Trademarks and Copyrights

Trademarks and Copyrights

Posted by Unknown  |  at  10:29 AM

Starting a Business

Trademarks and Copyrights

 

Protecting Your Business with Trademarks and Copyrights A lot of entrepreneurs are sprouting like mushrooms these days. Whether this be a small, medium or large enterprise; people have been turning to building their own businesses to manage their own time, be their own bosses and to allow them to fully express their creativity and innovativeness.   While we are all eager to work for ourselves, create new products, or improve services; there are certain aspects in business that we have to think of – to protect it from being used by other entities and claimed as their own.   This is where trademarks and copyrights come into the picture.   Trademarks Briefly, a trademark is a mark indicating ownership of a certain product or a chain of products. There are many benefits to registering our marks to the appropriate Intellectual Property Office.   Firstly, our trademark will be our form of branding our products so that when consumers see the mark; they will immediately associate our company with these. They can be assured that the product or service for that matter, is of excellent quality because they can recognize right away that these are from us.   Secondly, a trademark will prevent others from stealing our products and passing them as their own. Although there are many counterfeit items these days, the exact design and specifications of our trademark will be hard to duplicate hence; a discriminating eye can immediately tell which one is fake and which is real.   In addition, the quality of the materials used will also be of inferior quality so if you match this with a copied trademark, people will know straightaway that this one’s a fake.   Before applying to register a trademark, we should first check if the trademark of your choice has already been registered by another entity. There are sites online that can help us check if our trademark is still available for registration.   Copyrights A copyright on the other hand, represents legal ownership of any written work in the form of music and lyrics, scripts, manuscripts, books and papers; plus other intellectual outputs, regardless of whether it has already been published or not.   This will prevent others from using the exact concept that we have written about down to the last detail. Copyrights for businesses include written descriptions of certain products or services. On the other hand, while these exact descriptions may have been already copyrighted, others can write their own description of our products based on their knowledge of these.   Copyrights may likewise be applied for at the appropriate Intellectual Property Office.

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Mission Statement

Mission Statement

Posted by Unknown  |  at  10:24 AM

Starting a Business

Mission Statement

What Does Your Mission Statement Say About You? A lot of business owners have made it a point to come up with a mission statement of their own, using this credo as their focal point for running the business. But unless we are crystal-clear about our mission statement, we may end up going in circles, aimless and uncertain how to go forward and progress. Briefly, a mission statement is something that we strongly believe in; a principle, philosophy, our purpose; the goal by which we will run the business or even our lives. You could say that it is the main street that will lead all roads to the reasons why we built our businesses in the first place.   Who are You? A mission statement does not have to be lengthy – it might end up boring the reader. A good mission statement is brief, concise, and straight to the point. It bears no wordy explanation before getting to your point.   What an excellent statement of this kind can do for you is to tell your audience who you are straightaway. With a precise mission statement, you can already target your audience; those who you want to patronize you or at least give you a second thoughtful glance.   For instance, if your business is a consumer product that zeroes-in on the younger market; your mission statement could express your desire to provide something hip and cool to the young while working hand-in-hand with parents.   In this manner, you have not only targeted your main audience, you have also touched on the influential people in these young ones’ lives.   The main thing to seriously consider when coming up with your statement is to focus on why you’re out there – not to make money as earning is an incentive to your goal; but to provide something of value to your market.   When they see how valuable you are, patrons will come and earnings will follow.   Driving Force Behind Your Business In a word, your mission statement is the driving force which all operations, transactions and directions of the business will go by. This statement is something that will motivate everyone in the company; from the lowest rung all the way to the top.   This statement will also serve as a reminder of why you’re doing what you’re doing lest you lose your focus or people in the company lose their motivation. It is something that we can all go back to, to remind us of why we’re doing our business in the first place.

