Requirements

When launching a business, you have many requirements to consider. First you have multiple tiers of laws: city, state, and federal. In general, you will have to comply with all of them, but non-compliance consequences range significantly. For instance, is it a law or an ordinance? Is it not a rule at all but a best practice? As an example, my background is cybersecurity, and there are many _guidelines_ that aren’t _laws_ but carry a lot of authority within industry. You don’t _have_ to follow them, but you can bet no business customer is coming anywhere near you unless you comply.

When assessing your own “product market fit,” you will want to assess your own position in the marketplace. For instance, if you sell consumer goods, you will have significantly different considerations. However, as the producer of those magnetic balls that were all the rage until some kid swallowed one can attest, the government has a lot of opportunity to assert its preferences in commerce. And numerous companies that facilitate gambling can assure you the line that divides “right” and “wrong” can be very blurry and subject to a legal interpretation.

In summary, requirements should be clearly defined in their context, and the context should also be defined and acknowledged.

Assessing Risk

When you’re running your own business, assessing risk is one of the most important elements. As part of that, you need to have sound judgement and skills related to description. Describing things clearly leads to judging circumstances well leads to measuring risks well. They are all parts of a whole.