The biggest mistake entrepreneurs make is waiting until the worst happens before protecting themselves. They wait until a customer does not pay. They wait until the relationship with their business partner goes left. They wait until someone steals their content.
STOP WAITING ...PROTECT YOURSELF NOW
Protecting your brand, content, and pockets are the biggest things entrepreneurs should focus on from the outset...not after your business is successful...but at the very beginning.
Here are 3 Fool Proof Ways to Protect Your Business...from Day 1.
1. Trademark Your Branding Elements
Registering your trademark gives you protection under the law to enforce your rights against someone who tries to imitate your brand. (Think Trap Karaoke vs Trap A Long Karaoke). A trademark is what distinguishes your brand/product/services from another on the market. Trademarks of your company can include the company logo, any phrases or slogans, color schemes or fonts that you use to create the visual portion of your brand. Until you register your trademarks YOU HAVE NO WAY TO FIGHT COPYCATS. As a new business owner you can often get statewide trademark protection for multiple years for less than $20. Making a small investment in protecting your brand at the start will pay dividends against imitators who will try to jump aboard and imitate your idea.
2. Copyrights:
People often confuse copyrights and trademarks. Copyright protects the actual content you create which includes your website, blog posts, photos, etc. Again, until you actually register your content with the US Copyright office you have NO WAY TO FIGHT CONTENT THIEVES from reposting and reusing your work. You can register your copyright in less than 30 minutes for less than $40. You CAN also stop your content from being stolen using DMCA protections, disabling text selection (get the HTML code to disable copy & paste in my downloadable guide!) , and tools like Google Author!
3. Contracts:
Protect your brand with trademarks,
Protect your content with copyrights, and
Protect your POCKETS with contracts.
ALL FREELANCERS, CREATIVES, and ENTREPRENEURS MUST HAVE A BASIC SERVICES CONTRACT. I cannot stress this enough. I don't care how big the opportunity is, how great your relationship is with the other person, how badly you need the money and you are afraid you'll scare them off with paperwork. If you are handling any kind of business without a basic contract stating what is being offered or how you will get paid, you are setting yourself up for disaster. Spending less than $200 will get you a basic services contract template you can use over and over again will save you the anger and frustration from when a company/client/partner doesn't hold up the other end of their bargain.
Stop putting off protecting your business. For less than a trip to your favorite retail store you can protect your brand, your content, and your pockets from day one.
Subscribe to my email list and get my FREE DOWNLOADABLE guide to copyright and start protecting yourself now. The guide includes:
Sample legal copyright notices
Resources to disable copy and paste from your site,
Pro-tips on registering your blog content or portfolio.
This is an informational post and should not be taken as legal advice. Feel free to contact me to schedule a consultation on how you can protect your brand, your content, and your money without breaking the bank.