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Picking the Right Office Location

Picking the Right Office Location

Posted by Unknown  |  at  10:20 AM

Starting a Business

Picking the Right Office Location

 

Best Office Location Looking for a suitable home for a business is another important decision one should consider when setting up a business or moving locations when the business has grown. Although this task may appear simple at first look, you may find yourself dealing with uncertainties of the real estate market. There are instances when one may be forced to move even before the lease contract is completed or pay for space you may not need long-term. If you’re lost and you don’t know where to start, here are a few tips to think about while you’re at it.   Ideas from Experts Although not too many businessmen think of it, it would be a big boost if you ask your customers their preferred location. If you’re targeting school children, chances are, they will tell you that setting up shop close to their school building would be preferable. Your customers can also help increase your client base through referrals. Many will also tell you that setting up business in a densely populated site or building will be most beneficial because more people can see your office. It is for this reason too why rent for commercial spaces is much higher than in residential areas that limit your market to the residents alone which may not necessarily be your target market. From a customer’s perspective, convenience will be a big factor when choosing where to go for their purchases.   Your employees too will be one thing to consider when deciding on an office location. Is it close to their home or does it give them easy access to transportation? Employers would prefer that employees come on time when they are expected to report for work. Training a new person will not only take some of your time but may also cost you customers who are not willing to wait because your new employee is not yet familiar with the process. Speaking of new hires, you will also want to consider looking at an area with a good pool of talents to choose from. As you grow your business, it is important to find the right people who can do the job well and learn fast.   Near Competitors Have you considered setting up shop close to competitors? The reason for this is because you can attract more customers who frequent the area. You will definitely have to make your prices competitive but the benefit is that you get more chances of getting the attention of a wider market that go to the area because it is known for a particular product or service.

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Bank Loans

Bank Loans

Posted by Unknown  |  at  10:18 AM

Starting a Business

Bank Loans

 

Types of Personal Bank Loans These may be troubled times but there’s hope for us, yet. There are options open for us when it comes to getting financial help from qualified institutions. Before we fall into despair over our financial straits, let us carefully study our options and see which ones are the most viable at this point in time.   There are bank loans that we can check out where we could get some financial assistance for our immediate needs. These are what we call personal bank loans. When considering this type of loan, we have two other options: non-collateral and collateral-based.   Collateral Bank Loans To put it another way, this type of loan is aptly termed a secured bank loan. We will have to offer some sort of security to the bank, against the loan we intend to make. This may come in the form of our current assets such as cars or other types of vehicles; real property and other assets of good-standing value.   The collateral ensures the bank that we will be in good standing regarding our agreed terms on the loan. A huge factor that we should consider when thinking about getting this type of bank loan is that these secured loans have a lower interest rate as compared to a non-collateral loan.   If we are looking at several years’ worth of paying off our loan, this type of loan could save us huge bucks in interest rates.   Non-Collateral Bank Loans Based on the above premises, a non-collateral bank loan is what banks would call an unsecured loan. While this type of loan does not tie-up any of your assets while the loan agreement is still in effect, a non-collateral bank loan is harder to get for some people. Before we can be considered for an unsecured bank loan, we first have to establish to the banking institution that we are in good credit standing. This means that we have a clean record when it comes to paying our bills, mortgages, credit cards and such.   We also have to consider the interest rate attached to unsecured loans. Typically, interest rates for this type of loan are higher, hence; if we consider the long-term effect of an unsecured bank loan, we may be wiser to get either a secured bank loan or a short-term collateral loan. The latter is basically what we do when we pawn something in a legitimate pawnshop.   For a better understanding of what type of loan will be best for us, we should discuss these with our trusted bank officer so we can study all options.

 

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Create a Production Flow Chart

Create a Production Flow Chart

Posted by Unknown  |  at  10:15 AM

Starting a Business

Create a Production Flow Chart

 

 

 

Monitor Your Production with a Flow Chart A flow chart is a visual illustration of the processes or steps that go into solving a problem, or in this case, completing production. This will serve as a guide to your production team regarding each step that they need to undertake in order to come up with a finished product as efficiently as possible. This is especially helpful for new members of your production team who have yet to get a good grasp on how your products are made.   This will also serve as a good reminder to your production team of the complete process, from start to finish, needed for production to ensure that quality control is in place.   Creating Your Production Flow Chart Your production flow chart need not be an elaborate illustration so long as this can be easily understood by everyone on your team. Keeping it simple and yet comprehensive will make this very useful for your business.   You may use the different computer applications you already have on hand to create your production flow chart, or you may also utilize those that are available for download on the internet. There are ready-made templates that you can find online to help you come up with your flow chart.   Make sure that each process that goes into production, from the smallest detail up to the final steps, are all included in the flow chart. Typically, several quality checks are included in the flow chart after each major step so you’re sure that the output will be in excellent condition. Should there be anything amiss; the worker goes back to the step needed to pass the quality check before proceeding to the next step.   Double-Checking Your Flow Chart Before finalizing your production flow chart, you might want to discuss the entire process that goes into production with your team or at least the head of your team. They more or less have a clearer picture of the whole production process hence; they can give inputs that can make your flow chart more workable.   Once everything has been finalized, make copies of this that will be clearly visible to the production team and to the quality control team, if you have any, so they can check from time to time whether they are still on the right track.   A production flow chart is very useful in that it can eliminate poor-quality production or decrease your chances of having inferior outputs.

