Preparation for Legal Advice
Dr. Dorothy Perrin Moore
In these days of litigation and advanced search engines, now operated routinely by corporate sponsors to tap in to consumer opinion and product responsiveness, it becomes even more important for the small business owner and entrepreneur to know where to gather the needed information to conduct business in the most efficient way.
Two recent articles have a special meaning to those who share information on the internet and in other ways about their business.
First, I recommend that you become familiar with an article posted in the Small Business Advancement National Center (SBANC) Newsletter Issue 569-2009, entitled “Understanding How Lawyers Operate and Reducing Your Legal Costs.” Under the leadership of Dr. Don Bradley III, the Executive Director of SBANC, information is provided on how lawyers charge for their services and the importance of doing your homework in advance. The recommendations apply to those who serve on boards, whether public or private and manage or own their own companies. While the article suggests that many sites offer advice, a sampling is provided of sites considered to provide excellent preliminary information. The author of the column is careful to caution that these sites are not meant to replace the experienced legal council you will need in conducting business.
Sites listed in the SBANC Newsletter are:
American Law Source Online is a compilation of links to online sources of legal information for the United States.
Findlaw includes basic legal information concerning contracts, employment, and patents.
Internet Legal Resource Group links to over 4,000 Web sites and is an excellent source of legal forms.
American Patent and Trademark Law Center provides access to basic patent and trademark information.
Legal Information Institute provides access to constitutions, codes, court opinions, statutes, enterprise law, ect.
Nolo provides free information and an incredible list of legal workbooks and manuals to assist you.
More Business offers excellent articles offering advice concerning legal, marketing, and technology issues.
The resource book used by SBANC for this newsletter article is posted as: J.D. Ryan and Gail P. Hiduke. Small Business An Entrepreneur's Business Plan: Understanding How Lawyers Operate and Reducing Your Legal Cost, Dryden Press Series in Management, Pages 264-265, 8th Edition.
For those who post material on the internet I also recommend reading “Bloggers, Beware: What You Write Can Get You Sued,” by M.P McQueen, Wall Street Journal, Thursday, May 21, 2009, D1, D2. You will find this article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124287328648142113.html
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Networks and Networking
The networks of a woman entrepreneur resemble a sphere. She is at the center, the essential core, connecting not only to subordinate managers but also to her employees on the organizational surface. In turn, they link to their neighbors and network to others more distant. The intricate links form a graphic; they are a means of unleashing the energy of all.
I began the network chapter in my book Careerpreneurs (p. 61) with this image for a reason. Networking is not an afterthought, something to be done after more important matters are attended to. It is a way to add value to your business. As Lois Weisberg, the Commissioner of Cultural Affairs for the City of Chicago said, it is the way to forge the links that allow one to stand “at the intersection of different worlds, connecting people, creating opportunities, and spreading ideas.”
There is abundant evidence of the benefits of cultivating value-adding networks. Some begin with the cultivation of everyday relationships with people who are skilled, informed, and rich in resources and connected to others. As Justin Lahart recently noted in a Wall Street Journal article describing innovative companies such as Accio Energy of Ann Arbor, the bright spot in the Michigan’s economy,
“Accio Energy got its start in 2007 based on plans two of the founders [engineers Dawn White and David Carmen] hatched at Zinger man’s Deli, Ann Arbor’s renowned gourmet-food destination.”
“Arco got some of the seed money for the three-person start-up from Mary Campbell, an area venture capitalist who met Ms. White in a running group. Jeffrey Bausch, a former General Electric automotive development manager, is Cacao’s general manager. Ms. White met him while helping shuck corn at an organic produce company that Mr. Bausch’s wife, another former Ford engineer, started and Ms. White helped fund.” (“Ann Arbor and Warren: A Tale of Two Economies,” WSJ May 26, 2009, p. A14)
Such joinings appear to be serendipitous accidents, but they are anything but. It is through networks that a businesswoman can exchange vital information about resources, potential partners, joint relationships and more.
There are four general types. Personal networks are developed on the basis of personal bonds and relationships. Professional networks (the XYZ Business Association) have the advantage of offering renewed energy in your business field. Formal organizational networks (Chamber of Commerce) provide open ways of getting and receiving information. Opportunistic networks (the illustration above) are created when people come together and individually decide there is a payoff in continuing the association.
Because the value-added dimension of network affiliation comes from the quality and level of information exchanged, working to develop contacts with such strategic interest groups as customers, suppliers and investors is important. The beginning can be business roundtables, chambers of commerce, industrial councils and other loosely structured federations of business leaders or affiliations in economic development organizations or, as in the example above, simply mixing with energetic people in a vibrant community.
Researchers commonly; agree that networks are most valuable when one enters them without expecting an immediate benefit. But because time is a precious commodity, not to be easily relinquished, the entrepreneur must continually decide which networks are valuable and worth the investment.
