One of my absolute favorite platforms across social media was created by Khadeen and Devale Ellis, a black millennial married couple with three kids. I first learned about them on an episode of the OWN Network show Black Love and began following them immediately.
One of my favorite episodes of their web series, The Ellises, is “Devale vs. Two Kids.”
I can relate on soooo many levels to aaaaaaalll of this, being a millennial spouse and parent.
As I’ve followed Khadeen and Devale, they have become my friends-in-my-head and fellow commiserators on things related to live, love, and parenting. They have also become #businessgoals, because they’ve developed an amazingly successful brand that continues to grow and thrive.
So, I was really excited when I learned that they had started a podcast. The podcast, called Dead Ass, shares “honest and raw conversations about relationships, parenting, family, work life balance and everything in between.”
One recent episode, “For the Content Creators Out There…,” provided some advice that was just too good not to share. Khadeen and Devale basically talk about how they’ve grown their own brand. Today, they collectively have more than a million Instagram followers, 150,000 YouTube subscribers, and have been featured all over the place.
I’ve pulled out some of the important pieces of advice I heard on the podcast episode, though it is truly worth a full listen. I’ve included the episode at the end of this post.
Don’t focus on the comments – it is exhausting and unproductive.
Be authentic in whatever your content is.
Be cognizant of your brand and make your content digestible if you want to monetize your social media platform.
It doesn’t happen overnight–it takes ten years (!!) to become an overnight success.
Have a supportive partner, especially one who can fill the gaps and has the skills you lack.
They also have a conversation with Eric J. Dickens, the creator of the MakeUp X BreakUp web series. Eric’s web series is going into its third season and was recently added to BET Digital. The web series has about 30k YouTube subscribers and a few hundred thousand views.
Even with all these successes, Eric still has a full-time job, which he talked about on the show. This reminded me of a tweet I saw recently:
I don’t know who needs to hear this but a lot of your favorite entrepreneurs also have full-time jobs. You can do both.
I was really encouraged after listening to this episode, for some many reasons, and I hope you will be too. Keep it pushin, ya’ll.
What kinds of things do you struggle with as a content creator? Drop a comment and let me know! And, share this post with all of the content creators you love!
Trademark law is pretty convoluted these days, which makes it hard to know where to start thinking about protection and registration. Without getting too complicated, I’d like to explain the three ways you can protect your trademarks (which can include all kinds of things).
This may go without saying, but one of the best things you can do before going down any path is to talk to a trademark lawyer. Yeah, it’ll cost you, but that person can help you avoid some costly mistakes. The information here can help you have a more informed conversation.
The three ways a trademark can be protected or registered in the United States are: common law, state law and registration, and federal law and registration. I’ll talk about each one down below, bu I’m not going to cover international trademark options here.
Common Law Trademark Protection
Common law trademark protection happens automatically. Once you begin using a trademark that meets all of the basic requirements, you start to obtain something called “common law” trademark protection in the specific geographic location(s) where you are selling your products and/or offering them for sale.
If you’re selling products on one block in Brooklyn, your common law trademark protection starts to form in and around that block (this is kind of a fluffy standard).
You don’t have to do anything else – there’s no registration process for common law trademarks (meaning, its free!). The danger, of course, is that your protection is limited to that area. If someone in Staten Island, New Jersey, or New Mexico wants to use exactly the same trademark on exactly the same products or services, they can probably do that. The internet makes this a little bit more complicated, but the law is clear as mud on this point.
You can use the ™ symbol on your common law trademark – this communicates to others that you are staking your claim to it. There aren’t any restrictions on how you physically use it. Most of the time, however, it is located in the upper right hand corner, lower right hand corner, or level with the trademark. Using ™ doesn’t guarantee that your trademark is protected, but it provides a starting point to convey your intentions.
State Trademark Protection and Registration
You can also apply for trademark protection in your specific state.
Please keep in mind that if you go this route, you are only protected in the state where the application was approved. The application fee for a state trademark is usually a lot less expensive than the federal trademark application fee.
Federal Trademark Protection and Registration
Finally, federal trademark applications are filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). If you are successful in your application, your trademark will be protected nationwide. This is what most people think of when they hear anything about filing a trademark application.
