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Cyberspace Law Revisited

“Ten years ago, David R. Johnson and David G. Post published in First Monday their influential paper on law and the Internet, “Law and Borders — The Rise of Law in Cyberspace.” Revisit “Law and Borders” and examine its impact ten years later” in this collection of articles from First Monday that includes:

Law and Borders: The Rise of Law in Cyberspace
by David R. Johnson and David G. Post (originally published in May 1996)

The Great Debate — Law in the Virtual World
by David G. Post and David R. Johnson

Virtual Borders: The Interdependence of Real and Virtual Worlds
by James Grimmelmann

Dispute Resolution Without Borders: Some Implications for the Emergence of Law in Cyberspace
by Ethan Katsh

The Life of the Law Online
by David R. Johnson

Found via this post from Diane Levin’s Online Guide to Mediation.

Technorati Tags: cyberspace, law, legal, internet, adr

Simple Outline for a Business Plan

“A good business plan will define what your business is about, where you expect it to go in the future and how you will get there. The following outline the essentials of a good business plan.

1. Executive Summary…
2. Table of Contents…
3. Company Description…
4. Market Analysis…
5. Technology…
6. Business Operations or Manufacturing…
7. Management and Ownership…
8. Organization and Personnel…
9. Capital and Usage…
10. Financial {Projections]…
11. Appendices…”

Read more in this article from morebusiness.com.

Technorati Tags: business, business plan, entrepreneurship, startups

Global Trade Tutorial

Whether you’re thinking about getting involved in international trade, or are already exporting, a review of the extensive materials in TradePort’s Global Trade Tutorial will help you obtain a better understanding of how to succeed. The tutorial covers the following topics:

Getting Started
Researching Your Markets
Developing Export Strategy
Focusing on the Details
Understanding the Rules of Trade
Financing Your Exports

The site also contains a comprehensive Glossary of International Trade Terms that is well worth bookmarking.

How to Build Long Term Client Relationships

“There are many ways to keep customers for life, they include:

Deliver on your promises….
Treat your customers well….
Go beyond….
Pay more attention to your customers than your bottom line….
Nurture your employees….
Make attractive offers….
Guarantee your products and services….
Reward your customers….
Thank customers and keep in touch….
Return phone calls promptly
Be accessible to your clients
Be credible and become an expert in your field
Show empathy for customer problems
Have helpful customer service and support systems
Have a customer advisory panel for feedback
Never show indifference to your customers”

Read more in this Small Business Bible post found via this Small Business CEO post.

Consider R&W Insurance

“‘Representation and warranty’ insurance, which has emerged for use in M&A transactions, may be a possible solution to deal with unknown risks that could otherwise make the parties walk away from a proposed transaction…This insurance can be useful in many circumstances, including these:

when a seller wants limited or no exposure to unknown risks that could give rise to post-closing claims for indemnification;

as an alternative to an escrow arrangement, when a buyer is concerned that a seller has inadequate creditworthiness to honour its indemnification commitment;

when a buyer may not want to pursue an indemnification claim against a seller for business reasons (such as when the buyer is to employ the seller).

Either the buyer or the seller can obtain representation and warranty insurance and, depending on the circumstances, may do so without the other’s knowledge…”

Read more in this Torys LLP article from Mondaq.

Ten Steps to Start Your Business

“Here they are—the 10 steps to starting your dream business…

Step 1: Create a Life Plan
Step 2: Choose a Business Model
Step 3: Create a Business Plan
Step 4: Select a Structure
Step 5: Create Key Assets
Step 6: Find the Funding
Step 7: Organize Logistics
Step 8: Find Great People
Step 9: Establish a Brand
Step 10: Market and Sell…”

Visit this Startup Nation webpage to read, listen, download and follow links to related resources.

Technorati Tags: business, management, entrepreneurship, startup, legal

Data Protection Basics

“There are certain privacy and security rules that every business or organization should live by:

· Identify the sensitive information collected from customers…Keep this data only as long as needed. Block access or truncate display of it for anyone without a specific need to see it. Make your employees aware of what is sensitive.

· Data in transit are data at risk. Send only the data needed by the recipient. Truncate or encrypt all sensitive information. Establish appropriate data retention and destruction requirements…

· Screen all employees with access to sensitive information. Allow access only to what an employee needs to do his job. Monitor employee access to customer information…

· Include security requirements in every vendor contract. Interview your vendors’ security employees. Read the privacy policy of your vendors. Understand the legal requirements for offshore vendors.

· Overreact if you have a security breach…Hoping the problem goes away only ensures that it gets bigger.

· Learn from the marketplace. Don’t make commitments you can’t live up to…If your security practices aren’t changing, you aren’t keeping up with new risks…”

Read more in this DMNews.com article found via this Privacy and Security Law Blog post.

Business Plans Handbook

Here is an interesting collection of Business Plans that is part of a more comprehensive business information site: Reference For Business – Encyclopedia of Small Business, Business Biographies, Business Plans, and Encyclopedia of American Industries.

Baseball @ PNC PARK; Pittsburgh, PA

Baseball @ PNC PARK; Pittsburgh, PA
Originally uploaded by btezra.

Cool photo of the Pittsburgh skyline from PNC Park, reminding us that pitchers and catchers report soon to Spring Training camp. Check out the biggie size for the full effect.