of resources and functions

No longer solely the domain of the legal department, strong intellectual property practices are an integral part of company operations, and require that lawyers understand the fundamentals of business practice and that business executives understand the law. In The Business of Intellectual Property , Chris Arena and Ed Carreras explain the growing importance of intellectual property assets from both legal and business perspectives, and offer strategic advice on how to manage IP assets for competitive advantage, profitability and return on investment.

Focusing on the intersection of law and business, The Business of Intellectual Property combines statutory frameworks, case law, business and legal principles of accounting and valuation, and-most impressively- multiple case studies of successful companies, to give readers the strategic vision and practical advice they need to integrate such processes into their company's operations.

With extensive experience in the legal departments of major corporations (Coca-Cola, BellSouth, AT&T) as well as firm practice at leading IP specialist Woodcock Washburn, Arena and Carreras are uniquely positioned to demystify the complicated intersection of intellectual property and the business operations upon which it is increasingly built.
Reviews

"In The Business of Intellectual Property , Chris Arena and Ed Carreras materially advance our understanding of how firms extract value from innovation and intellectual property. With the use of thoughtful (and often entertaining) case studies, they demonstrate why intellectual property protection should be part of an innovation strategy linked to a strong business plan, and also why a firm's innovation strategy must recognize how particular markets value very differently various types of intellectual property."
--Roger J. Dennis, Dean, Drexel University College of Law

"The book is a fascinating read that turns the spotlight on intellectual property and makes readers eager to learn more. For those who thought intellectual property was boring, I highly recommend The Business of Intellectual Property . Its authors refute that notion with this captivating work"
-Deborah L. Rusin Research Librarian, Latham & Watkins, Chicago

"The authors credentials shine through in The Business of Intellectual Property as they successfully weave together business and legal concepts in a way that provides an accessible resource for business managers seeking to understand the nuances of intellectual property law.

Arena and Carerras successfully elevate the discussion that began in earnest with Rembrandts in the Attic to a level that is applicable to a more mature business climate."
Shane Nichols, partner at King & Spalding
Georgia Bar Journal

"Chris Arena and Ed Carreras have brought together two critical perspectives for practicing attorneys and senior executives: the legal view of intellectual property and the strategic view of delivering customer value. Using an approach that is thorough and nuanced, they have demonstrated how companies can align business and innovation models to extract the most value from ideas."
--Steve Walton, Interim Associate Dean and MBA Program Director, Goizueta Business School, Emory University

"Chris Arena and Ed Carreras have brought together two critical perspectives for practicing attorneys and senior executives: the legal view of intellectual property and the strategic view of delivering customer value. Using an approach that is thorough and nuanced, they have demonstrated how companies can align business and innovation models to extract the most value from ideas."
--Steve Walton, Interim Associate Dean and MBA Program Director, Goizueta Business School, Emory University

A first step in improving your business is to make sure it is well organized. It is surprising how many businesses have been careless about this step. Some such companies may be mildly successful, but they could be even more profitable if they paid attention to the basics of organization.

Questions you may have about this are:

* How do you get started organizing your business?
* What methods can be used?
* What are the ultimate benefits of doing this?

This lesson will introduce the elementary factors in organizing a business. The material applies to both small businesses, as well as to large corporations. There is a mini-quiz near the end of the lesson.
Starting point

Whether you are starting a new company or improving an existing one, it is important to have a business mission, concept, and vision.

You need to define the purpose or mission of your business. Much of this has to do with the motivations of the leadership. Then you must have a business concept, model, or terrific idea of some product or service that will sell. Finally, in order to improve, you must have a vision or goal of where you want to end up.

Details of these factors are explained in the next lesson Mission, Concept and Vision.
Organization methods

Once you have established or re-defined the groundwork for your business, you can use various methods and standards to improve the operation and organization of your business.
ISO 9000 standards

A very good way to organize the way your business operates is by following the ISO 9000 standards. You do not necessarily have to become certified in ISO 9000, but you can still use the standards as a guide in how to effectively operate your business.

(Details are explained in later lessons in: Organize Your Business with ISO 9000.)
Re-engineering

Re-engineering has been a management fad in recent years. Unfortunately, it has been misapplied and used as a way to eliminate workers. A business or company that has been in existence for a while usually has an operation structure in place. It may be necessary to drastically alter that structure and re-organize and become more effective.
Benefits

Organizing is a form of planning. It has been shown that setting a good structure can make any organization more effective and efficient.

Good organization results in reducing losses due to duplicate work or unclear objectives. All personnel do better work, because they know what they should be doing and what their place is in the scheme of things.

A well-run company is in a stronger position in the competitive marketplace. Not only are profits higher, but repeat business is enhanced.
Summary

Setting your mission, core competencies, and vision is a first step to organizing your business for improvement. Following ISO 9000 sets your business in the correct direction. Finally, re-engineering or re-organizing may be necessary to start your business in becoming a champion in its field. The benefits are increased profits and customers.

SBA Business Classifications
SMALL BUSINESS

For the purpose of the program, a business is generally considered small if it is independently owned and operated, is not dominant in its field of operation and can further qualify under the criteria set forth in the Small Business Administration (SBA) Small Business Standards Regulation, Title 13, Part 121 of the Code of Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR).

