Owning your own business can be complicated but extremely rewarding, especially when your business succeeds! However, before you can reach that success, you have to take the baby steps to start moving toward it. There are some key things that we strongly recommend that you keep in mind when you launch or are ready to scale, such as:

The first thing on which you should focus, and certainly one of the most important, is networking and building relationships with the professionals and colleagues that you need to support yourself and your business as you develop and scale. Think lawyers, accountants, financial advisors, insurance brokers, business planners, graphic designers, etc.(1) You need to make sure that you have found the right personalities and knowledge levels to fit with your needs before you kick off your launch.

Then it’s time to add to the plan by making sure that you lay out the goals and strategies for your finances. If you plan ahead of time, you set out your vision for your company for both the short- and long-term.(2) Typically, six months to one year is considered short-term and three-year, or five-year plans are considered long-term. Either way, you should be planning for a minimum of three years at a minimum. The hardest part of planning the financial aspects is staying neutral in your estimations. What you want to avoid is predicting a sharp, sudden growth trend that magically appears after the first year of operations (or two, etc.).

While you are having fun meeting people and making up numbers, you should also be looking at your overall business plan. It goes hand-in-hand with your financial plan; they’re complementary. Make sure that your mission is feasible and possible to achieve while still being inspirational for your and your team(3). Writing the business plan can also help you envision the future for your business. So ask yourself – where do you see your business in a year’s time? Will you still be in the office looking at a computer screen or will you have moved on to sunglasses and the beach? Hey, an exit strategy is important too and it is so very essential to begin with the end in mind.(4) It might be in the distant future, but you should still plan for how you want to wind up the business. After all, it could be that you have to hand it off and make choices between your loyal and faithful right-hand VP or your weird cousin that no one likes when it comes to the CEO title. Think about your goals and your intentions and create a plan to accomplish them.

Now you have a plan. You’ve got some goals, a future vision, and a possible exit strategy (or a few). That’s great! Next, it’s time to get your product (or service) gussied up and pretty for its big debut.(5) Trying to save money is a good idea, but not if you try to skip the branding step. Branding (colors, logos, fonts, imagery, word choices, etc.) is the very first impression the public has of your business. Branding will lead your business story long after you have left the room.(6) Your brand should tell your clients – and the world – what they can expect from you, why you’re different from any potential competitors, who you are and what you represent. Once you’ve nailed down your color scheme and logo, you’ll be ready to market your services (or products). Marketing, in brief, is informing the general public about your product, where to find it, why they would want it and how they can get it. Almost 2/3 of American adults currently use social media, so no doubt you can start there. Create posts, like other people’s posts, leave comments – interact with people online (be social) and make sure that the content you’re putting out there is valuable. It’s an easy, cost–effective way to market your business and reach your target audience.(7)

Back to those professionals and colleagues that I mentioned before; you might not think you need professionals and experts, but you do. Does your product or service access or collect information? If so, are you familiar with all PIPPA and GDPR regulations? Have you considered application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to your website – and what does this even mean? Do you have a physical location where people purchase your products or services? Do you have the right insurance coverages that you need? You cannot do everything yourself, so stay in your lane and work with professionals and experts that can help you ensure that you don’t get in over your head.(8)

One of those professionals could be a banker or venture capitalist, for example, and you never know when you will need them. When you first start out, the hardest thing to often do is find the money to put in to your business. Maybe you need seed money for equipment, vehicles, technology, marketing, or your reserves if your business is a bit riskier and you want ‘just in case’ capital for the future. Keep your debt to a minimum and make sure that your business plan contains your best, educated guess on your goals/objectives, your target market, getting customers to buy from you, how much money you think you will need, and when you feel revenue will start to come in (and how that will look). You should also model out as many possible scenarios as you can that show when your business will turn cash-positive.(9) This will help to show potential investors that you are serious and will give them some confidence in knowing when they might expect to be paid back.

Next step – now that your business is up and running, or if your company has gone through a recent growth, it’s time to assess and analyze your operations.(10) Why? Periodically, you will need to review how your company does what it does best and who is doing it. It allows you to identify inefficiencies and improve communication for the company and your clients. You can use comparisons against industry benchmarks and best practices to make sure that you have optimized your operations. There is so much more to do, but this is an excellent primer to get you started.

If you have questions on this article or would like to know more about what I can do to help you, please visit www.scaleupcheckup.com, email us at info@scaleupcheckup.com or call us at 1-866-724-0085 for more details. You can also take our free quiz at www.showmethemoneyquiz.com!