The federal application process is more involved than the state process, which also makes it more expensive and time consuming. A licensed attorney can assist you with filing a federal trademark application, regardless of geographical location. If you use an attorney, make sure that person understands trademark law–this should be obvious, but I’ve seen some stuff, ya’ll….
You can also file the application yourself. Warning–the application process is deceivingly complicated. If you go this route, I’d highly recommend the NOLO Trademark book. It walks you step by step through the entire thing.
Once your mark is registered with the USPTO, you can stop using ™ and now use the ® symbol.
You may need to use one or more of these options at different stages in your business–they can be used separately or together. If you start with a federal trademark registration, though, you do not need a state-based application (because the federal registration applies in all 50 states).
If you have additional questions, please drop a comment and let me know!
For many business owners and entrepreneurs, one of the first decisions is what to name the new business, service, or product you’ll be selling. This name plays an important role in your business because it’s one of the first things your customers or clients will come into contact with, and you want to stand out!
Because of the important role that words and phrases play in this decision, it can be equally important to place some barriers around your logo and brand so that you can distinguish your products and services from those of your competitors.
For example, if Aquafina, Dasani, and Fiji water were all sold in identical clear glass bottles, how would know which one to buy? The trademarks help you identify where the water came from without opening up each bottle and tasting it first.
You can protect your trademarks so that you stand out in the marketplace and make it easier for your clients and customers to identify your products.
The most common way to protect words, phrases, logos, and other things is trademark law. Trademark law protects any word, symbol, slogan, or other designation” that identifies your company and distinguishes it from other companies.
A trademark can be anything — from the typical name or logo to a sound, motion, or smell. Basically, anything that is distinctive and separates you from the competition.
Some of my favorite examples of non-traditional trademarks registered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) are AKA’s skee-wee sound, goats on the roof of a restaurant, and the vertical opening of Lamborghini doors.
So when I said trademarks can be just about anything, I really meant anything.
Even though the definition of what can be a trademark is pretty broad, there are three specific requirements that have to be met to receive trademark protection:
you have to use the trademark first in commerce,
your trademark cannot be functional, and
your trademark must be distinctive.
First, you have to be the first to use the trademark with a specific category of products or services. What this means is that, even if there are 200 other uses of “bae” on the internet or registered with the USPTO, if no one is using the word to sell lampshades or something too similar, you are probably free to do so because you’re the first to use “bae” to sell lampshades.
Second, the designation can’t be “functional.” If it does something useful, or makes a product/service more aesthetically desirable, it isn’t protected by trademark law. For example, if you invent a new cell phone case that makes the phone’s screen harder to break, you probably can’t trademark that case’s design, because it has a function (making the screen harder to break).
Third, a designation has to be “distinctive.” There are four basic categories of distinctiveness: arbitrary/fanciful, suggestive, descriptive, and generic. The worst kind is generic – if a designation is generic it can’t be trademarked. Generic terms are essentially the words that tell us what a thing is — i.e., you can’t trademark the word APPLE to sell an apple.
Descriptive designations are only trademarkable if they have something called “secondary meaning.” Descriptive items identify characteristics or qualities of a product or service — i.e., QUICK PRINT for printing services or BEEF & BREW for restaurants that sell, you guessed it, red meat and beer.
Secondarymeaning basically looks into the minds of your customers – have you done enough marketing, advertising, and selling so that customers now associate the descriptive words with your company? If so, you may be able to protect the designation as your trademark.
Suggestive trademarks suggest, rather than describe, characteristics or qualities of a product or service. With these, you don’t have to prove secondary meaning. One example is COPPERTONE for suntan lotion – the trademark suggests that you will get a brown skin tone by using the product. These types of trademarks are easier to protect than descriptive trademarks because you don’t have to prove secondary meaning.
Arbitrary and fanciful trademarks are the strongest. An arbitrary trademark exists when you use a word or symbol that already exists in a completely unrelated context. Using the earlier APPLE example, APPLE for computers/phones is arbitrary. The word already exists, but a company is using it to sell products completely unrelated to the fruit.
Fanciful trademarks are treated similarly, but exist when you use a made-up word or symbol. An example would be KODAK for cameras. “Kodak” is a made up word that didn’t exist before the company created it as the trademark for its camera-related products.
