Category Archives: Startup

How to Run a Simple Trademark Search

18 February 2010View Comments

intellectual property - trademarks

Credit: BigStockPhoto.com

Let’s say you’re in the U.S. You’re about to start a new business. You need to come up with the perfect business name for your new software development company. Oooh, I know! “Microsoft!” No, wait. We can’t do that, can we? That would be trademark infringement. Shoot!

You can’t simply go in and use the name of another company in your industry, or one that could be confusingly similar. A key element of trademark law is that your business name and other branding elements shouldn’t confuse consumers into thinking you’re someone else. In other words, you can get a free ride off of another company’s reputation.

Okay. That’s oversimplifying, but I’m not a lawyer and diving into the deeper realms of trademark law isn’t within our scope today. Instead, let’s talk about conducting a simple trademark search to see if you’re really free to use that great business name you came up with.

What is a Trademark Search?

 

 

registered trademark

Credit: BigStockPhoto.com

A trademark search is just the act of checking up on a business name or other potential trademark to make sure it’s not already being used in a confusingly similar way. There are registered trademarks — those officially registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). However, a trademark doesn’t have to be registered. It’s all about first use in business. Therefore a thorough trademark search would have to go beyond searching the USPTO’s database.

How to Conduct a Basic Trademark Search

While it’s always a good idea to hire an attorney specializing in intellectual property law before investing a lot of time and money into branding a new business venture, you can at least rule out some potential business names on your own. It’s relatively quick and easy. Here is the process:

  1. Visit the USPTO’s website (http://uspto.gov/).
  2. Click the link in the Trademark column that says “search marks.” This will take you to the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS).
    uspto

    Credit: USPTO.gov

  3. Click on “new user form search (basic).” This takes you to the basic search form pictured below.
    uspto tess search

    Credit: USPTO.gov

  4. Enter your search term and click the submit button. Enter “Microsoft” just to see an example. You’ll see a list of registered trademarks involving the word “Microsoft” (or whatever you typed in). Let’s look at an example with no trademarks registered — BizAmmo (a project I launched a few years ago). You’ll see there are no registered trademarks.

Yay! You found a name with no registered trademarks. Don’t get too excited though. Remember, a trademark holder doesn’t have to register their mark with the government for it to be valid. There’s still the first use issue to contend with. Here’s how to move on to the next step of your simple search.

  1. Go to Google (or your favorite search engine).
  2. Type in the keyword or phrase you want to check. I like to use quotes around the phrase in this search to bring up exact instances. Search for BizAmmo as an example. Darn. It looks like it’s already being used for something.
  3. If there are no results, try searching for very similar phrases (like a plural or singular or minor spelling changes). Make sure there is nothing too similar in use. If you did find results in your search, you can take a closer look. Are they in any way related to the industry, product, business, etc. that you wanted to use the name for? If so, it’s time to move on to the next idea. If not, you’re ready to consult with a trademark lawyer to determine if there’s a likelihood for confusion, or if you might be the first to use the trademark in your intended way.

Like I said before, I’m not a lawyer. This tutorial isn’t meant to provide you with a failsafe method of identifying trademarks and it isn’t meant to serve as legal advice. Keep in mind that trademark law is a complicated area and not all trademarks might be found in a Web search or USPTO search (think of a local competing small business that might not be on the Web).

Use this guide as a way to weed out business name and other trademark options with obvious infringement potential, and don’t assume that a lack of results is enough on its own to mean a trademark is yours for the taking. As mentioned, consult with an attorney who specializes in intellectual property law (or more specifically trademark law) when you’ve narrowed down your ideas before you invest a lot in your new venture, especially where international trademark issues might come up.

How To Find Small Business Grants!

03 January 2010View Comments

Credit: MychaelThompson

Credit: MychaelThompson

You must have seen several ads about how to get “free” money for your small business. Is there really free money available for your businesses?

While the government does offer grant money, it is not easy to qualify or receive as some may lead you to believe.  There are hundreds of scams out there that entice small business owners with the promise of free money, for a small fee.

