Businesses are incorporated/registered with the Secretary of State’s office (or an equivalent office, depending on the state) where you have an address and plan to do business. The Secretary of State’s office is responsible for all kinds of things, including elections, keeping official state records, and, most importantly for you, incorporating companies and managing the state’s trademark registration process.
You don’t have to incorporate or register your business in the state where you live, but it can make sense for many people. This is because you’ll have to identify a “registered agent” with an address in the state to receive legal notices about your business (this may come from the Secretary of State, court system, or other state agencies or offices).
Many people starting out use themselves and home address for this purpose. Another common registered agent choice is a lawyer/law firm.
In choosing the state where you incorporate or register your business, considerations include:
Secretary of State application fees
Annual filings and fees
State taxes (including state income taxes and franchise taxes)
How friendly the state’s laws and courts are to businesses (this is why you hear about Delaware, Wyoming and Nevada as “business friendly” states, and why many companies are incorporated there)
Investor strategies (some investors may even require that a company is incorporated in one of the three states mentioned above)
Each state has its own requirements, fees and taxes, and there’s a Secretary of State or something like it in nearly every state and U.S. territory.
Peep the list below for all of the Secretary of State offices and their contact information. You can view and download the full directory via Google Sheets by clicking this link.
If you’ve gone through this process, drop a comment and let us know about your experience!
What’s the last question, challenge or need you had in your life? For me, I needed a pair of water shoes for the beach. Like many people living in today’s digital world, I went straight to Google and then to Amazon.com reviews. I didn’t care too much about what the different shoe companies had named their shoes or how nice their websites were, though I did visit websites and that kind of thing. I really just wanted a pair of water shoes that would hold up at the beach, decently match multiple outfits, and dry quickly. I visited a few websites, read a few pages of reviews, and made my decision based primarily on my three needs.
This benign experience holds an important lesson for people selling things to others. Nobody cares about your product. They care about how you’re going to improve their lives. We’re living in a time where people are stressed and trying to do it all, and they need help!
As you think about what you’re doing in your own business, how are you communicating about your products or services? Are you talking about how smart, great and successful you are, or are you coming from a place of service that allows you to help other people?
People don't want to use your software.
They want to lose weight, laugh, be entertained, get smarter, spend time with loved ones, go home on time, sleep adequately, eat good food, be happy.
Your product is only as good as the experiences it enables people to have.
Go look at what your marketing materials, your website, and your social sites. Are you helping people have better lives and experiences?
Successful entrepreneurs have figured out that, no matter what their products are, they are selling solutions to problems.
Melissa Butler, founder of The Lip Bar LLC, walks through this in a recent Essence interview. I remember seeing Melissa get rejected by all of the sharks on Shark Tank a few years ago and thinking what a big mistake they had all made.
After this experience, Melissa kept it pushing, and today her company is thriving. The Lip Bar just announced that their products are available in more than 450 Target stores nationwide, and they also opened a store in downtown Detroit earlier this year.
In the article, Essence asks Melissa, “For other young women of color looking to enter the beauty entrepreneur realm, what would be your advice to them?“
There’s a lot to her answer, but the part that stuck out to me was this quote:
You need to know the purpose and the unique value proposition of whatever it is that you’re offering: What problem are you solving for people? What are the strengths you can bring to the table?
Nobody wants to hear about how great you are–they really want to know how you can help them.
As you’re building and growing your personal brand and business, how can you help others, and how are you going to communicate that widely and often? Frame your marketing materials and your conversations in terms of solutions to problems, gateways to experiences, and tools for your customers/clients to have better lives.
What solutions are you solving for your customers or clients? Drop a comment below to let me know.
Please give as much information as you can in response to these questions. I’d be happy to share more tools and resources that help you get what you want. And, I know the other folks reading this can learn from your experiences! We are all in this together.
I always say that I’m on a mission to build a nation of good people with dynamic personal brands and successful businesses. We can learn from each other on this journey, particularly when we have accountability partners. This is why I am building a whole nation of them.
Download the app
You can connect to the the private community I’ve created to provide support and encouragement along the journey–online and via app. Check us out at programs.shontavia.com or via the Mighty Networks App.
Download the Mighty Network app by clicking here. Once it downloads, click “Find a Mighty Network” and search for Shontavia Johnson. You’ll find content there that I may not share elsewhere.
Thank you so much for joining me on this roller coaster of an experience. I am eternally grateful that I get to do this work with wonderful people each day.
