Month: January 2012

What’s in a name? The art and science of naming a business

Perhaps the most vital step when you’re starting a business, maybe even more important than writing the business plan, is naming the business.

There are companies whose sole purpose is naming businesses. They charge up to $80,000 to perform that service. Volumes have been written.  In fact, if you Google “naming the business” you can see almost 72 million results; while “writing a business plan” has about 38 million.

Generally speaking, you can choose one of four ways to name your business. All have their pros and cons.

  • Geographic – tells potential customers where you are and what you do, but is somewhat limiting – Northtowne Muffler Service
  • Fanciful – easiest to protect, but difficult to position in the mind of the consumer – Xerox
  • Descriptive – says something about what you do and how you do it – Speedy Printing
  • Generic – doesn’t say much about the company, but can lend itself well to branding – Apple

The most important thing to remember about naming the business is it has to be protected through copyright or trademark. Including a search of existing companies in the early stages of incorporating your business is essential. If your business hits it big, it would be a shame if an obscure company in another state with a similar name sues you for infringement.

Naming a business is just one area of concern when you start a business. We make it our mission to help you in every possible way, from incorporation to trademark protection.  If you’re in the planning stages of incorporating your business, we’re here to help!

Updating your website

When you own a small business, performing regular maintenance on your website is an absolute necessity. I saw an article recently outlining seven steps for updating your website.

The article makes several good points about updating your site. For instance, if your site was designed a few years ago, the look and feel may be outdated. Cleaner layouts that use space effectively have taken the place of sites that shoehorn in pictures and content.

Another piece of good advice involves broken links, which are a telltale sign of neglect.  Make it a point to check the links on your site. (By the way, many experts agree that broken links adversely affect Google page rank.)

The one that hit home most for me concerned outdated information. I recently came across a site that had “New Arrivals – September 2010” on its home page. That doesn’t really entice me to go to its ecommerce page.

Also of utmost importance is the blog. The article discussed the liability having “a dusty, dated blog” will have on prospects. Quite simply, a majority of potential customers will go elsewhere if they see that your blog hasn’t had an entry in a few months. The article suggests once a week for a blog, which is about right for most businesses.

Promotion is just one area of concern when you own a small business. We make it our mission to help you in every possible way, from incorporation to trademark protection.  If your site needs an overhaul, or you need to build a website from scratch, we’re here to help!

Using social media in business

Social media usage is on the rise, and it is important to understand the many different ways you can use it. Sure, you can use it for promotion, but it is really secondary to how businesses should be using social media.

I recently read about increasing customer retention using social media in a VentureBeat.com article. It lists 10 ways to help you keep current customers, but I thought it really boils down to three.

Service
Any complaints customers may have should be handled quickly and transparently. If there is a problem, address it. If an apology is necessary, do it and move on. Offer an unsatisfied customer a way to resolve the issue. It is important not to delete any negative comments. Show you are addressing issues. If it is on a public review site, it is important to show that you are responding, and not in a negative way.

Research
By tracking social media, you have your finger on the pulse of what people are saying about your company and your product. Your customers can sometimes help you identify issues you may not have anticipated.

Engagement
Remember the old adage: “The best form of advertising is word of mouth”? Social media is the new word of mouth, with one distinct advantage: Savvy businesses can use it to steer the conversation about their product or service. While it’s not free, it’s cheap and, most importantly, readily available to consumers. Studies have shown that people trust testimonials from other customers more than they trust advertising.

Protecting your image is just one area of concern when you own a small business. We make it our mission to make business ownership as easy as possible.  From incorporation to building a website, if you need information on our small business services, we’re here to help!

2012 resolution for small business owners: Find venture capital

Over the Holidays I found myself reading those ubiquitous “Best of 2011” and “Resolutions for 2012” articles. If your resolution is to find venture capital this year, here are a couple of articles that might help.

 

“6 tips for raising capital in 2012” caught my eye, not because it was particularly ground-breaking, but because it drilled everything down to six simple steps. The last two, in particular, demand the attention of every small business owner seeking venture capital.

Don’t break the law.
Seriously, don’t do it. When you have a small business on the cusp of becoming something great, there could be some inclination to cut corners to raise funds as quickly as possible. If you’re unsure, speak to your attorney. Don’t risk your business by doing something illegal.

Start the process now.
It takes longer to raise capital than you think. Making contacts, getting paperwork in order and polishing your presentation… all are important. If you want to find venture capital in 2012, start now. It’s best to enter into that endeavor with some sense of urgency.

“Protecting your secret sauce” is a quick and dirty guide about protecting yourself when talking to VCs. The biggest takeaway from the article concerns non-disclosure agreements.

Put away the NDA.
Don’t bother presenting them with a non-disclosure agreement. They won’t sign them and they are ridiculously difficult to enforce. Venture capitalists and those who make it a business to invest see tons of pitches and executive summaries and hear about investment opportunities every day. Some will be similar and it would be impossible keep track of NDAs for all of them.

Financing your business is just one area of concern when you’re starting a business. We make it our mission to make it as easy as possible.  If you need information on incorporating your business, we’re here to help!

Imitation is the sincerest form of trademark infringement

The importance of naming your business is a given; you don’t want competitor using a business name similar to yours to trade on your good name. But what about the identifying marks, logos, graphics and intellectual property?

A recent Business Insider article discusses Apple’s trademark infringement lawsuit against Samsung. It seems that Samsung’s Android phone uses icons eerily similar to Apple’s iPhone. Take a look at the icons and see if you agree with the author that Apple has a case against Samsung.

In many industries, competition is fierce. Protecting your business and intellectual property is of utmost importance. When you start a business, it is absolutely essential to do thorough trademark research.

It is just as important to protect those identifying icons and logos as the name of your business. They are what help customers and potential customers identify your business. They’re all part of the branding and they make your company unique. Make sure you protect those as vehemently as Apple does.

There are many issues you should look into before starting any business. We make it our mission to make it as easy as possible.  If you need information on protecting a trademark, we’re here to help!