 

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Knowing Your Industry Before Starting

Knowing Your Industry Before Starting

Posted by Unknown  |  at  10:10 AM

Starting a Business

Knowing your Industry Before Starting

 

Recognize Factors Impacting Your Business Before we can begin to put into action the business concept we have been working on, there are several key factors that we need to analyze first. These factors will play a huge role in the fate of your business so unless we come equipped, we may find our business being shot down without it having taken off, yet.   We may have a sound concept but unless we can support this with a solid structure, the chances of it getting off ground are slim to none.   Demographics and Psychographics One of the things that we first have to check prior to concretizing our business concept is the market. Who is our target audience? What is their background and what is their behavioural pattern when it comes to their purchasing ability? The market is a major determining factor in the industry we wish to penetrate.   The demographics of our market will tell us what their social background is. Finding out their income level, age, gender, sources of income, educational background and even location; will help us determine whether they have the capacity to patronize our product or service.   Psychographics will tell us the lifestyle of our market. We can learn about their interests and activities; and from these data we can surmise if they will be interested in what we are offering; and if our product or service will fit right into their lifestyle.   Analyzing all these factors will help us determine if we are targeting the right audience.   Competition and Competitors These two factors actually go hand-in-hand. Knowing who you’re competing against will give you a good idea of all key players in the industry that you have to watch out for. How long have they been in the business? What is the market response to their products or services?   Competing with giants may be a bit intimidating in the beginning but if you have a better product or service to offer, more efficient staff, excellent customer service, better rapport with your market; the chances of you getting ahead are very promising.   Competition of course inspires us to do better than the rest of the players in our field and it also motivates us to stay focused in our pursuit of excellence. Studying the behaviour of our competition will equip us with useful information that we can use to market our business, penetrate the industry and be seen as worthy opponent rather than just another flash-in-the-pan.

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Choosing Your Business Name

Choosing Your Business Name

Posted by Unknown  |  at  9:53 AM

Starting a Business

Choosing Your Business Name

 

 

The Business of Choosing a Business Name You may have a great product or you may be offering a unique service but unless you’ve got the right business name, you might just be left wondering why people aren’t clamouring to get you.   Finding the right business name is just as important as everything else you need to consider when trying to start a business. Of equal importance is spending a great deal of time and effort in conceptualizing the perfect name for the type of business you have in mind. This includes the design, color and basic look of your name.   What’s It All About? One of the things you need to consider when trying to come up with a name for your business is the exact nature of your business. Whether you’re selling soap that whitens, an anti-aging cream, baked goodies or offering cleaning services; your business name should be closely associated with these.   To capture the attention of your target market, your business name should be able to give them a clear picture right away of what you’re all about. From your name, people can already surmise whether you’re worth checking out or not.   Recall is another important matter in choosing a business name. Try to come up with something catchy and very easy to remember. Short and sweet, is the way to go. You should also consider the message that you want to convey to your market through your business name – homey, cute, warm and such. Be sure to make it a concrete and positive message.   Owning Your Name Before you can legally claim to own a specific business name, you should first register it at the appropriate office. Prior to this, you should also check whether the name has already been taken by someone else.   Another thing to consider is if there are any other businesses, particularly in the same field, that have names that are very closely similar to yours. This might pose a problem especially if the other business is a direct competitor.   The design and the concept should also be original so you might want to check out these areas as well; to see if any other businesses have a close resemblance to the design of your name.   Try to come up with several ideas for your business name and the design before having these registered so you won’t have to keep coming back just in case your first option gets rejected.

 

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