Not sure how to protect your brand? No worries…I have some tips for you below.

Hey, my fellow entrepreneur! 

In the ever-evolving landscape of entrepreneurship, safeguarding your brand goes beyond mere reputation management; it involves mitigating liability and protecting your brand assets to ensure long-term sustainable growth. Therefore, I've curated the top three (3) tips /  strategies that not only uphold your brand's integrity but also shield it from liability concerns:

#1 - NEVER DO BUSINESS PERSONALLY EXPOSED

Depending on the state your business was formed in, you may have to file annual reports to maintain protection and if you fail to file those reports, the state could administratively dissolve your business. Now, of course, this is problematic because one of the primary reasons you incorporate is to leverage the “corporate veil” to shield your personal assets from potential harmful activity that may arise from the business but if that shield is removed, you’d be exposed personally as well as your personal assets so be sure to keep up with your entities and any filing requirements to ensure you remain compliant. 

For example, I had a client that was in a contract dispute with a supplier that advanced $1.5M in product for her business and the supplier ultimately ended up filing an action against my client but the entity had recently dissolved and the supplier named my client, personally, as the defendant. Luckily for the client, her operating company was the contracted party and that was active and compliant so the parties ultimately reached a settlement. 

And, also, don’t forget about the Corporate Transparency Act that went into effect this year. I sent an overview email on the CTA so go check it out, if you haven’t but get that done also, if you’re required to file.

#2 - OWN & PROTECT YOUR SMARTS #IP

Can you imagine spending all your time, effort and money building a brand for it to be taken away? Like, you’ve built your financial future in a business and you don’t own the brand name? 

I know a lot of entrepreneurs that think - “Oh, this will never happen to me.” #wrong…sadly, it happens all the time but before I get you the sauce, here are a few myths we need to bust..

1. Just because you form the business name in your state does not mean you also own the name of the business nationally. You need a trademark to extend the brand name nationally. 

2. Just because you own the domain name does not mean you own the brand name. You need a trademark to exclusively own the name. 

3. Just because the social media handle is available does mean you own the brand name. You need a trademark to exclusively own the name. 

Now, there are 5 forms of Intellectual Property: 

1. Patents - protect inventions and last 20 years. #georgeformangrill 

2. Trademarks - protects your brand name, logo, slogans, etc. that are associated with the sale of your products and/or services. There’s a reason why there’s only one Starbucks, one Target, one Nordstrom - because they have trademarks and own the name exclusively. 

3. Copyrights - protect tangible creative expressions such as books, photos, music, etc. 

4. Right of Publicity - protect the name, image and likeness of a person (also known as NIL) from unauthorized commercialization, which has exploded recently for college athletes for which they now can get compensated for the use of their NIL. 

5. Trade Secrets - protects commercially viable information that is only known by a limited number of stakeholders. The most famous trade secrets are the KFC and Coca-Cola recipes. 

At the end of the day, you can’t protect what you don’t own. If you need help with your trademark or copyright registration, feel free to give me a shout.

#3 - OWN & PROTECT YOUR SMARTS #IP

In 2024, I’m still surprised that there are a ton of entrepreneurs that are doing business with either no contracts or out-dated contracts. Yikes! 

So, here are the top contracts every business should have: 

1. Founder Agreement and other Governing Documents - depending on your entity type,  you should have clear principal agreements such as an Operating Agreement, Shareholder Agreement, Buy-Sell Agreement and Bylaws (if structured as a C-Corp or Non-Profit). 

2. Non-Disclosure Agreement - if you frequently share confidential information, then you should have a standard NDA template to provide to third parties. There are two types of NDAs - (1) Unilateral - meaning only one party shares confidential info, and (2) Mutual - meaning both parties will be sharing confidential info to be covered by the NDA. 

3. Service Agreement (Client-Facing) - this agreement is imperative and takes many forms such as a Professional Services Agreement, Consulting Agreement, etc. 

4. Independent Contractor / Employment Agreement - anytime you hire a 1099 contractor, you should also have an IC that covers all material aspects of the relationship. 

5. Website Terms and Conditions - depending on your business model, you’ll have either Terms of Use or Terms of Service to include chargeback and refund policies. It’s important to keep these updated and align with any other agreements you have clients / customers execute to avoid conflicting language. 

I hope this helps, as you continued to think through how best to protect and scale your brands!

Bobby Robinson, Esq.
bobbyrobinson.co | @iambobbyrobinson

How I Help Entrepreneurs:

[ 1 ] Through my events: I have free events (with some paid opportunities) all throughout the year to help with things like business structure, trademarks and more. Check it out:

[ 2 ] With trademarks: I help proactive entrepreneurs that don’t want to wait until their brand is stolen (or they’re forced to re-brand because someone has registered a brand you started). Click here to book a complimentary brand protection session with us and we’ll guide you through the process.

[ 3 ] With contracts: If your contracts have not been reviewed by an attorney in awhile, happy to give those a look over. Send me an email at [email protected] and attach a copy of the contract, and one of my team members will provide a quote for either review and comment or review, comment and editing.

[ 4 ] By helping them hit their first six figures: Six figures seems to be the “I made it - revenue mark” for many entrepreneurs but the sad reality is that the average annual revenue for a solopreneur is $46K and only 13% of businesses achieve that mark (and I’ve done it several times). So, if you’re ready to join the 13%, then check out my B-Unstuck Course, where you’ll learn the skills, tools and systems needed to hit your first six figures in business. Enroll here. 

[ 5 ] With excellent business mentorship: You’re making at least $100K and you’ve realized that you’ve gotten the most out of the free webinars or just hit a plateau and are ready for the next level - coaching and mentorship. The MILLIE Collective is a suite of coaching and mentorship programs to fit your needs from Private, Group or a VIP Day, there’s something for everyone. Check out programs here.