by eclewis | Jan 21, 2015 | Business News
Continuing in honor of January as National Mentoring Month, in this post, we will discuss a relatively new development in mentoring known as “reverse mentoring.” Be sure to take a look at our previous posts about how to be a great mentor, how to be a great mentee, and the importance of mentoring and how to find one.
Reverse mentoring is where someone younger acts as a mentor to someone who is older, and this generally corresponds with less experience for the mentor and more experience for the mentee. Now you may be wondering how exactly this works, but if you think about the rapid pace that technology has been transforming our world, it makes a lot of sense. Millennials and the younger generations have been called “technology natives.” They have grown up with computers and technology everywhere and a part of their everyday lives.
A younger “mentor” can help you learn how to use technology to improve your business and your personal productivity. They could help you learn to better make use of social media, your smartphone, or other new technological trends that are more specifically tailored to your industry. These things can help modernize your business to get more customers and help you get more work done easier.
Consider that those who have been in an industry for less time generally tend to be more energetic and enthusiastic about it and can provide you with a refreshingly positive perspective that can inspire you and your business to grow or be willing to take a leap to something new or even start a new business.
As we discussed in our post about being a great mentee, it is important to remember that newer (or younger) is not always better. There are certainly disadvantages to some aspects of new technology. For example, consider hacking and other security concerns with technology, or the difficulty of keeping information confidential with how quickly and easily it is to post things on the internet and have them exist there for “forever.” At the end of the day, technology is here to stay and it is important to keep up with it so that you and your business do not fall behind.
If you have a young employee or know someone that is younger and may be interested in your area of business, consider reaching out to them about developing a mentoring relationship between the two of you. After all, all mentoring relationships are a two-way street and provide benefits to both parties, regardless of if you are in a traditional or “reversed” mentoring situation. Some mentoring relationships may not even have a clear mentor and mentee and may be more fluid. Either way, mentoring will help you develop and help your business, career, and/or entrepreneurial aspirations.
If you need legal assistance for your business or in starting a business, do not hesitate to reach out to the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, PC, home of your Denver Business Attorney, Elizabeth Lewis, at 720-258-6647 or email her at elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com.
by eclewis | Jan 14, 2015 | Business News
Continuing our ongoing discussion of mentorship as part of National Mentoring Month, we already looked at how to be a great mentor, and this time we will take a look at the other side of the mentoring relationship and talk about how to be a great mentee. If you are having trouble finding a mentor in your industry, look here for tips.
As a mentee, it is important to remember just how fortunate it is to have a mentor and how valuable their time is. Remember to always be respectful and understanding of your mentor’s time and look for ways to make scheduling easier for both of you. Make sure that you are thoughtful and putting in all the necessary effort to develop this relationship. Look for ways to show your appreciation by writing thank you notes and look for ways to do something for them when you can.
If there is a significant age (or other) difference between you two, remember to appreciate and understand where they are coming from. If it is age, keep in mind that while technology and other aspects of the modern world has changed, most of the fundamentals underlying the way businesses function have not, and there is still much you can learn about them. Understanding how things got to be the way they are and how people used to work in those conditions can provide great insight in today’s world and how to avoid making mistakes of the past. Remember that newer is not always better.
Mentors can be intimidating and it is easy to feel overwhelmed and a little afraid to ask questions. However, asking questions is an essential part of any mentor-mentee relationship, and you should work hard to be confident and not to hesitate to ask thoughtful questions. Neither one of you benefits from a lack of comprehension, so do not be afraid to politely interrupt your mentor, so you can follow along and understand what they are telling you. Nevertheless, this should not be a shortcut to knowledge, and you should be sure that you are putting in your fair share of outside effort to learn so that they are not babying you along the way. Your mentor should let you know if a question is one that they cannot answer or if they need more time to think about it before answering. Candid conversations are important in developing an honest relationship between you and your mentor, so remember to be honest and be prepared to listen to criticism that may be blunt at times.
Think of the mentor-mentee relationship as a two-way street. While sometimes it may be hard to see what you have to contribute, remember that just providing a fresh perspective on something, even if it is a less-experienced one, is still useful in and of itself. Over time, you will learn what your mentor is an expert on and what areas they may have room for growth that you may be able to help facilitate through your own expertise. If you put in the effort, respect, and appreciation, you will be on your way to being a great mentee that will be able to achieve more of your personal and business goals through this rewarding relationship.
If you need legal assistance with your next business goal, do not hesitate to reach out to the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, PC, home of your Denver Business Attorney, Elizabeth Lewis, at 720-258-6647 or email her at elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com.
by eclewis | Jan 6, 2015 | Business News
Previously, we have discussed how to find a mentor in your industry, but with the start of the new year and beginning of January, which is National Mentoring Month, we are going to take another, more in-depth look at mentoring, starting off with how to be a great mentor.
If you already have a mentor, then you already know about the many benefits. Mentors are someone that you can talk to about your problems, your goals, and your successes. A mentor can lend you their wisdom and insight that they have gained from their experiences, so that you learn from them. Getting knowledgeable and candid feedback from a mentor is a priceless resource for you and your business matters.