These scams work by guaranteeing that you will get a small business grant or you will get all your money back.  They charge you a fee of about $50 for a packet with information on how to write your grant proposal and a list of organizations that can provide the grant you are looking for.  Unassuming business owners pay this fee and receive information with a list of organizations that don’t give any business grants.  When you try and get your money back, you find that the guarantee was just a hog wash.

Does that mean there are no small business grants?

There are, but are rare, and the information you need to find and apply for the legitimate grants is available “free” of charge. For businesses that qualify, there is a possibility of getting free grants from the county, state and city governments.  There are also some private corporations and foundations offering these grants.

Grants for Technology Startups

Businesses that stand the best chance of getting grants are technology startups. As long as they match the extremely stringent requirements, the federal government’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology (STTR) programs are there to help. They award more than $2 billion in grant funding each year.

Small Technology Focused Businesses

Many state and city governments offer grants for small businesses that focus on technology. In Ohio, TechColumbus offers grants to help entrepreneurs test their ideas and see if they can actually run a business. In Philadelphia, The Ben Franklin Partnership and in Gardiner, Maine, the Maine Technology Institute are just a few of the many organizations that help local tech companies out. Continue Reading →

Buying Websites: Beyond the Basics

02 July 2009View Comments

For Sale

Have you ever flipped or purchased an existing website? If you’re like many buyers in the webmaster community, you probably made your buying decision based on two primary factors:

  1. Traffic
  2. Income

Chances are also good that you negotiated a sale price based on income over a period of a certain number of months. For example, the price you paid may have been the equivalent of 10 months’ income from the site.

Website income

While that kind of strategy may be common in webmaster communities, it’s not necessarily smart business. By looking only, or predominantly, at a website’s income you neglect other significant value points and you risk passing up great opportunities for mediocre ones.

Think about buying websites more like purchasing an existing traditional business. You’ll find there’s a lot under the surface worth considering. For example, you might want to look at the site’s:

  1. Branding and visibility (think Twitter: poorly monetized, but major value through visibility)
  2. Authority status and content (authority content is worth more than generic keyword-stuffed content that would turn off real visitors)
  3. Staff (and whether or not any of that staff will remain on board for a period after the purchase–important if the audience draw is to the owner and not the site itself)
  4. Domain name (even if a site’s content isn’t particularly valuable to you, the domain name could have considerable value of its own, especially if it ties in well to your existing business and offers better branding possibilities)
  5. Competition and Niche (if the website is in a true gem of a niche that is just getting started but has long-term potential, the site carries more value than something in an oversaturated niche like mesothelioma)

Continue Reading →

The Intricacies Of A Successful Technology Startup!

28 June 2008View Comments

A successful technology start-up as well as growth happens only in a situation where there is a healthy marriage of strong business management and resources.

The primary objective is to identify high-potential business opportunities that are technology-incentive and ensure all the resources are well-organized. An attractive opportunity is one that has a valuable and technically feasible product, a large potential market, competitive advantage sustainability and also a proven business model. It can either be based on an incredible breakthrough in technology or even an advancement of an existing technology; and it can either create a totally new market or target an already existing market.

This requires the right vision, compelling strategies and most importantly perfect execution, which makes all the difference between a good company and a great company. A good leadership, putting together a good team to get it going and working towards achieving the goal can guide the venture to success. Good technology startups provide immense value to the users and bring huge returns to their creators and investors.

In a technology start-up, some of the founders should be technical people. There have been instances in several start-ups, where the founders had to even look for hackers to help them create their product as they did not have the required technical skills. In fact, it is said that technical people are more important than business people.

The main element of a startup is to create a product or provide a service that customers need, spending as little money as possible.

The three factors to be taken into consideration are:

• Who are the customers?
• What does the product/service deliver?
• How is the product/service better than the competitors?

