Business Development in Central New York

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In economics, business is the social science of managing people to organize and maintain collective productivity toward accomplishing particular creative and productive goals, usually to generate profit.

The etymology of "business" refers to the state of being busy, in the context of the individual as well as the community or society. In other words, to be busy is to be doing commercially viable and profitable work.

The term "business" has at least three usages, depending on the scope — the general usage (above), the singular usage to refer to a particular company or corporation, and the generalized usage to refer to a particular market sector, such as "the record business," "the computer business," or "the business community" -- the community of suppliers of goods and services.

The singular "business" can be a legally-recognized entity within an economically free society, wherein individuals organize based on expertise and skills to bring about social and technological advancement.

In predominantly capitalist economies, businesses are typically formed to earn profit and grow the personal wealth of their owners. Notable exceptions to this rule include many cooperatives, non-profit organizations, and government institutions.

In other words, the owners and operators of a business have as one of their main objectives the receipt or generation of a financial return in exchange for their work — that is, the expense of time and energy — and for their acceptance of risk — investing work and money without certainty of success.

However, the exact definition of business is disputable as is business philosophy; for example, most Marxists use "means of production" as a rough synonym for "business." Socialists advocate either government, public, or worker ownership of most sizable businesses. Some advocate a mixed economy of private and state-owned enterprises. Others advocate a capitalist economy where all, or nearly all, enterprises are privately owned.

There are five main types of business unit: Sole Proprietorship: a business owned by one person. The owner may operate on their own or may employ others. The owner of the business has total and unlimited personal liability of the debts incurred by the business. Partnership: A partnership is a form of business in which two or more people operate for the common goal of making profit. Each partner has total and unlimited personal liability of the debts incurred by the partnership. Cooperative Business: (often referred to as a Co-Op business or Co-Ops) use a cooperative business structure: for-profit, limited liability, but with members of the co-op share decision-making authority. Co-Ops normally fall into three types: consumer co-ops, producer co-ops (common in agriculture) and worker-owned companies. Co-Ops are fundamental to the ideology of Economic democracy. Private Limited Company (Ltd): a small to medium sized business that is often run by the family or the small group who own it. The owners and managers are only liable for the business up to the amount they have invested in the company, and are not liable for the debts incurred by the company unless they have signed a personal guarantee. Public Limited Company: a business with limited liability, a wide spread of shareholders and in the UK, a share capital of over £50,000. The owners and managers are only liable for the business up to the amount they have invested in the company, and are not liable for the debts incurred by the company (unless they have signed a personal guarantee, which usually is not the case for a large corporation).