I love creatives and creators. They are constantly pushing boundaries, developing things the world has never seen, and sharing their talents with the rest of us. Some are so committed to sharing their work with the world via social media and other platforms that they don’t stop to assess the value of their work or how to immediately monetize it.
The most overlooked asset for a lot of creators and entrepreneurs is intellectual property.
Intellectual property is basically the stuff you’ve created using your brain. Your list of customers, the things you’ve posted on social media, the catchy slogan, logo or jingle you made….all of this is the way you’re setting yourself, your brand, and your company apart in the marketplace.
Maybe its the customer service script you read when you talk to customers or the text of your landing page online. Perhaps its the really awesome book you wrote that is selling thousands of copies on Amazon.com. It could be fabulous jewelry you’re making for men and women to wear. These things are why your customers love you and why you’ll make more money than your competition.
While no one wants to get unnecessarily bogged down and delayed with red tape, forms, and high legal fees, it is definitely worth your time to develop a strategy for your work’s intellectual property and monetary value (especially if, like me, you have to be compensated to eat, live, and survive).
I can’t state enough the importance of owning your intellectual property. It is so important that Oprah Winfrey has attributed much of her success to owning her own intellectual property (through owning her own show when she first got started). Jeff Jacobs, the president of Harpo, Inc. (Oprah’s company) has stated that Harpo is ultimately an “intellectual property company.” Do you see where I’m going with this?
Surprisingly, though, a lot of people never take the steps to ensure that another person or company can’t swoop in to take credit for and monetize their work. The goal of this post is to help you identify the intellectual property in your own company so you can take the critical steps to protect yourself and your business.
Re. intellectual property, the most common types are copyrights, trademarks, patents and trade secrets:
Copyright law protects tangible, original works including things like art, poetry, books, movies, songs, videos, computer software, and architecture. Some components of a company’s website might also be included.
Trademark law protects words, phrases, symbols, or designs that you use in the marketplace to distinguish your products and services from your competitors. This might be a logo, word or words, or even a color, scent or sound. Think Nike’s symbol or the word “Apple” for computer products.
Patent law protects inventions that are new and useful. The invention must also not be obvious to others in the field.
Trade secret law encompasses confidential or classified information including formulas, practices, processes, designs, instruments, patterns or compilations of information that give your business an economic advantage over competitors. Think KFC’s fried chicken recipe or Coca-Cola’s formula for coke.
Used right, these areas of law can help you add tons of value (financial and otherwise) to your business. They can also protect you and your business. Think of it this way — if you’d be pissed that a competitor started using something you created, you probably want to protect it. Protecting your intellectual property could save you a lot of time, headaches and money as your business grows.
Not all types of intellectual property are important for every person or business, but most people are surprised at how much intellectual property their business actually has and how valuable it is.
So how do you know what is relevant for your business? The answer to this question really depends on your circumstances and the type of business you are building. A simple place to start is by asking the following questions:
What types of original things have I created and written down on paper?
How do I connect with my customers and how do I distinguish myself from my competitors (via logos, songs, words, slogans, etc.)?
Have I invented anything new and useful that I haven’t seen in the marketplace? Keep in mind here, however, that just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
Are there secret things that give me a competitive advantage with my customers?
Please give as much information as you can in response to these questions! I’d be happy to share more tools and resources that help you get what you want. And, I know the other folks reading this can learn from your experiences! We are all in this together.
I always say that I’m on a mission to build a nation of good people with dynamic personal brands and successful businesses. We can learn from each other on this journey, particularly when we have accountability partners. This is why I am building a whole nation of them.
Download the app
You can connect to the the private community I’ve created to provide support and encouragement along the journey–online and via app. Check us out at programs.shontavia.com or via the Mighty Networks App.
Download the Mighty Network app by clicking here. Once it downloads, click “Find a Mighty Network” and search for Shontavia Johnson. You’ll find content there that I may not share elsewhere.
Thank you so much for joining me on this roller coaster of an experience. I am eternally grateful that I get to do this work with wonderful people each day.
You have the power to get my South by Southwest® (SXSW®) panel proposals approved for SXSW 2020 and SXSW EDU 2020. Please, please click on each of the links below to vote, AND be sure to share with your networks so they can do the same. Voting ends on August 23rd. Thank you!
HOW TO VOTE: Click “VOTE UP” on the left side of the screen once you click the links below. The “VOTE UP” box will turn yellow as a confirmation of your vote. If you don’t already have a SXSW account, you’ll have to create one. Thank you in advance for your help!!