One of the most important things about mentorship is that it is almost never too early to begin mentoring someone else, even if you yourself have never had a mentor. The key to being a great mentor is not about there being a big age difference between the mentor and mentee; it really just comes down to having experiences that the mentee does not have. Perhaps you have started a business before and whether or not it was successful, that is a unique experience that many people do not have and you probably learned a lot from it. This alone could make you a great mentor to someone considering being an entrepreneur. You can talk about what went wrong and what went right, discuss what you would have done different now that you have the luxury of hindsight.
In order to be a great mentor, be sure that you make yourself available to your mentee. If you are too difficult to get ahold of or to schedule with, it is going to be hard to develop a good relationship. Make sure you let your mentee know that their questions are welcome and always try to provide thorough feedback that is constructive. Do not be overly negative and remember that while you do want to help your mentee avoid making mistakes and overcoming them, mistakes should not be pointed out all the time and they can even be an important learning tool for your mentee.
There are many benefits to being a mentor too. As many tutors and teachers can attest to, teaching is one of the best ways to learn. By imparting your knowledge on someone else, you are giving yourself an opportunity to think through something again from a new perspective of being a mentor/teacher. This is greater understanding is tested and ultimately strengthened by the questions and fresh perspective that will come from your mentee. Your mentee may be able to teach you a thing or two about something they have more knowledge or experience in, giving you a chance to grow. Perhaps even by virtue of their youth, they may be well-versed in the newest aspects of your field or how technology can be used in it, giving you some new skills.
Overall, mentorship is a powerful tool for mutual personal development that you should consider sooner rather than later to improve yourself and in turn improve your ability to reach your business goals.
If you need legal assistance with your next business goal, do not hesitate to reach out to the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, PC, home of your Denver Business Attorney, Elizabeth Lewis, at 720-258-6647 or email her at elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com.
by eclewis | Dec 22, 2014 | Business News
A recent audit of Denver’s program, the Minority/Women Business Enterprise (M/WBE) has shown that it has not been meeting its goals. You can take a look at the complete audit here. The program is operated by the Division of Small Business Opportunity, part of the Office of Economic Development, and it is designed to help get minority and women owned businesses a share of the large number of city and county construction jobs and related work like landscaping, trucking and engineering.
In order to be certified for the M/WBE, at least 51% of the business must be owned by women and minorities. However, the audit brought to light concerns that businesses that should not be eligible to participate in the program are finding ways to game the system and are nevertheless getting certified and receiving work.
The audit found that of the 720 businesses that are certified and part of the M/WBE, only about 70% of them have actually received work from the city, and only 31% are getting repeat work from the city. Additionally, over the course of the program’s 8 year life, only 9 firms have graduated from the program, meaning they are now too large or are making too much money to continue being eligible. In short, Dennis Gallagher, the Denver City & County Auditor, called the program “broken.” The audit found an array of other issues with the program including not only ineffective or inaccurate reporting by the Division, but also a lack of required reporting. For example, the ordinance creating the program requires issuance of quarterly reports, which are not being produced currently. The audit was not all bad news though, as it did find that some certified sub-contractors were not being counted toward the program’s goals.
The Division defended itself in saying that the program has no control over whether the city awards contracts to a participating business or not. Further, the Division is planning to consider the audit’s recommendations to try and improve the program, but this is not the first time the program has been under fire. In 2011, the program was audited criticized. That audit generated 16 recommendations of which only 6 were later implemented. So we will have to wait and see if the program will adopt more recommendations to try and improve itself this time around.
If you have questions about applying to become a minority/women-owned business, contact the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C., home of your Denver Business Lawyer, Elizabeth Lewis, 720-258-6647 or email her at Elizabeth.Lewis@eclewis.com.
by eclewis | Dec 18, 2014 | IP Law
Recent developments coming to light regarding the use of music in torture by the CIA in Guantanamo indicated that Canadian industrial band Skinny Puppy’s music was one of the artists whose music was being used. As a semi-serious response, Skinny Puppy has since invoiced the Federal Government for $666,000 for the use of their music without permission or licensing from the group and is considering a lawsuit.
Skinny Puppy’s self-described “unsettling” music being used in torture was not surprising to them, but they were not very happy about it. It is interesting given the group’s history as well. Skinny Puppy has been a long-time proponent for animal rights and against animal dissection and other practices that Skinny Puppy considers akin to torture of animals.
While there have been numerous reports over the years of different music from Metallica to Sesame Street being used in such ways, nobody has appeared to try and take legal action for it yet. Nevertheless, it would likely end up being a long and unsuccessful road trying to fight the Federal Government against these practices.
Owners of copyrights have the exclusive rights to all of the following under 17 U.S.C. § 106, and if you do one of the following without being an owner then it would classify as copyright infringement:
(1) to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords;
(2) to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work;
(3) to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
(4) in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works, to perform the copyrighted work publicly;
(5) in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to display the copyrighted work publicly; and
(6) in the case of sound recordings, to perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.
Since there is no evidence the government copied or distributed Skinny Puppy’s music, it looks like the big question is whether or not using the music in a prison in Cuba would constitute a “public performance” under the law or if the government is otherwise protected in its use. It will be interesting to see how much further this action goes.
If you have questions about copyright or other intellectual property rights for your music or business, contact the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C., home of your Denver Business Lawyer, Elizabeth Lewis, 720-258-6647 or email her at Elizabeth.Lewis@eclewis.com.
