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Coffeeshop
Busi 561
Vicki Thompson
School of Business, Liberty University
Author Note
Vicki Thompson
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Vicki Thompson
Email: Vthompson42@liberty.edu
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Sole Proprietorship
Sole proprietorship is a form of business organization, which an individual personally
control profits and losses (Kubasek et al., 2019). Sole proprietorship is the easiest form of
business Shania can have. As a sole proprietor, Shania is entitled to independent decision-
making, management flexibility, exclusive products and services selection; low cost investment,
and no conflict and consent negotiations. Some drawbacks Shania may face are personal
responsibility management, wholly debt and liability control, and lone ideas searching.
Permwanichagun et al. (2019) added that sole proprietorship size makes it difficult to convince
customers about the merits of the business.
It will be a good experience for Shania to have her own business that she can learn the
pros and cons from. All the profits earned by the business will be solely hers, she can keep track
of the money going in and out of the business, and there would not be any occurring business
taxes. Sole proprietor tax is in a form of income tax (IRS, 2017). Since Shania’s husband is
willing to support the business by contributing to the capital, her husband will be more
comfortable if the money coming in would not need to be shared to someone else’s. Because the
business is Christian theme, Shania can easily promote the business by herself to the
congregation that the individuals in the church group can use word-of-mouth communication to
market the coffeehouse.
Independent Coffee House
Franchising is not building an individual’s dream; it is building the franchisor’s dream.
Having Shania’s business as an independent form of organization is putting her own ideas of
products and/or services into life. Shania will experience a hard time due to unpopularity of her
business in the start, adding that she does not have much experience with running her own
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business, but through right promotion and strategies; advertisement, hard work, and dedication,
Shania can keep her business running and possibly be eligible for future business expansion.
Hebrews 13:16 states, “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such
sacrifices God is pleased” (King James Bible, 2017). Instead of getting a successful franchise
company’s products, Shania can help small local businesses to supply her coffeehouse with
coffee beans, pastries, and even boxes and containers.
Having an independent business, Shania do not need to follow rules of what she can and
cannot sell. Shania will have the freedom of what products and services that she can offer at her
very own coffeehouse. She will be more open for suggestions; likes and dislikes; and
recommendations of customers because she has the ability to change, add, and pull out products
and services she provides. Shania would not need to worry about commitments for getting the
same products and/or services for certain number of years. Additionally, she does not need to
bare the thought of having a competitor nearby who may have the same franchise of products
and services that can badly affect her business.
Business Name and Trademark
The two previous businesses named The Gathering Place according to the State of
Colorado page have the current status of voluntarily dissolved under a nonprofit corporation and
delinquent standing in the form of limited liability company (LLC). The delinquent LLC
business failed to file an annual report with a due date of April 30, 2006. This means that the two
previous firms are no longer functioning. Horwitz (2018) stated that if delinquent status is not
cured within 400 days, the LLC business name becomes available to other businesses. Because
the two businesses in the page can no longer operate, Shania can have the business name The
Gathering Place registered.
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According to trademarkia page, the gathering place trademark is already taken and is
registered until January 1, 2019. This would make Shania ineligible for getting a trademark that
matches her business name. It would be a better choice for Shania to pick a different business
name that is identical to the trademark to avoid confusion from her customers. Furthermore, The
Gathering Place business name is too common in Colorado for Shania to use. Making a business
and trademark name that has a personal significance for Shania combined with the theme will be
the best option that has less chance of getting the same name from other businesses or
trademarks.
Biblical Worldview
Shania may hire both Kelsey and Carlos. Since Kelsey’s husband wants his wife to stay at
home, they can take into consideration to have Kelsey get a part time job in the coffeehouse and
Shania can suggest for Kelsey to make pastries at home and supply it for the coffeehouse for
Kelsey to have an extra income. According to Colorado Department of Human Services (as cited
in Wilson, 2017), it is appropriate for a 12-year-old to be left unattended for a short period of
time. Since Kelsey’s kids are currently 13 and 15 years old, she can have a half day duty as a
cashier in the coffeehouse that her husband will be more comfortable with for not leaving the
kids for a long period of time unattended. As stated in 1 John 4:16, “As we know and rely on the
love of God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them” (King
James Bible, 2017). Kelsey’s husband may notice what Kelsey’s developing relationship with
God brings to their family, which he may realize that God’s love is unwavering that can change
his perception towards God and share God’s love with his own family.
Carlos can work in the coffeehouse as a barista. Since Carlos has an interest to work in
the coffeehouse for an extra income, he may work as part time personnel as well. Shania may
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hire two more individuals who are Christians and acquire training together with Kelsey and
Carlos to operate the sections and fill the time slot needed for the coffeehouse. As referenced in
Proverbs 25:15, “By forbearance a ruler may be persuaded, And a soft tongue breaks the bone”
(King James Bible, 2017). By working with two Christian individuals Kelsey and Carlos will
have more influence of knowing God’s love and great works. Spreading the good news to people
creates happiness to God and to people who has developing relationship with God.
