小生意，大影响
走进D区.C. 酒吧公益项目的小企业简短咨询法律诊所, 它可能看起来像一个典型的由澳博app协会运营的公益资源中心. 资深澳博app志愿者埃德•伯科威茨
形容它是"合法的舞池.澳博app们在房间里四处走动，与需要法律建议的客户交谈. 一些人在电脑上不停地点击. 文件散落在桌子上.
但该诊所与其他公益项目不同. 它解决的问题和服务的客户是独一无二的. “你在和企业家打交道, 那些真正想要做生意的人, 那些试图让自己的商业生活步入正轨的人,伯科维茨说, 他是一名退休澳博app，曾担任卡斯尔系统公司的内部法律顾问. “他们不是陷入困境的人. 他们是真正想要成功的人.”
While legal assistance for those on the brink of losing their homes or their benefits to continue medical treatments is critical to the District’s underserved community, the small business clinic aims to help the economically disadvantaged in a different way—by spurring the local economy and offering entrepreneurs a chance to make it on their own and generate more jobs.
创造更多机会
D.C. 酒吧 公益性服务 Program’s Community Economic Development (CED) Project was created in 1999 to make pro bono business law services available to the District’s 社区非营利组织. 2006年秋天, the CED Project launched its Small Business Initiative in response to a lack of access to legal services to help low-income entrepreneurs interested in bringing small businesses into the District’s poorer neighborhoods.
“在20世纪90年代末, 当地方政府破产时, the burden of providing services and job creation in the District’s low-income neighborhoods often fell on the local nonprofits,雪城大学的莫林·桑顿说, 公益项目的执行董事. “We started this project to provide legal help to the nonprofits and startup small businesses that were really trying to make a difference to help accomplish their goals.”
公益项目开始与社区发展组织合作, 包括霍华德大学城市发展中心, 华盛顿地区社区投资基金, 和D.C. 小企业和地方企业发展部, 这些资金也被用于支持和创建该地区的小企业. All were united under the same mission: to create vibrant commercial corridors to build healthy communities throughout the city.
Another top priority of the CED Project was to produce more jobs in areas of the city where un就业 remains well above the national average. 根据D.C. 就业服务处, 该区的8区失业率为25，是美国最高的.2011年1月，第7区以17%的支持率紧随其后.1%. 通过引进新业务, residents will have greater opportunities to find work nearby—a critical component for many who depend on public transportation to get to and from work.
“当失业率像现在这么高的时候, 很多人说，现在是时候开始创业了,西里尔·克罗克说, 门基蒂集团的发展副总裁. 在过去一年中, 克罗克将CED项目的资源用于他的公司, 布鲁克兰附近的一个小型住宅和商业房地产办公室. “他们已经做好创业的准备，有时是出于必要，”他说.
To help potential entrepreneurs navigate the process of starting a new business or patenting an invention, 该项目提供免预约法律诊所和商业法培训项目, 除了为小企业配对, 社区非营利组织, 以及低收入租户与无偿法律顾问的联系.
业务培训
回到2010年秋天, 蕾妮·英格拉姆, 多元化企业集团总裁兼首席执行官, 一家新兴的信息技术咨询公司, 利用了CED项目为期八周的商业法培训计划.
Despite having both an undergraduate degree in business management and a master’s in finance, 英格拉姆仍然觉得这些课程非常有用. “It was great to have a refresher course in terms of understanding some of the nuances in the District of Columbia, 根据这里的一些法律,”她说。. “I enjoyed it and recommended it to other individuals who are thinking about starting a new business, 或者是刚刚形成的业务, to get a good grounding on some of the basic concepts of going into business for [themselves].”
小型企业班提供更新的课程, 新兴商业基础概述, 包括实体选择, 就业, 房地产, 和合同. 对团队协议特别感兴趣, Ingram was able to have a draft of one reviewed by an attorney at a small business clinic held after the training series she attended to ensure that she had written the contract correctly.
“作为一项新业务, you want to be able to partner with other firms or companies that may have more experience than you do,英格拉姆说。. “(澳博app)审查了我的团队协议，并做了彻底的工作. 这对我来说是一个巨大的好处.”
克罗克的, the training sessions helped clarify important business law issues that were critical to his company. “One issue that came up repeatedly was … defining when someone is an employee and when someone is an independent contractor,克罗克说。. The designation is significant when determining whether an organization needs to provide certain benefits.
