CLARIFICATION for above video. An entrepreneurial venture that is part of a larger organization like a school district, university, hospital, or company would use the marketing, legal, and accounting services that are already a part of your parent organization. Those services are still needed, but you don’t have to find your own.
Creating a great product or service is never enough. You need to market it to create awareness and demand, brand it give it a memorable identity, and protect it and yourself through responsible legal avenues. These are that LAST things you want to think about, and they may be areas you don’t understand or that terrify you. In each of these areas, it’s common to get help from colleagues, consultants, and companies who specialize in that area. In the creation of my own foundation, I hired an experienced legal firm because I’m new to foundation law. Below are brief narratives to provide context and links to follow to find out more. Follow the links that interest you because some will apply to your situation and some will not.
Building a Brand
A brand is more than logo, it can provide instant recognition of your venture and a connection to the values surrounding it. Your brand stands for who you are as much as the product or service that you offer. Your brand represents your venture, it is not your venture. Work to make your venture all you hope, then work to make your brand an iconic representation of the venture and what you want it to mean to your market. Here’s a too-long video that I find annoying but that captures vignettes of insight and wisdom. Watch at least half of it, stop when you’ve had enough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPSU2DDqjLk
Creating a Market
Marketing your product is a well-studied topic, so there are MANY resources to help you figure out your marketing strategy. The specific message is still up to you, but you can spread your message effectively through the strategies in these two links:
- A Forbes article on the basic 5 marketing approaches for startups. There’s no mystery or hocus-pocus. The ideas include e-mail, blog, social media, pay-by-click like Google adwords, and (this is from “killer plan” below) influencers: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/05/30/five-essential-marketing-strategies-for-any-startup/
- Creating a killer marketing plan (lots of ads and other junk, but the steps are good): https://www.business.com/articles/startup-killer-marketing-plan/
Selecting an Attorney
Your attorney serves three or four purposes. First, to create more than a single proprietorship in your name, you need to observe the laws of your state and community to set up your venture so you can legally do business. Second, as issues arise, your attorney will know your business and can give you effective legal advise. Third, if legal challenges arise like a lawsuit against your venture, your attorney can protect you. Finally, if you and your board and/or trustees all disappear, your attorney will be the one to either continue or terminate your entity, legally disbursing any assets and covering any liabilities. This is particularly important in a non-profit venture where assets are legally protected from taxation and from spending on anything other than charitable causes (or causes stated in legal papers).
First Legal Questions for Innovative Entrepreneurs
Two decisions loom early for entrepreneur. First, will my organization be a profit or non-profit entity? Second, if a profit entity, will the company be just you, or will you create a company separate from you and your personal finances and control. A profit-making company may be set up as a sole proprietorship (just you), a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or a corporation (INC). If you’re starting very small, here’s guidance on going with a sole proprietorship or an LLC: https://www.thestreet.com/personal-finance/education/sole-proprietorship-vs-llc-14821236
Selecting an Accountant
Speaking of taxation! If your for-profit entity is a sole proprietorship, then your company assets are treated as your assets. In Pennsylvania, if your company name is a variant of your name (maybe how Heinz Ketchup began), you don’t even have to register the company name. You just conduct business as if you were doing it personally. My “Garrigan Consulting” business did not need to be registered anywhere in Pennsylvania. I use my personal social security number as the business’s EIN (entity identification number), and I file business income and expenses when I prepare my personal income tax. But …
If your entity is registered as an LLC, corporate, or non-profit, I highly recommend the use of an accountant to keep personal finance separate from business finance. As I open my non-profit foundation, additional tax procedures must be followed for which the entity is liable. I recommend an accountant who is experienced with the kind of business you have. I want an accountant who is experienced with non-profit organizations that have 501(c)(3) status.
Your attorney and your accountant are necessary expenses to run anything more than a sole proprietorship. The laws governing the separation of accounts, what can be taxed, and at what rate are complex, and you may be legally liable for errors you make. Note that errors made in good faith are rarely criminally punished, but interest, fees, and fines may be assessed.
Protecting your Intellectual Property
The U.S. Government recognizes four kinds of intellectual property: patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. Let’s look at how each may affect you?
- trade secrets: An entrepreneurial company may have trade secrets if the protected knowledge of the company is what defines the company. If your flavored coffee business has a secret formula (like Coca-Cola does), that’s a trade secret. It is protected without time limit.
- trademarks: The Coca-Cola logo and the Apple logo are registered trademarks, and no one else may use them to market their company, products, or services. Trademarks are also protected without time limit.
- patents: An engineering startup may invent a new machine or chemical process. To protect the rights to their invention, they apply to the U.S. Patent office. A patent lasts for 20 years.
- copyright: A graphic artist’s or musician’s work is automatically copyrighted, as is any “creative work.” Your venture may need to protect its creative work, or you may need to know that you may only use the creative work of others with their written permission. Works protected under Creative Commons or in the Public Domain may be used without that written permission. If you operate a non-profit or teach/tutor, then rules of fair use may come into play. New copyrights last for 140 years past the death of the creator.
Intellectual property law is a specialty, so if your venture deals with intellectual property, the services of an IP attorney may be required. For example, that’s who would file a patent application.