Conclusion
Shania have many aspects to consider for opening up a Christian themed coffeehouse.
Having a sole proprietorship and independent business makes it easier for Shania to have no
commitment to any individuals and/or organization as she learns the pros and cons for having
sole profits and lone responsibility of a business. Hiring Kelsey and Carlos for a part time job
together with two other Christian individuals may help to influence the faith of Kelsey and
Carlos and may extend to Kelsey’s husband. Through hard work, dedication, and trust in the
Lord, Shania can make the coffeehouse successful and make it possible for future expansion.
References
Colorado Secretary of State Wayne W. Williams. Records Search. Retrieved December 6, 2017
from http://www.sos.state.co.us/biz/BusinessEntityCriteriaExt.do
Horwitz, M. (2018). How to cure a Colorado LLC delinquency. LLC University. Retrieved from
https://www.llcuniversity.com/how-to-cure-a-colorado-llc-delinquency/
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IRS. (2017). Publication 344, tax guide for small business. Retrieved March 3, 2022 from
https://www.irs.gov/publications/p334
Kubasek, N., Browne, M. N., Herron, D. J., Dhooge, L. J., & Barkacs, L. (2019). Biblical
worldview edition of dynamic business law: The essentials (2nd ed.). McGraw Hill
Education
Permwanichagun, P., Kaenmanee, S., Naipinit A., & Na Sakolnakorn, T. P. (2019). The
situations of sole proprietorship, e-commerce entrepreneurs and trend in their
ecommerce: A case study in Thailand. Asian social science. 10(21), 80-88. The gathering
place trademark information. Trademarkia. Retrieved March 3, 2022 from
https://www.trademarkia.com/the-gathering-place-85469710.html
Wilson, J. (2017). What is the Colorado law regarding leaving minors unattended?. Legal beagle.
Retrieved March 3, 2022 from https://legalbeagle.com/7320042-colorado-regarding-
leaving-minors-unattended.ht
Kubasek defines intellectual property is defined as the product of one’s mind and not
one’s hands (Kubasek et al., 2019). It comes from a person’s creativity and may include things as
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patents, trademarks, manuscripts for books, or even software development for a new app. Many
times, as it relates to for-profit companies, there is some question as to whether these companies
are looking out for their own needs over their customers’ needs. There are several ways these
corporations should balance the needs of customers over their own but most of the time they do
not (Ahmed & Meller, 2019). Because patents and trademarks can be used to prevent
competition, these companies, especially pharmaceutical ones, have the ability to price gouge
their customers (Radcliffe, 2019). Price gouging is defined as, “An act or instance of charging
customers too high a price for goods or services, especially when demand is high and supplies
are limited” (Dictionary.com, n.d., Para. 1). It’s unfortunate, but if only one company makes and
sells certain drug, they may look to raise the price of that drug substantially in order to return a
greater profit. One way these for-profit organizations are forced to balance the customers’ needs
is by price gouging laws (Virginia.gov, n.d.). These laws prevent companies from charging
unconscionable prices for “Necessary goods and services” (Virginia.gov, n.d., para. 1). Although
these laws help, there is quite a bit of debate as it relates to new drugs on whether they are
essential or non-essential and who makes this decision (Hahn, 2020).
From the standpoint of being a nurse, let’s use the example of a patient with a blood
clotting disorder, hemophilia. These patients require the blood clotting drugs to be administered
twice a year. This may be very detrimental to these patients due to the lifesaving importance of
the ability of this drug to assist in the clotting factor if a patient were to get a deep cut or happen
to have a surgical procedure, for example. While a deep cut may not be life-threatening, it can
be a serious issue for these patients. The cost for this medication, on an annual basis, is over
$400,000. And depending on the coverage their health insurance, they may not be able to afford
it, it the prices went up due to any natural disaster. Some insurance companies may decide to not
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even cover it. Some of these companies are definitely taking advantage of their customers and
should be placed under these price gouging laws so customers could actually afford this product.
Not only is the price of the drug expensive, but some patients also have to decide on their career
path to avoid that cost, should they have to pay for it outright. However, pharmaceutical
companies are the ones that take the risk of investing in a drug initially with the possibility of it
failing (Fleming, 2018). They will still have the ability to profit from their customers and
reinvest the revenue back into their company to research and develop other drugs.
From a Biblical perspective, I believe these companies should be focused on the
customer’s needs far above their own. As the Bible commands us, “Thou shalt not defraud thy
neighbour, neither rob him (King James Bible, 2017, Leviticus 19:13). Also, 1 Timothy 6:10
states, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have
erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (King James Bible,
2017, 1 Timothy 6:10). If these two verses were correctly applied to a for-profit business, they
would look first to provide affordable goods and services to their customers because they are not
covetous of the potential profits.