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Lauren Cohen is an internationally-acclaimed attorney who has built a system designed to help business owners achieve their goals. simply and strategically, through a vetted network of professionals. Lauren’s 3-Step ScaleUPCheckUP Success System (Assess/Diagnose/Deliver) assesses your business’s risk in the 7 most critical areas that, if ignored, could lead to disaster.

ScaleupCheckup’s blog, website, newsletter and other forms of communication contain general information about legal and related matters. The information is not legal advice and should not be treated as such. You must not rely on the information on this website as an alternative to legal advice from your attorney or other professional legal services provider. If you have any specific questions about any legal matter you should consult your attorney or other professional legal services provider.

The post Plot Your Course: Avoid the Dragons on the Map to Success appeared first on E-Council Global.

First, it is a bedrock principle of service mark and trademark law that the first user of a service mark or trademark owns the trademark or service mark if conflicts arise with rival claimants.  I will use the word “mark” to collectively refer to the term service mark and trademark.  Once the basic rights in a mark are acquired upon its initial use, a business may supplement or extend those rights by registration of the trademark.  Registration of a mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office has several advantages (which will not be discussed in this article).  However, an unregistered mark may still have rights by common law trademark law.

Section 33(b)(5) codifies the benefits that a common law trademark owner may have. Section 33(b)(5) of the Lanham Act states the following:

(5) That the mark whose use by a party is charged as an infringement was adopted without knowledge of the registrant’s prior use and has been continuously used by such party or those in privity with him from a date prior to (A) the date of constructive use of the mark established pursuant to section 1057(c) of this title, (B) the registration of the mark under this chapter if the application for registration is filed before the effective date of the Trademark Law Revision Act of 1988, or (C) publication of the registered mark under subsection (c) of section 1062 of this title: Provided, however, That this defense or defect shall apply only for the area in which such continuous prior use is proved;

Section 33(b)(5) is a defense for a defendant or an accused infringer that has been unknowingly using a mark in a geographic area different from the geographic area of the registered mark.  For section 33(b)(5) to apply, the accused infringer would have to be unknowingly and continuously using the mark in a different geographic area before the registered mark’s owner filed an application to register the mark. Take the following example:

A begins use of a mark in a one geographic area.  Then B begins use of the same mark in a different geographic area in good faith, without knowledge of A’s use. Both A and B would have common law rights to the mark in their respective territories. Then A applies for and obtains a federal registration for the mark.

Under Section 33(b)(5), in the example above, B retains rights only in the territory in which it was the prior user up to A’s application date.

Section 33(b)(5) may be very helpful to owners of unregistered marks.  However, keep in mind that Federal registration of the mark by A has the practical effect of FREEZING B’s rights thereby terminating ANY right to future expansion beyond B’s common law trademark’s existing territory.  While, registration of a mark is not legally necessary, the examples briefly discussed in this article illustrate the importance of registering a mark to protect of your brand. The trademark attorneys at The Plus IP Firm have advised numerous clients regarding their common law and registered trademark rights.  If you have any questions regarding your trademark rights given the use of your trademark on the internet, the attorneys at The Plus IP Firm are available to answer any questions that you may have.  To schedule a free consultation, click HERE.  For more information about Derek Fahey, this article’s author, click HERE.

While the above is not and should not be considered legal advice, since circumstances vary, ScaleUPCheckUP monitors these rapidly developing issues, as enforcement of the law switches into high gear. Instead, the foregoing is intended as an overview and not legal advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship. However, contacting an attorney to steer through the maze of bureaucracy to register and defend a mark may very well be necessary to consult an attorney.

ScaleupCheckup ’s blog, website, newsletter and other forms of communication contain general information about legal and related matters. The information is not legal advice and should not be treated as such. You must not rely on the information on this website as an alternative to legal advice from your attorney or other professional legal services provider. If you have any specific questions about any legal matter you should consult your attorney or other professional legal services provider.

The post Section 33 (b)(5) Defenses For Common Law Trademark Owners appeared first on E-Council Global.

Similar to a house, the foundation of your business is everything. The success of your business depends on building a strong base for your business. But, as a business owner you already have so much ground to cover that sometimes a small crack in your business foundation can be dismissed or overlooked for the lack of knowledge of its value – or potential cost – to your company. A mistake that can prove to be fatal in the long run. Ensuring a strong foundation is imperative in understanding the value of your company assets.   

But, how can you know the value of your company assets? The best way to determine the true value of your business is through a business valuation. The goal of valuing your business is to attain a clear estimate of the fair market value of your business, which is defined as:

“…the price at which the property will change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or to sell and both having a reasonable knowledge or relevant facts.” (26 CFR 25.2512-1 – Valuation of Property; in General.” LII / Legal Information Institute, Legal Information Institute, www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/26/25.2512-1) And, while, the mere knowledge of this information affords you power as a business owner to better understand your business, there are so many other benefits to conducting a formal business valuation.

