Many of you are looking for ways to promote your business product or service without spending a lot of money. Here are 48 things I’ve done to promote my business with no advertising budget.
Give your service away for free – with caution.
Lead a workshop through your local church, Chamber of Commerce, or civic group.
Start a free newsletter.
Create a 20, 40 and 60-minute presentation on your area of expertise.
Speak to a group 2-3 times a month.
Host a bonfire and brainstorming bash on your topic area.
Send an op-ed piece to your local newspaper or business publication.
Submit an article to 30 different magazines and newspapers. Use the Writer’s Market for leads: Writer’s Market
Send out press releases: Press Releases
Do something newsworthy.
Give away a one-hundred point check-list for success in your area of expertise.
Give away free audio CDs on your specialty. Tell people everything you know about achieving success in that area.
Develop an customer intake information form.
Offer to help someone in the news who could use your help.
Be an expert on a local radio show.
Join a local professional organization.
Have three basic programs and pricing packages.
Be clear on what you can and cannot provide.
Identify 30-40 referral sources. Become a resource of information for them.
Immediately acknowledge a referral.
Send creative thank-you gifts to referrals.
If you are looking for corporate clients, use Nurture Marketing: Nurture Marketing
Practice the skill of converting leads to clients.
Underpromise – Overdeliver.
Develop a great logo:
Use Fusion Marketing. Identify other companies that have the same kind of target clients and the same standards of excellence that you have.
Experiment with talk radio ads.
Find targeted mailing lists. USA Data Lots of them available.
Have an exhibit booth at connected trade shows.
Check prominent speakers’ schedules. Often there is an opportunity to have a booth at the back of the room.
Continue contact with your customers. Do 90-day, 6-month checkups.
Have an updated website for easy access to information.
Send birthday cards, anniversary of first purchase, benchmarks, etc.
Join three organizations whose members would be ideal clients for you.
Have clear personal goals – and honor them for success in all life areas.
Have lunch twice a week with someone you can learn from.
Write at least one note of encouragement each day to someone.
Generate so many business requests that you can comfortably select where you will be most effective – and then refer the rest to other appropriate businesses.
Ask for the order – be fearless; you’ve got to close the sale!
Get to know the top competitors in your field.
Email communication with 10 other people doing the same thing you are this month.
Have a personal MasterMind group or group of advisors.
Be extremely intentional about the use of your time. Plan for research and reading, personal growth, relaxation, physical health, etc.
Recognize that 20% of your work time in the first year should be spent in marketing.
Attend 2-3 major conferences each year.
Read 3-4 magazines each month. You need to stay informed for intelligent conversations with your clients. Try Fast Company, INC, Success, Entrepreneur.
Start a great magazine in your specialty.
Have an amazing “Elevator Speech.”
You don’t have to do all 48. Just pick 4-5 and do them very well.
Permalink
Be sure to see all our latest wholesale arrivals @ http://savesucash.com/
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
How To Go From Worker Bee To Entreprenuer Wannabe
When it comes to careers and business, my radio show partner and author of the best selling career advice book “48 Days To The Work You Love”, Dan Miller, is a walking, talking encyclopedia of precise industry statistics.
While I’ve always been comfortable using such statistically noncommittal terms as “many, most, and some,” Dan prefers to remember and espouse accurate numbers.
I’ve told him time and again that most people don’t mind fuzzy statistics. He keeps telling me that 58.9 percent prefer to have accurate numbers. Who can argue with math like that?
For example, Dan tells me that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that within the next 10 to 15 years 50% of the American workforce will be working in non-traditional careers.
Instead of being a nation of nine-to-fivers we will be moving toward a union of consultants, freelancers, contractors, temporary workers, and telecommuters; and don’t forget part-time and fulltime entrepreneurs.
Other surveys over the years have shown that a good portion (sorry Dan) of Americans dream of starting their own business.
And who would expect them to wish otherwise. Business ownership is, after all, the American Dream, the pathway to success, the road to financial freedom: for some people (and no, I don’t know the exact number, Dan).
What the surveys don’t say is that the majority of those people who yearn to be entrepreneurs aren’t qualified to start a business and even if they did make it past the initial startup phase they’d be out of business within a year.
So if you’re among those who are contemplating a move into business now or in the future how can you be sure if it’s the right move for you? Before you chuck an absolutely good career working for someone else to chase your own business dreams, you need to figure out if the life of an entrepreneur and the running of a business are really for you.