These parameters should provide a basic starting point for thinking about the trademarks you have in your own company.
Also, if you are still struggling to understand these concepts, drop a comment below and I’ll do my best to answer your question!
Once you decide to start a business, one of the first decisions you’ll need to make is how your business will operate. You could just start selling your products or services without taking any additional steps. If you have something to sell, there aren’t many rules that keep you from just setting up shop.
Yep, that’s right. You can hang your shingle basically whenever you want.
<There are exceptions to this rule–for example: your state may have some license requirements depending on what you’re selling. Or, your neighborhood or city may have some restrictions on what kind of business you can operate out of your home>
Going the #ridingdirty route isn’t necessarily terrible, particularly if whatever you’re doing is low-risk and you aren’t sure how long you’ll continue.
BUT, most people should formalize their business with some kind of incorporation or registration.
**The term “incorporate” typically refers to creating a corporation, while “registration” refers to creating an LLC. For more on the difference between the two, check out my conversation with lawyer and professor Carliss Chatman.
You filed an application, which gives a state notice that you want to create a company.
The state reviewed that application and, if you met all the requirements, it officially registered your business in its database.
Here are three reasons why I think you should incorporate or register your business.
#1 It makes you legit.
If you want to be taken seriously as an entrepreneur by your clients, customers, and any other third parties (banks, investors, etc.), incorporation/registration helps. People view these businesses as more stable, more legitimate, and more trustworthy. Being able to use that LLC, Inc, Incorporated, etc. after the name of your business gives you street cred.
#2 It ensures your business can continue without you.
If you don’t formalize your business, what happens when you die? Or what happens if you get hit by a bus and end up in a coma for several months or years? If your company is literally you, without a separate formal structure around it, it dies when you die. An incorporated/registered business can continue no matter what happens to you.
#3 It protects your personal information and your assets.
A company that hasn’t been incorporated/registered isn’t doing you any real favors. If you have to sign contracts, or apply for any kind of registrations, or participate in any other number of business activities, you’ll probably have to share your personal information–including things like your social security number (an incorporated/registered business can have its own tax ID number) or your home address (an incorporated/registered business can have its own PO Box or separate address).
Formalizing the business, and taking the few additional steps of establishing separate identifying information for it, gives you anonymity and protects your personal information.
This can also protect your assets–things like your home, your car, and the money in your personal bank accounts. Formalizing your business is the single. best. way. to protect your stuff.
An incorporated/registered business has its own legal identity separate from yours. It incurs its own debts and liabilities. As Mitt Romney once said, “corporations are people, my friend” (he gave a horrible delivery and explanation, but he was basically *right* on the legal point).
Typically, if a business ends up in a lawsuit or being held responsible for some kind of activity, only the assets of that business, and not the personal assets of the business owner or shareholders, can pay the debt/liability. This essentially means that, as long as you’re careful to follow the rules, you can do business and take on the risks of doing business without worrying that you could lose your house and personal money if things go south.
Final thoughts
There are other benefits that I don’t touch on here, including taxes, deductions and raising capital. These things are complex and involve complicated tax and finance laws and regulations. For specifics, you should speak with a professional.
In general, however, if you’re planning to start and grow a business, it makes sense to incorporate/register. I created a database with a list of all of the state offices where you can learn more about how to do this in the U.S.
Have you formally incorporated/registered your business? Confused about when/where/how to do it? Drop a comment with your questions or experiences!
Did you know that Nike, Inc. used to be named “Blue Ribbon Sports”? Or that Google started out as “BackRub”? Imagine if we were going around today saying, “let me backrub that…” That would be weird.
These iconic companies started out the same way many companies do–with a great idea and a bunch of brainstorming about names. As you’re thinking about naming the company that is going to take your great idea to the next level, here are 4 things you must do: (1) google the name; (2) check for trademarks; (3) check for domain names and social media; and (4) check your secretary of state’s business registry.
#1. Google the name.
Once you’ve figured out a name you like, you should google it to see what other uses are out there. Now, it is impossible to be the first and only person on a planet of 7.5 billion people who wants to use certain words for a company. As my mother says all the time, ain’t nothing new under the sun.
You’ll probably find something, and that’s okay. Just because another person is using the name doesn’t mean you can’t. The real questions are: is naming your company whatever you want to name it ethical, and is it legal?