Greater Responsibility from Companies
When lives depend on the products created by companies, they have a greater
responsibility to work towards benefitting the consumer more than themselves. However, these
products or services should be offered at, or below fair market value. If they are offered below
fair market value, then the company is losing money, which ultimately affects the employees.
Also, as it relates to supply and demand, if a lifesaving drug, like the one mentioned above, has
been developed that everyone wants then the price should reflect that demand. However, it
should still be within the range of affordability as it relates to the market. Also, many times
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companies are not only charging customers for the price of the drug but also the time and money
it took to create a viable product (Emanuel, 2019). The manufacturer is the one that assumes all
the risk involved with the research, developments, testing, and advertising of a product and these
costs get added into the product price (Fleming, 2018).
There are also examples where certain companies with unique lifesaving products do not
have a greater responsibility to benefit its customers. For example, Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria
Syndrome, “An extremely rare genetic disorder in which the symptoms resemble aspects of
ageing at a very early age,” has affected only 130 individuals in the past 150 years (Sullivan,
2019). On average it costs 2.5 billion dollars to manufacture a drug and get it approved to sell in
the market (Sullivan, 2019). If this company charged less than 200 million dollars to each of the
130 patients then they would not have returned a profit in over 150 years. This lack of profit
would mean employees would be laid off and the lifesaving drug would be non-existent. This is
an extreme example, but it shows how companies look to return a profit when marketing
products, even if they are lifesaving. Also, if you consider saving someone from death to be a
benefit, then that should also be accounted for when considering the balance of benefits to
companies versus customers.
Biblical Worldview
Should I be in the position to running such a company, from a Biblical worldview, there
are a few things I would seek to accomplish. First, I would market my product to provide
revenue for the company that I could reinvest into further research and development. I would
look to be like the two men in the parable in Matthew 25:14-30 who took the investments they
were given, reinvested them, and made a profit. Also, I would look to sell this product at a
reasonable price so consumers have the ability to afford it. My love would not be toward money,
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but toward what the Lord has instilled in us. My goal would be toward being a good steward of
what the Lord gave me, according to 1 Corinthians 4:2. Employees would also be encouraged to
remember that the products we provide have the ability to impact people’s lives and we should
continue our manufacturing and development of new products. Also, within my business
structure, I would incorporate a dependency on the power of prayer. I believe that manufacturing
a lifesaving drug is a blessing from the Lord, but I would not want myself, or my company to
forget that Jesus can heal those in need. I would want Jesus to be at the forefront of the
organization and our drug to be the second option.
References
Ahmed, H., & Meller, A. (2019). How Big Pharma Reaps Profits While Hurting Everyday
Americans. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/
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democracy/reports/2019/08/30/473911/bigpharma-reaps-profits-hurting-everyday-
americans/
Dictionary.com. (n.d.). Price gouging. Dictionary.com. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/
Pricegouging
Emanuel, E. (2019). Big Pharma's Go-To Defense of Soaring Drug Prices Doesn't Add Up. The
Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/03/drug-prices-highcost-
research-and-development/585253/
Fleming, S. (2018). Why Pharma Risk Is Inherently Unpredictable and Why It Matters. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stanfleming/2018/11/06/inherentlyunpredictable-
why-pharma-has-an-innovation-crisis-and-how-to-fix-it/? sh=1ab2e9d578e9
Hahn, S. (2020). FDA Publishes List of Essential Medicines, Medical Countermeasures, Critical
Inputs Required by Executive Order. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-publisheslist-essential-
medicines-medical-countermeasures-critical-inputs-required-executive
King James Bible (2017). King James Bible Online. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/
(Original work published 1769)
Kubasek, N., Browne, M., Herron, D., Dhooge, L., & Barkacs, L. (2019). Biblical Worldview of
Dynamic Business Law. (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill Education
Radcliffe, S. (2019, October 16). Drug Price Gouging Laws May Become a New Trend.
Healthline.com. https://www.healthline.com/health-news/drug-price-gouging-
lawsbecoming-new-trend
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Sullivan, T. (2019). A Tough Road: Cost To Develop One New Drug Is $2.5 Billion; Approval
Rate for Drugs Entering Clinical Development is Less Than 12%. Policy & Medicine.
https://www.policymed.com/2019/12/a-tough-road-cost-to-developone-new-drug-is-
25-billion-approval-rate-for-drugs-entering-clinical-de.html
Virginia.gov. (n.d.). Consumer Protection. OAG Consumer Protection.
https://www.oag.state.va.us/consumer-protection/index.php? option=com_
content&view=article&id=181