“Networking Vs Not-Working”
Executive Network News You Can Use
A truer statement was never made. Okay… so you’re interested in starting your own business, you haven’t a clue as to how to begin. You’ve asked around for opinions, resources, etc, etc, etc.
Make sure you have a business plan. You need a start up loan. Take a business course. Wait until the time is … wait a minute!…What ever happened to the Entrepreneur Spirit?
What separates the Entrepreneur from the Business Person? Is there a difference?
“If necessity is truly the mother of invention, then One would think that Entrepreneurs are created out of a need, whereas Business Persons are created out of a desire?
Traditionally Entrepreneurs could be described as trapeze artists operating without a safety net, no up front capital, no definite plan of action, no so-called guarantees of success.
Just a simple need for survival that causes them to start from where ever they may be and to take the necessary steps to start, stabilize and to grow their idea.
~Al Brown
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Black-Owned Businesses Grow at Four Times the National Rate
for All Businesses
By Stephen Ohlemacher Washington(AP)
We are heading in the right direction on business ownership and growth!
Patricia H. Lee
National Institute for Urban Entreprenuership
www.ni-ue.org
Black-owned businesses grow at four times the national rate for all businesses
The number of businesses owned by black entrepreneurs grew more than four times the national rate
for all businesses from 1997 to 2002, the federal government said Tuesday.
Black entrepreneurs owned 1.2 million businesses in 2002, an increase of 45 percent from 1997,
according to a report by the Census Bureau.
``It's encouraging to see not just the number but the sales and receipts of black-owned businesses are
growing at such a robust rate, confirming that these firms are among the fastest-growing segments of
our economy,'' Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon said in a statement.
Revenues from black-owned businesses increased by 25 percent during the period, to about $89 billion.
The report is the third in a series of Census Bureau reports on businesses owned by women, Hispanics
and blacks. Together, the reports show that the three groups are underrepresented in business ownership
but are narrowing the gap with white men.
From 1997 to 2002:
-The number of all U.S. businesses grew by 10 percent, to about 23 million.
-The number or female-owned firms grew by 20 percent, to 6.5 million.
-The number of Hispanic-owned businesses grew by 31 percent, to nearly 1.6 million.
Overall, black entrepreneurs owned 5 percent of U.S. businesses in 2002, Hispanics owned about 7 percent,
and women of all races and ethnicities owned 28 percent, according to the Census Bureau.
The overwhelming majority of black-owned businesses were small - 92 percent had no employees other than
the owners. By comparison, about three-fourths of all U.S. businesses have no employees.
``I'm proud,'' said Harry Alford, president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. ``We're the
fastest-growing segment.'' Alford said black entrepreneurs have been helped by improved education levels
and increased incomes among black consumers and business owners.
Blacks as a group still trail whites in education and income, but they have made gains in the past half-century.
In 1950, only 14 percent of black adults had high school diplomas, compared with 36 percent of whites, according
to the Census Bureau. The gap narrowed by 2000, when 72 percent of black adults had at least a high school
diploma, compared with 84 percent of whites.
``We've got the first generation of significantly educated people,'' Alford said. ``There's a black middle class like
never before.'' The report is based on administrative records and a survey of 2.4 million businesses. The Census
Bureau defines black-owned businesses as private companies in which blacks hold at least 51 percent of stock or
interest. The report does not classify public companies, with publicly traded stock, because they can be owned by
many stockholders of unknown races and ethnicities.
Black-owned businesses are not concentrated in any sector. The largest sector was health care and social assistance,
with 246,000 back-owned firms. The second largest was other services, such as personal services, repair and
maintenance, with 210,000 firms.
However, in some states, black-owned firms are concentrated in urban areas. About 80 percent of all black-owned
businesses in Illinois were in Cook County, home to Chicago. Los Angeles County was home to nearly half the
black-owned firms in California.
New York state had the most black-owned firms, with 129,324. It was followed by California, Florida, Georgia
and Texas.