If there are too many instances of the same name out there, you may not be able to set yourself apart in the marketplace. And, if your name and brand are toooo close to someone else’s, you may end up with more headaches than you want, even if using the name is legal. If people think you’ve “stolen” someone else’s name, you may never hear the end of it on social media.
And, you don’t want to run afoul of trademark law, which in many countries is how people and companies protect names and phrases they want to use to do business. Leading to the second point….
#2. Check for trademarks.
In addition to googling the name, you should search the trademark database at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website if you’re in the US and/or planning on doing business in the US. This will show you if/where the name has been registered by others.
If your state has a searchable state trademark database (usually run by the Secretary of State’s Office – find a full list of them here), you should search that too. If it doesn’t, I wouldn’t be too pressed about it, for reasons I’ll mention below.
BUT AGAIN, just because the name is a trademark registered with the USPTO, that doesn’t mean you can’t use it. The real question is whether the name has been registered for the purpose you want to use it for. Trademark law only protects words/phrases for the specific way they are being used in connection with the sale of products and services.
For example, if I own a trademark in the word BRIDGE for my baking company, I typically can’t stop a person from using BRIDGE to sell shoes. This part of the equation can get a little complicated depending on what you find–this is where trademark lawyers come in.
A trademark lawyer can be worth their weight in gold on this, especially if there are a lot of other companies and people out there using the same name. But, obviously lawyers are very expensive. You’ll have to weigh how important the name is to you and whether it is worth paying a lawyer at this stage to help with this.
Even as a trademark lawyer myself, I don’t necessarily think you need one at this stage, unless you’re planning on pouring your life savings into this and there are a lot of similar companies out there using the same name in the space industry as you.
#3. Check for domain names and social media handles. And get them now.
Now, this step is often overlooked, but it is SOOOOO important. Please, please, PLEASE, check whether the domain name you want is registered. AND, make sure you can get the social media handles you want across the different platforms. There’s nothing worse than coming up with this great business name, doing everything you need to do, and not being able to communicate the way you want online.
If the domain names/social handles are available, buy/reserve them as soon as you believe you want to use them. Most domain names are less than $20/year (unless someone who already bought it for $20 or less is selling it for hundreds, thousands, or millions more), and social media handles are free.
You may have to get creative with these domain name/social media searches–the identical thing you’re looking for may not work, but some iterations could.
Take this site, for example….I named my company LVRG as a play on the word leverage. As of the time of this writing, LVRG.com is on sale for about $25,000 (by someone who probably DID originally get is for $20!). This isn’t an amount I’m ready or willing to pay right now, so I searched for LVRG.co, which at the time was also unavailable but about to expire. I set a calendar reminder for its expiration date, and once I saw that the owner wasn’t going to re-up, I bought it immediately.
I pray for the day where $25k for a domain name ain’t nothin but a thing for my business!
It is best to have a consistent brand from the outset. If you can snatch all of that stuff up quickly, DO IT. You don’t want to end up losing out on a domain name because you don’t consider all of this at the beginning.
#4. Search for the business name with the Secretary of State
In most states, the Secretary of State’s office (or an equivalent) is responsible for registering companies and managing the state’s trademark registration process.
If you’re ready to make your business official, you can go straight to registering the company with the Secretary of State. While each state has its own requirements, most will not allow two domestic businesses to operate with the exact same name. You can find out what names have already been taken by searching the business registry in the state where you plan to incorporate your business. You can find more on this, including a full list of all of the Secretary of State offices in the U.S. in this article.
If you’re not quite ready to make your business official, you can reserve the name of the business with the Secretary of State so no one else beats you to the punch. How long this reservation lasts depend on the state–it could be 30 days, 120 days, or some other time period.
Final thoughts
These tips for choosing a business name may seem detailed, but they can save you many headaches later on. The whole goal is to create a name and brand you’re excited about building and growing. If you do these things, you can protect yourself against setbacks related to your company’s name.
EVEN with all of this, stay calm and fluid in the early days, because you may re-brand your business many times over the years. Even Nike and Google started out with completely different names! (I’m on name number 3 or 4 myself!)
What other steps did you take when you named your business? Drop a comment below and let us know!