A business valuation helps you understand your company’s resale – or EXIT – value, giving you access to more investors while helping to measure your company’s growth. Additionally, you might not have thought about it yet, but your retirement also depends on your business and its value. And how can you calculate your retirement income when you don’t know the value of your primary asset? A business valuation can help to answer this question.

It’s important to understand the factors that may drive the value of your business higher for different reasons. While every business owner’s goal is to have a profitable business, your long-term goals might be to eventually be able to sell your business through a smooth transition. A business valuation can help you prepare for this, whether your goal is to merge your business with another business, passing it down to a family member, or preparing a successful exit strategy plan.

It is the successful exit that is most important to consider. So few business owners properly prepare for exit. Most simply operate their businesses as going concerns, not paying much if any attention to the long-term goal of ultimate sale/exit. As the famous saying coined by Benjamin Franklin says, “Failure to Plan = Planning to Fail”. Business owners that don’t put the right protections in place, secure the right foundation, hire the right people, cover the right bases, or take the right actions and measures are sure to lose precious dollars when it is time to exit as their businesses will sell for pennies on the dollar. The due diligence process that is undertaken by the purchaser may even fail, and the whole exit may fall apart. All because the business owner chose to stick his/her head in the sand and pretend everything was A-OK – but it was NOT!

Working with the right professional team at your side and preparing the company properly for an ultimately successful exit will admittedly require time and effort and painstaking attention. However, by working with the right team, and building up the business’s value so that the ultimate valuation results are that much stronger, the end result will be a significantly more lucrative exit that would otherwise be realized. The business valuation results will not only help your business be more profitable but will also help you understand all your options and what makes the most sense for you and the success of your business.

While the above is not and should not be considered legal advice, since circumstances vary, ScaleUPCheckUP monitors these rapidly developing issues, as enforcement of the law switches into high gear. Instead, the foregoing is intended as an overview and not legal advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship. However, contacting an attorney to steer through the maze of bureaucracy to register and defend a mark may very well be necessary to consult an attorney.

ScaleupCheckup’s blog, website, newsletter and other forms of communication contain general information about legal and related matters. The information is not legal advice and should not be treated as such. You must not rely on the information on this website as an alternative to legal advice from your attorney or other professional legal services provider. If you have any specific questions about any legal matter you should consult your attorney or other professional legal services provider.

The post WHY IS A BUSINESS VALUATION SO IMPORTANT AND HOW CAN IT SHOW YOU THE $$? appeared first on E-Council Global.

1. Apply for a Loan

Traditional financing methods remain one of the easiest ways for businesses to get funding. In fact, roughly 75% of financing for newer companies comes from business loans, lines of credit, and credit cards. Small business loans with favorable terms will help businesses to build their credit as long as they have (i) been in operation for at least two years, (ii) at least $100,000 in annual revenue, and (iii) principal(s) with a credit score of 640 or higher. These requirements obviously leave startups out of the loan mix, although it is possible that SBA financing or hard money loans may be available as an option for newer companies. Additionally, for companies with outstanding invoices, invoice financing or factoring could also help in this regard.

You can also use personal funds to raise money for your business. If you own your home, you can borrow against the equity you have in your home by way of a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) or a home equity loan. A HELOC gives you a pool of cash that you can draw from when you need it. A home equity loan is a term loan that is issued as a one-time lump sum. The total amount of cash that you can access depends on the amount of equity you have in your home and the total value of your home.

2. Find an Angel Investor

Angel investors are affluent investors that are interested in investing in businesses in exchange for equity or convertible debt interest in the business, but don’t want to play a role in the day-to-day operations, which is often ideal for startups and ScaleUPs looking for funding to develop, scaleUP or exit. If you have a solid business plan and hopefully a pitch deck, two of ScaleUPCheckUP’s specialties, and you are ready to make your pitch, you can seek an angel investor and capture their interest by clearly demonstrating to them the amazing opportunity that you offer and the future potential of your company. There are also angel investor groups and websites that help companies find angel investors.

3. Secure Investments from Venture Capitalists

Venture capitalists are different from angel investors to the extent that they generally want to be directly and often quite intimately involved in your company’s day-to-day operations – an investment with strings. They typically seek to make sure they are likely to realize certain returns on their investment, so they want to work with companies that have scalable products/operations. You can find many venture capitalists and VC matchmakers that can help link your business to the money you need as long as you can justify what has changed in the industry as a means of showing that your company’s offering fills a direct need, what you offer and why they should capitalize on it, and your current financials.