Deciding which networks to cultivate and which to drop can be done by making a personal assessment (Careerpreneurs, pp. 86-87)
Is this network worth my time and energy?
Do I have time to cultivate key relationships in this network?
Can I take the risk of not developing this networking opportunity?
How attractive are the members and the businesses they represent?
What is the network affiliated with that I value?
What are the collective opportunities that I cannot acquire otherwise?
Is there a sense of exchange among members?
If the network contains competitors, what is their impact on my business?
What exciting programs does the network provide that are unavailable elsewhere?
What do I bring to the table?
What do I have to offer in exchange for what I gain?
What is the personal payback to my business and my profession?
Is this network too large or too small to be useful?
Is this the kind of network I need at this stage of my business growth?
Do I create connections with people in trade, professional and social organizations?
With how many people do I discuss business matters?
How much time do I spend developing and maintaining contacts?
Do I reach out beyond personal friends and people I have known for some time?
How frequently do I interact?
Finally, it is important to know the density and diversity of your present networks, meaning how many of the people you know also know each other? If the answer is 50 percent or more, there is too much in-groups activity. You can benefit from expanding your network options and leaving time for the chance meetings and random activities that can generate opportunities.
I began the network chapter in my book Careerpreneurs (p. 61) with this image for a reason. Networking is not an afterthought, something to be done after more important matters are attended to. It is a way to add value to your business. As Lois Weisberg, the Commissioner of Cultural Affairs for the City of Chicago said, it is the way to forge the links that allow one to stand “at the intersection of different worlds, connecting people, creating opportunities, and spreading ideas.”
There is abundant evidence of the benefits of cultivating value-adding networks. Some begin with the cultivation of everyday relationships with people who are skilled, informed, and rich in resources and connected to others. As Justin Lahart recently noted in a Wall Street Journal article describing innovative companies such as Accio Energy of Ann Arbor, the bright spot in the Michigan’s economy,
“Accio Energy got its start in 2007 based on plans two of the founders [engineers Dawn White and David Carmen] hatched at Zinger man’s Deli, Ann Arbor’s renowned gourmet-food destination.”
“Arco got some of the seed money for the three-person start-up from Mary Campbell, an area venture capitalist who met Ms. White in a running group. Jeffrey Bausch, a former General Electric automotive development manager, is Cacao’s general manager. Ms. White met him while helping shuck corn at an organic produce company that Mr. Bausch’s wife, another former Ford engineer, started and Ms. White helped fund.” (“Ann Arbor and Warren: A Tale of Two Economies,” WSJ May 26, 2009, p. A14)
Such joinings appear to be serendipitous accidents, but they are anything but. It is through networks that a businesswoman can exchange vital information about resources, potential partners, joint relationships and more.
There are four general types. Personal networks are developed on the basis of personal bonds and relationships. Professional networks (the XYZ Business Association) have the advantage of offering renewed energy in your business field. Formal organizational networks (Chamber of Commerce) provide open ways of getting and receiving information. Opportunistic networks (the illustration above) are created when people come together and individually decide there is a payoff in continuing the association.
Because the value-added dimension of network affiliation comes from the quality and level of information exchanged, working to develop contacts with such strategic interest groups as customers, suppliers and investors is important. The beginning can be business roundtables, chambers of commerce, industrial councils and other loosely structured federations of business leaders or affiliations in economic development organizations or, as in the example above, simply mixing with energetic people in a vibrant community.
Researchers commonly; agree that networks are most valuable when one enters them without expecting an immediate benefit. But because time is a precious commodity, not to be easily relinquished, the entrepreneur must continually decide which networks are valuable and worth the investment.
Deciding which networks to cultivate and which to drop can be done by making a personal assessment (Careerpreneurs, pp. 86-87)
Is this network worth my time and energy?
Do I have time to cultivate key relationships in this network?
Can I take the risk of not developing this networking opportunity?
How attractive are the members and the businesses they represent?
What is the network affiliated with that I value?
What are the collective opportunities that I cannot acquire otherwise?
Is there a sense of exchange among members?
If the network contains competitors, what is their impact on my business?
What exciting programs does the network provide that are unavailable elsewhere?
What do I bring to the table?
What do I have to offer in exchange for what I gain?
What is the personal payback to my business and my profession?
Is this network too large or too small to be useful?
Is this the kind of network I need at this stage of my business growth?
Do I create connections with people in trade, professional and social organizations?
With how many people do I discuss business matters?
How much time do I spend developing and maintaining contacts?
Do I reach out beyond personal friends and people I have known for some time?
How frequently do I interact?
Finally, it is important to know the density and diversity of your present networks, meaning how many of the people you know also know each other? If the answer is 50 percent or more, there is too much in-groups activity. You can benefit from expanding your network options and leaving time for the chance meetings and random activities that can generate opportunities.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