**FYI: I am part of seven total SXSW/SXSW EDU pitches. I’d certainly appreciate you voting for all seven. If you get voting fatigue, please at least vote for #1! Thank you!
Tonya Evans, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Director of the UNH Law Blockchain Online Professional Certificate Program, UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law
Twitter represents a frenetic dichotomy for black women. On one hand, Twitter is a place to converse publicly and build community. The success of Black Twitter is but one example of how black women thrive in the Twitterverse. On the other hand, Twitter can be dangerous for black women. A 2018 Amnesty International study found that black women are Twitter’s most targeted group. It showed that black women are 84% more likely than white women to receive abusive tweets. It also labeled 1 in 10 tweets about Black women as abusive or problematic, with those tweets being sent every 30 seconds. Our panel will address this Twitter dichotomy. From the research, to having a large following, to going viral, this diverse group of panelists will explore the present and future of black women on Twitter.
Today’s political climate inextricably links the tech industry to politics, despite the industry’s resistance to threats of hacking, foreign influence, and #fakenews. Disruptive technologies like AR, VR, machine learning, and blockchain can address these threats. The presidential hopeful who best understands and leverages these tools will be the last candidate standing, if history is any indicator.
This panel of experts explores the phenomenon of candidates winning unwinnable presidential elections by using disruptive technology. It also identifies strategies that 2020 candidates can adopt to leverage disruptive technology. This includes both campaign integration and proposed policies, particularly the regulation of tech companies and “corpocurrencies” like Facebook’s Libra.
Tonya Evans, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Director of the
UNH Law Blockchain Online Professional Certificate Program, UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law
In a digital society, the very foundation of democracy relies on citizens and institutions to understand the digital. Schools, colleges, companies, and governments all play a critical role in developing a common language about digital media. Evidence suggests that despite the rapid diffusion and adoption of digital technologies, public discourse has not figured out how to train, educate and model meaningful discussion about the digital. In this panel, a group of scholar-practitioner-activists will lead the audience on a journey of agenda setting. What would a public education campaign about digital media and economies look like? And, what institutions do we need to build for ethical leadership of digital media discourses that affect everyone’s lives?
Tonya Evans, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Director of the UNH Law Blockchain Online Professional Certificate Program, UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law
Many teachers and academics have cultivated a deep base of knowledge
in the fields that they teach and/or research but may not consider
themselves “experts.” If Malcolm Gladwell is right that it takes 10,000
hours to achieve mastery in any given field, most people are experts in
something once they’ve put in the time. This panel will outline how
teachers and academics can use their knowledge to become well-known
experts, with opportunities for speaking, consulting, and book
publishing.
Tonya Evans, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Director of the UNH Law Blockchain Online Professional Certificate Program, UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law
Delivery of education and related services is being disrupted and transformed. Educators who want to remain relevant in the future must make the shift now. This panel of experts will explore web-based classrooms, as well as blockchain other technologies poised to deliver education and credential verification more efficiently, effectively and less expensively. and its impact on the future education and the students we educate. The future is now.
Tonya Evans, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Director of the UNH Law Blockchain Online Professional Certificate Program, UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law
In today’s world, the very foundation of democracy relies on citizens and institutions to understand the digital. Schools, colleges, companies and governments play a critical role in developing common language about digital media. The stakes are high. We can’t govern tech companies if we don’t have a public language to talk about tech and values. In this panel, a group of scholar-activists will lead you on a journey of agenda setting. How do we talk about the stakes of a technological society?
Higher education is experiencing a renaissance in leadership and professional development training. While the corporate sector has an extensive history of leadership development, there are challenges unique to university culture that require innovative strategy. From cultivating intrapreneurs, to providing upward mobility within the university, to preparing leaders for the corporate sector, this session offers strategies for universities interested in creating and expanding leadership programs.
The PanelPicker is a two-step online process that allows the SXSW community to have a significant voice in programming conference activities (presentations, panels, discussions, demonstrations, etc.) for SXSW and SXSW EDU.
When you google the term “personal brand,” roughly 7,660,000,000 search results crop up. I’d say this makes the concept pretty popular among interneters. For years, I really didn’t know how to define/quantify what it meant to have a personal brand–I knew I probably needed one, but I didn’t know how to go about getting it, identifying it, creating it, or growing it.
For me, the concept immediately brought to mind a kinda-true-but-kinda-fake persona with lots of selfies and travel photos on social media (with hundreds of thousands or millions of followers) who appeared to have it all together.