If you are interested in accessing more cash for your business so you can build, scaleUP or exit, but you are not sure about how, when, or where to start, the ScaleUPCheckUP assessment tool and ScaleUPCheckUP’s network of business advisors can help you determine the best path to take. Making a poor decision about how to fund your business can be an expensive and potentially disastrous mistake. Seek foundational expertise and funding guidance from our experts to access and ultimately raise the money you need to grow your business.

ScaleUPCheckUP’s blog, website, newsletter and other forms of communication contain general information about legal and related matters. The information is not legal advice and should not be treated as such. You must not rely on the information on this website as an alternative to legal advice from your attorney or other professional legal services provider. If you have any specific questions about any legal matter you should consult your attorney or other professional services provider.

The post A Few Ways ScaleUPCheckUP™ Can Show You the $$ (Money) appeared first on E-Council Global.

Systems are an essential element of any organization, and are absolutely critical to ScaleUP – they are manifested in the form of Policies and Procedures Manuals, tailored to each organization and operating division thereof. Policies are designed to influence and determine all major decisions and actions, and all activities that take place within the boundaries set by the underlying policies. Procedures are the specific methods adopted to express policies in action in day-to-day operations of the organization. Implementing the right Policies and Procedures will go far toward ensuring compliance with laws and regulations, while offering decision-making guidance and serving as a roadmap to streamline internal processes.

When properly created and deployed, policies and procedures help organizations get organized, save time and money as well provide a step up to ScaleUP your organization.

The most important part of integrating them into your organization is to make sure they are followed by everyone from the top leadership to those just starting out. They provide a framework with detailed instructions for every aspect of running your organization.

Policies and Procedures are the foundation for all your business processes. Done correctly, they provide consistency. They provide a detailed framework for employees to understand what is expected of them and what they can expect from the organization.

The importance of developing and implementing written Policies and Procedures that cover legal issues that may come up, including operational conditions, ethical concerns, human resources issues and more, cannot be overstated. It is equally essential for all staff members – employees and independent contractors alike – to be provided with copies of all Policies and Procedures before starting their position, and to “sign off” and confirm their adherence to same.

There are several types of Policies and Procedures/Manuals, which most organizations should consider, ranging from Operations to Sales & Marketing to Human Resources, to name a few. Within these Manuals, below are our suggestions for the top  policies that should always be included:

• Quality/quality control
• Environmental
• Codes of Conduct
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Employment (Hiring/Recruiting, Equal Opportunity/Inclusion) including Independent Contractors
• Purchasing
• Use of Internet, email, social media
• Hiring/Recruiting – Equal Opportunity/Inclusion
• Customer Service
• Product Sales/Purchasing
• Compensation & Benefits
• Workplace Safety
• Non-disclosure

The number of and types of policies an organization should develop will depend on several factors including: the legal structure of an organization, the type of products and/or services sold and delivered, the staffing of the entity, whether there is a physical location, and so on.

Structure within growing companies is so essential to the company’s ability to ScaleUP. Systems help you to duplicate, grow, maintain good company health, retain quality staff and set the organization up to ScaleUP and/or be ripe for sale/exit (or both). The time spent creating and implementing these Policies and Procedures will result in having more time to focus on company growth and profitability.  Having the right Policies and Procedures in place will also address issues such as succession planning, expanding, etc.

ScaleUPCheckUP helps growing organizations create policies, procedures, manuals and so much more. We have many strategic partners whose sole focus is on building custom Policies and Procedures Manuals (systems) for ScaleUP businesses!

ScaleUPCheckUP is here and it is a game-changer.

The game is about to change – are you ready?

To ensure a solid foundation for growth, try our ScaleUPCheckUP assessment now: ScaleUPCheckUP.com/assessment.

And, ScaleUPCheckUP has built a vetted network of high-touch advisors – INCLUDING AMAZING POLICIES & PROCEDURES/SYSTEMS EXPERTS – who are at-the-ready to serve all of your business’s professional needs and, most importantly, to protect your business as you grow.

ScaleUPCheckUP’s blog, website, newsletter and other forms of communication contain general information about legal and related matters. The information is not legal advice and should not be treated as such. You must not rely on the information on this website as an alternative to legal advice from your attorney or other professional legal services provider. If you have any specific questions about any legal matter you should consult your attorney or other professional legal services provider.

The post Save Time and Position Your Company to ScaleUP appeared first on E-Council Global.