克罗克说:“真正深入研究这个问题对我来说很有吸引力. “既然我们做开发, 我们雇佣的每个承包商都是独立承包商. [Afterwards] I felt it was that much more important to make sure that the format and the way we use people was consistent with that [definition].”
通过参加工作坊, 克罗克和英格拉姆都发现了另一个好处:丰富的社交机会. “You’re there with other people who you know are just as motivated as you are to take that additional training and to learn something. 这是一种最初的亲缘关系，”克罗克说.
Ingram agrees and has developed relationships with other IT firms for potential future partnerships.
未经预约而来的诊所
Unlike the structured training program, clients come into the clinic with an array of issues. 我应该成立有限责任公司还是合伙公司? 开理发店或美甲沙龙需要哪些执照? 我可以为我的创意申请专利或版权吗?
“很多时候，他们不知道自己的问题是什么. 这就像去看医生说，‘我感觉不舒服.“必须有人进行调查，得出一个总体思路. 这是一个房地产问题. 这是一个知识产权问题. 这是一个企业问题。.
而典型的问题围绕着基本的业务需求, 澳博app偶尔会遇到有真正法律问题的人. 伯科维茨记得有一个人进来问了一些关于购买快餐特许经营权的问题. The person “selling” the franchise told the client to try running the business for a while to make sure he liked doing it.
“这似乎是一件完全合理的事情, 只不过这个试用期持续了几个月,伯科维茨说. “This fellow was getting absolutely nothing out of it except running this man’s business for him for free. 整件事就是一场噩梦. 他签了各种各样的文件，但他自己都不知道签的是什么, 卖家不停地向他挥舞这些文件.“最后, Berkowitz was able to point him in the right direction and find someone to come in and provide legal assistance to get the client out of the situation.
拥有知识产权方面的专业知识, 布莱恩·班, 她是Blank Rome澳博app事务所的合伙人，也是诊所的定期志愿者, 经常听到关于可能的发明的案例. “有些人有很好的想法, 但你必须向他们解释，这是一个漫长而复杂的过程,他说. “You have to try to work through the issues with the people to get an understanding if their inventions do rise to a level of novelty and [non-obviousness] that can result in a patent.”
Bannon also walk clients through the process of creating their own business or marketing their products, 从获得启动资金, 到成立公司, 雇佣员工. 他试图实事求是地对待许多可能的发明家, 提醒他们专利申请和注册程序的艰巨性. “一个没有受过法律教育的人不太可能, 大多数澳博app都能独立完成,他说.
这并不是说他们的机会不可能. The possibility of having that one great idea or building a hugely successful company from the ground up is what the American Dream is made of.
Berkowitz remembers meeting entrepreneur Gene Samburg back in the 1970s at an alumni association meeting for Cornell University. “我们只是偶然相遇，他说，‘我想创业，但请不起澳博app. 你知道有什么澳博app可以帮助我吗?’”当时，伯科维茨刚刚成立了自己的公司，没有任何客户. “我们让他开始了. 这是一项非常独特的业务。. “当时，电子办公室安全设备在华盛顿并不为人所知.”
一年来，桑伯格日以继夜地工作. “我被我的合伙人打了一顿，想知道钱在哪里. 很明显，桑伯格没有。. “年底的时候，他打电话给我说，‘我们度过了非常好的一年. 我知道你工作很努力. 寄账单给我.’”
在接下来的30年里，桑伯格继续向伯科维茨支付报酬. 他的公司是卡斯尔系统公司, 一个安全系统，现在保护超过2,在世界各地建造了000座建筑, 或者说将近4亿平方英尺的办公空间. 伯克维茨补充道:“我们说的是一个人.”
正如英格拉姆所指出的，“小企业是这个国家经济的支柱.” From a home-based bakery that later opened a small storefront in Mount Pleasant to a flower shop in Anacostia, the CED Project has helped more than 430 businesses attain some of the skills and information they need to venture out on their own.
“他们中的一些人(走进诊所)，你知道. 你可以看着他们说，‘这家伙会成功的. 他真的会成功的，’”伯克维茨说. “他可能不会成为通用汽车，但你知道他会做得很好.”
作者:泰国披乐
摘自《华盛顿澳博app》，2011年6月
达维.C. 酒吧工作人员作家Thai Phi Le at (电子邮件保护).