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Q: What laws govern business on the Internet?
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A: Doing business on the Internet, or what is commonly called “e-business” or “e-commerce,” is a new frontier. The laws regulating the Internet and doing business online are still evolving. But many of the fundamental legal requirements for doing business on the Internet remain the same as the requirements for a “bricks and mortar” company.
Without much doubt, a big concern for any company is regulatory compliance. A typical requirement, for example, is that a company must be licensed where it has a principal office or where it does business. The test used to be much easier when it came to determining where a business has to be licensed. Now, however, the test is much more difficult because e-commerce effectively makes everyone in the world a potential customer or client, and who is to say where a company is actually doing business? Potential ramifications are violations not only of U.S. law but also laws of other countries.
The licensure issue is particularly acute for professionals such as doctors or lawyers. In the U.S., the general rule is that such professionals must be licensed in a state before they can practice there. Before the Internet, it was a lot easier to draw the line on where a business professional is practicing, based on physical presence if nothing else. Now, however, the issue is not nearly so clear.
Examples of situations where licensure issues could arise for an on-line business include:
A business operates in one state but maintains a Web site on a server in another state. The business also consults with or sells products to customers or clients who live in other states and even in different countries. Where is the company doing business?
A business maintains a Web site that effectively advertises to prospective clients all over the world. Where should the lawyer be licensed?
A lawyer practices in one state but advises a client online who lives in another state. Has the lawyer engaged in the unauthorized practice of law?
A world-renown surgeon is able to provide invaluable medical advice by video camera on a surgery under way in a state where she is not licensed to practice medicine. Has the surgeon violated the law?
As things continue to evolve, a number of new laws have been enacted that pertain specifically to the Internet. For example, federal laws such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act provide stiff civil and criminal penalties for pirating and other unauthorized use of software. If a licensor brings a civil action against you, for example, it may be possible to obtain an injunction and monetary damages. The licensor may then choose between actual damages, which includes the amount lost because of infringement, plus any profits attributable to the infringement. In addition, the government can criminally prosecute you for copyright infringement. If convicted, penalties can include up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000. Second-time offenders risk 10 years of prison and a $1,000,000 fine.
Lots of issues have also arisen with respect to fundamental questions about the enforceability of contracts in an e-commerce environment, such as whether or not a contract could be held enforceable when an offer was accepted over the Internet without a hard-copy signature. While this issue has not been completely resolved, legislators have attempted to address it by legislation, such as the federal law known as the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act ("E-Sign”) of 2000. E-SIGN was designed to eliminate legal barriers to the use of electronic technology to form and sign contracts, collect and store documents, and send and receive notices and disclosures. The goal of the Act is to establish legal standards for signatures as well as record keeping that meet the needs of an ever-changing economy.
A number of states have also enacted a version of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (“UETA”). This is a proposed Uniform Law that covers many of the same issues as E-Sign. Some states have enacted the uniform version but other states have chosen to add consumer protections that go beyond UETA.
There are many other issues that can arise that go beyond the question of licensing. For example, what must a professional do to maintain confidentiality of communications via e-mail? How much personal information may a company gather about people using its Web site? Do sales or use taxes apply to a business transaction? Or should e-commerce be taxed in other ways? You can count on other regulatory issues arising, as well, as state and federal governments make an effort to exact tax revenues from business done on the Internet.
As legislative enactments continue to try to clarify open issues with respect to e-commerce, businesses have been forced to adapt to legal issues by carefully trying to clarify the terms and conditions of online transactions, and by contractually defining the format or scope of such transactions. One approach that is typically used is to set forth the terms of service on a Web site that a person must “accept” before being able to use the Web site.
In addition, businesses typically include language on their Web sites and in e-mails that limits the scope of online interaction. Typical provisions would include qualifying language such that a company is licensed to do business only in certain areas, that users agree to terms of service, and that anything obtained on a Web site is for informational purposes only and does not constitute any form of advice or an offer of any nature.
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