Small Disadvantaged Business certified by SBA

Defined as at least 51% owned, controlled and daily operated by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. All [where there are multiple individual owners, do we mean that each of them must be below this threshold, or that all of the individual owners together must be below this threshold? Same question on Slide 11 of the last attachment.] individuals must have a net worth of less than $750,000, excluding the equity of the business and primary residence. Successful applicants must also meet applicable size standards for small businesses in their industry.

Woman owned Small Business

Defined as at least 51% owned, controlled and daily operated by one or more women.

Veteran Owned Small Business

Defined as at least 51% owned, controlled and daily operated by one or more American Veterans.


Veteran Owned Small Business

Defined as at least 51% owned, controlled and daily operated by one or more American Veterans

Service disabled Veteran Owned Small Business

Defined as at least 51% owned, controlled and daily operated by one or more service disabled American Veterans.

Hubzone Small Business (certified by SBA)

Defined as a small business that must be owned and controlled by one or more US citizens, its principal office must be located within a HUBZone (Historically Underutilized Business Zone) – which includes lands on federally recognized Indian reservations, and at least 35% of its employees must reside in a HUBZone. To determine if a Supplier is located in a HUBZone,.

BUSINESS LEGAL FORMS OF OWNERSHIP

Sole Proprietorship Partnership Corporation & LLC's

In making a choice of how your business will be structured, you will want to take into account the following:

The size and scope of business you hoping to attain
The level of control you wish to have
The level of structure you are willing to deal with
The business's vulnerability to lawsuits
Tax implications of the different ownership structures
Expected profit (or loss) of the business
Whether or not you need to re-invest earnings into the business
Your need for access to cash out of the business for yourself
The 4 basic legal forms of ownership are:

Sole Proprietorship
Partnership
Corporation
Limited Liability Company

CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH LEGAL FORM:

Sole Proprietorship

This is the easiest and least costly way of starting a business. A sole proprietorship can be formed by finding a location and opening the door for business. There are likely to be fees to obtain business name registration, a fictitious name certificate and other necessary licenses. Attorney's fees for starting the business will be less than the other business forms because less preparation of documents is required and the owner has absolute authority over all business decisions.

Partnership

There are several types of partnerships. The two most common types are general and limited partnerships. A general partnership can be formed simply by an oral agreement between two or more persons, but a legal partnership agreement drawn up by an attorney is highly recommended. Legal fees for drawing up a partnership agreement are higher than those for a sole proprietorship, but may be lower than incorporating. A partnership agreement could be helpful in solving any disputes. However, partners are responsible for the other partner's business actions, as well as their own.

A Partnership Agreement should include the following:

Type of business.

Amount of equity invested by each partner.

Division of profit or loss.

Partners compensation.

Distribution of assets on dissolution.

Duration of partnership.

Provisions for changes or dissolving the partnership.

Dispute settlement clause.

Restrictions of authority and expenditures.

Settlement in case of death or incapacitation.

Corporation

A business may incorporate without an attorney, but legal advice is highly recommended. The corporate structure is usually the most complex and more costly to organize than the other two business formations. Control depends on stock ownership. Persons with the largest stock ownership, not the total number of shareholders, control the corporation. With control of stock shares or 51 percent of stock, a person or group is able to make policy decisions. Control is exercised through regular board of directors' meetings and annual stockholders' meetings. Records must be kept to document decisions made by the board of directors. Small, closely held corporations can operate more informally, but record-keeping cannot be eliminated entirely. Officers of a corporation can be liable to stockholders for improper actions. Liability is generally limited to stock ownership, except where fraud is involved. You may want to incorporate as a "C" or "S" corporation.

If you are unsure which legal form is best for you, contact your local Small Business Administration for assistance with deciding.

I periodically get questions from readers of this blog about business plans. I was pondering the best way to work through a “business plan series” (similar to the Term Sheet series and Letter of Intent series) when Dave Jilk - my partner in Feld Technologies (my first company) - dropped a few documents on my desk, including the original Feld Technologies business plan. A scanner, Adobe Acrobat PDF maker, and a little OCR later, I had the document in electronic format.

While I don’t read business plans anymore (executive summaries are enough for me), I believe the business plan is a critical document for an entrepreneur to organize his thoughts around his new business. In today’s world of excessive PowerPoint presentations, the art of sitting thoughtfully and writing out the plan has – in many cases – been lost. The best way to explain what should be in a business plan is to show one and, as I read through the original Feld Technologies plan, I was pleasantly surprised by the content. In many ways it is simplistic and reflects the relatively naive thinking of a 22 year old working on his first business. However, when I think about how Feld Technologies evolved, the document framed the business very effectively.

If you are looking for sex, violence, insider trading, hackers, and rock and roll, stick with Tom Evslin’s blook hackoff.com. If you want to see a late 1980’s business plan and some of my commentary along the way, enjoy. I’m going to go linearly through the plan – the actual plan text will be in purple so it’s easy to separate the plan text from my comments.