After startup, what is the single most important tool the small business owner has at his or her disposal for ensuring the success of the business? why is it so crucial?

Uppose the book-printing industry is competitive and begins in a long-run equilibrium. then hi-tech printing company invents a new process that sharply reduces the cost of printing books. suppose hi-tech's patent prevents other firms from using the new technology. which of the following statements are true about what happens in the short run? check all that apply. hi-tech's average-total-cost curve shifts downward. hi-tech's profits increase. the price of books remains the same. hi-tech's marginal-cost curve remains the same.

Maker-bot corporation has 10,000 shares of 10%, $90 par value, cumulative preferred stock outstanding since its inception. no dividends were declared in the first two years. if the company pays $400,000 of dividends in the third year, how much will common stockholders receive?

In december of 2004, the company you own entered into a 20-year contract with a grain supplier for daily deliveries of grain to its hot dog bun manufacturing facility. the contract called for "10,000 pounds of grain" to be delivered to the facility at the price of $100,000 per day. until february 2017, the supplier provided processed grain which could easily be used in your manufacturing process. however, no longer wanting to absorb the cost of having the grain processed, the supplier began delivering whole grain. the supplier is arguing that the contract does not specify the type of grain that would be supplied and that it has not breached the contract. your company is arguing that the supplier has an onsite processing plant and processed grain was implicit to the terms of the contract. over the remaining term of the contract, reshipping and having the grain processed would cost your company approximately $10,000,000, opposed to a cost of around $1,000,000 to the supplier. after speaking with in-house counsel, it was estimated that litigation would cost the company several million dollars and last for years. weighing the costs of litigation, along with possible ambiguity in the contract, what are three options you could take to resolve the dispute? which would be the best option for your business and why?