After years of doing the painstaking work of figuring out my where I fit in on the personal brand spectrum, I think about the concept very differently now.
The term “personal brand” was coined in 1997 by Tom Peters in a Fast Company article titled “The Brand Called You,” and the concept has exploded since then. Tom basically told readers that we all need to think of ourselves as the”CEO of Me.” Here’s my favorite paragraph in the article:
Forget your job title. Ask yourself: What do I do that adds remarkable, measurable, distinguished, distinctive value? Forget your job description. Ask yourself: What do I do that I am most proud of? Most of all, forget about the standard rungs of progression you’ve climbed in your career up to now. Burn that damnable “ladder” and ask yourself: What have I accomplished that I can unabashedly brag about? If you’re going to be a brand, you’ve got to become relentlessly focused on what you do that adds value, that you’re proud of, and most important, that you can shamelessly take credit for.
Thanks, Tom. I’m with it, but some of this original concept feels a little uncomfortable, especially the part about bragging.
The “personal brand” concept has matured some since 1997. Among the current 7.6 billion Google search results is the Wikipedia explanation, which says that a personal brand is “an ongoing process of developing and maintaining a reputation and impression of an individual, group, or organization.” The Wikipedia article goes on to talk about marketing and packaging yourself, kinda like how you’d do with a pair of shoes or the new iPhone.
Wikipedia’s perspective gets me a li’l closer to something that feels comfortable, but it still sounds a little contrived. If this is literally me, why do I have to create, develop or package? Why can’t I just show up in the world? Also, what about everybody else? This all seems pretty self-centered.
Where I’ve settled, and what I suggest to my clients, falls somewhere in between “just showing up in the world” and developing/marketing/packaging myself as a product for sale to the highest bidder.
The sweet spot for a personal brand where there is overlap between:
How you see yourself
How others see you
Where you are positively impacting the lives of others
How you see yourself
This kind of approach requires that you first do the hard work of self-reflection to determine how you see yourself. There a few questions you can ask yourself if you have trouble articulating this.
How am I showing up in the world on my end?
What am I constantly giving advice to others about?
Where am I getting the most questions or requests?
What kinds of questions do I want to be answering for others?
What problems are you solving for other people? Yourself?
How others see you
After answering these questions, the next step is to figure out how everyone else sees you. One of the best places to start is with your trusted tribe–people with opinions you value, who actually know you, and who will give you honest feedback.
I’d pick people who have known you at varying times in your life, your friends from high school, college, your family, your colleagues, your work friends, and I’d ask them two questions: #1 What are my three best qualities? #2 What am I good at?
The overlap between these things is where your personal brand currently exists. If there is no overlap, or the overlap looks differently from your vision, you have some work to do!
It is common that, unless you’ve been pretty intentional, your family/friends/co-workers will mostly describe characteristics and qualities about you. They know you’re amazing and have great personal traits. But, do they know where your professional expertise lies? If not, you’re halfway there but you have to get intentional about communicating your expertise.
Where you are impactful
Finally, even though the term is “personal brand,” the most important thing about your personal brand is how you are serving other people and positively impacting their lives.
Yeah, this is about your brand and your reputation, but your personal brand is really only as impactful as your ability to add value for other people.
Forbes ran an article recently that offered excellent advice for using your personal brand in service of others. The article’s advice suggests that we do seven things:
Share knowledge.
Give advice.
Provide real-time support.
Express gratitude.
Include others.
Give feedback.
Be a mentor.
One you have the opportunity to think about and refine your personal brand, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section. In particular:
Think about your past experiences. What are you constantly giving advice about that could form the foundation for your personal brand?
What are you actually great at? Is there a group of people who need your help in improving their lives?
Please give as much information as you can in response to these questions! I’d be happy to share more tools and resources that help you get what you want. And, I know the other folks reading this can learn from your experiences! We are all in this together.
I always say that I’m on a mission to build a nation of good people with dynamic personal brands and successful businesses. We can learn from each other on this journey, particularly when we have accountability partners. This is why I am building a whole nation of them.
Download the app
You can connect to the the private community I’ve created to provide support and encouragement along the journey–online and via app. Check us out at programs.shontavia.com or via the Mighty Networks App.
Download the Mighty Network app by clicking here. Once it downloads, click “Find a Mighty Network” and search for Shontavia Johnson. You’ll find content there that I may not share elsewhere.
Thank you so much for joining me on this roller coaster of an experience. I am eternally grateful that I get to do this work with wonderful people each day.