Once the resources are in place, then it is time for a formal well-made business plan that details everything, right from the needs of the customers, the technological solution, the goals, raising capital for the venture, setting objectives and milestones as well as target markets etc. This plan also takes into consideration any unforeseen challenges that may lie ahead, rather than a perfect hurdle-less roadmap to success, such as a contingency plan for either cash or personnel. This gives a broad view of the future of the business and more importantly how successfully one can bring the company to see that visualized future. Continue Reading →

Starting a Business in the Travel Industry

26 December 2007View Comments

The travel industry is absolutely one of the world’s largest. Travel is responsible for multiple trillions of dollars on an annual basis, and maybe it’s time you found your place in this booming industry.

Unfortunately, becoming a successful member of the travel industry isn’t as simple as putting out your shingle and throwing your doors open to willing customers. You have to learn the ropes as well as establish exactly where in the hugely disjointed industry you want to specialize.

• Find Your Motivation
Your first step in finding success in the travel industry is to recognize exactly why you want to be there. Are you interested in earning some of the trillions changing hands? Are you looking to utilize your skills in the great outdoors? Perhaps you just like the idea of traveling yourself, perhaps with a discount or with others. Only when your motivation is clear can you move on to actually beginning steps toward your career.

• Establish a Focus
One you know why you want a career in the travel industry, you can begin to think about your area of specialization. If you love being outdoors and are looking for a way to be paid for rugged adventures, a bushwalking and adventure service might be right up your alley. If you’re simply in love with travel for yourself and want to help others find that same joy, consider opening your own travel agency for individuals or groups. You might also enjoy working as a tour guide.

The list of possibilities is truly endless. You can open a bed and breakfast, offer historic home tours, arrange snorkeling trips, organize entertainment on cruise ships, make gift baskets for prominent visitors, arrange group travel from home, and the list goes on. Spend some time thinking about your current skill set and where your interest lies. If your focus in on earning money, you need to take a step back from that to find an area where your passion and drive can sustain you through the initial period of a new business where profits may be sketchy at best.

Continue Reading →

Guide to Finding Home Business Opportunities

10 June 2007View Comments

Can you imagine being able to work from the comfort of your own home, doing something that you like and even getting paid for doing it. What else could you ask for? Working from home or home based business opportunities extend across a variety of fields, ranging from writing, programming, designing, and consultancy.

Working from home can have various orientations as well; however, the hot favorite is freelancing. A freelancer can be defined as a person who works, and gets paid by the hour, day, or a single consignment. A freelancer is not someone who works on a regular basis for an employer. Freelancing may have its own set of fluctuations as far as getting work or acquiring projects are concerned and it is completely understandable that a steady 9 to 5 job, increases a sense of security as you know exactly how much money you will receive at the end of each month or week., however, freelancing gives you the opportunity to stay flexible, be creative, and at the same time make some profits.

Thanks to the ever increasing growth and use of technology, it has become very simple to start and run a business from home. Technology has been successful in eliminating boundaries, and overcoming limitations caused due to geographic conditions. You can now serve the needs of a person or an organization which maybe located on the other side of the planet.

Please ensure that you have a dedicated workplace, at home; sitting close to the bed, watching television while you are compiling a document, making a list of groceries that you need to buy while working or simply sitting next to your children while they play might not entirely help your cause. Continue Reading →

How to Start an Online Business

04 June 2007View Comments

The internet is full of opportunities, but it’s possible you’re ready to leave the cubicle and restrictions of office life behind but don’t know where to start. If you’re ready to start an online business, give the following some consideration.

Research

The first thing to do when you’re ready to start an online business of any kind is to research the internet from the back office. You are already familiar with how the consumer side works, but do you know what all the webmasters do to make it tick? Visit forums, read articles, find books on the subject. Learn all you can about internet marketing to prepare yourself. If you jump in before you’re ready, you will end up wasting a lot of time and money.

At the same time, don’t expect to learn everything. There are too many business opportunities and money making options online to ever learn about all of them. Start with the basics such as affiliate marketing, blogging, directories and ecommerce to get a feel for the industries. Plan to continue researching and growing throughout your entire online career – it is absolutely essential. Continue Reading →