I’m often asked if there is a process that one should follow to go from worker bee to entrepreneur wannabe (a process rather than just “diving in head first” as it were). There is a process and it begins with a huge dose of self-assessment.
You should take stock of where you are in life; what your responsibilities and commitments are; who you are as a person; what your passions, talents, goals, and skills are; and most importantly, what makes you happy.
Forget all that hogwash about starting a business to be your own boss and to be financially independent. The only legitimate, long term reason to start a business is because that’s what makes you happy. If the comfort of a 9-to-5 paycheck makes you happy, keep your job. It’s as simple as that.
So let’s look at the process beginning with the first question you should ask yourself: Are you really cut out to be an entrepreneur?
Not everyone is physically, emotionally or mentally equipped be an entrepreneur and even if you think you are at this moment, you could be wrong in the long run. We’ve discussed entrepreneurial traits and skills several times before so I won’t go into great detail here.
Step two in the process is to decide what kind of business best suits you.
Don’t pick a business just because you think it’s easy to get into or is the most lucrative or has the best chance for success or offers the greatest rewards. You should choose a business because it fits your personality and goals.
Remember that happiness thing I mentioned earlier? You could have a thriving cash cow business, but if it’s a business that you hate running with customers that you hate dealing staffed by employees you can’t seem to manage, the money is not worth the heartburn.
Step three is figuring out how to fund the business you’ve chosen.
This is the brick wall that repels most new entrepreneurs. Many business ideas have died while waiting on funding.
You can go the traditional routes of raising money: use your savings, tap into friends and family, mortgage your house, cash in your 401K, seek angel investors and venture capitalists. All have their advantages and disadvantages.
I’m a huge fan of bootstrapping, i.e. starting with as little out of pocket money as possible and using creative strategies like partnering, extended credit terms, bartering, and vendor financing to fund and grow the business.
Step four is to write a detailed business plan. Again, this is a subject I’ve covered in-depth several times over the years, so I won’t go into great detail.
There are lots of books and software packages that can help you create a business plan. You can also contact organizations like SCORE and the Women’s Business Center for assistance.
Next time we’ll continue this discussion and look at the remaining steps in the process like finding a location, lining up relationships with vendors and distributors, creating a marketing plan, hiring employees, and a few other things that will help you get started.
I’m sure most of you (probably 72.5%) just can’t wait for that.
Permalink
Be sure to see all our latest wholesale arrivals @ http://savesucash.com/
While I’ve always been comfortable using such statistically noncommittal terms as “many, most, and some,” Dan prefers to remember and espouse accurate numbers.
I’ve told him time and again that most people don’t mind fuzzy statistics. He keeps telling me that 58.9 percent prefer to have accurate numbers. Who can argue with math like that?
For example, Dan tells me that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that within the next 10 to 15 years 50% of the American workforce will be working in non-traditional careers.
Instead of being a nation of nine-to-fivers we will be moving toward a union of consultants, freelancers, contractors, temporary workers, and telecommuters; and don’t forget part-time and fulltime entrepreneurs.
Other surveys over the years have shown that a good portion (sorry Dan) of Americans dream of starting their own business.
And who would expect them to wish otherwise. Business ownership is, after all, the American Dream, the pathway to success, the road to financial freedom: for some people (and no, I don’t know the exact number, Dan).
What the surveys don’t say is that the majority of those people who yearn to be entrepreneurs aren’t qualified to start a business and even if they did make it past the initial startup phase they’d be out of business within a year.
So if you’re among those who are contemplating a move into business now or in the future how can you be sure if it’s the right move for you? Before you chuck an absolutely good career working for someone else to chase your own business dreams, you need to figure out if the life of an entrepreneur and the running of a business are really for you.
I’m often asked if there is a process that one should follow to go from worker bee to entrepreneur wannabe (a process rather than just “diving in head first” as it were). There is a process and it begins with a huge dose of self-assessment.
You should take stock of where you are in life; what your responsibilities and commitments are; who you are as a person; what your passions, talents, goals, and skills are; and most importantly, what makes you happy.
Forget all that hogwash about starting a business to be your own boss and to be financially independent. The only legitimate, long term reason to start a business is because that’s what makes you happy. If the comfort of a 9-to-5 paycheck makes you happy, keep your job. It’s as simple as that.
So let’s look at the process beginning with the first question you should ask yourself: Are you really cut out to be an entrepreneur?
Not everyone is physically, emotionally or mentally equipped be an entrepreneur and even if you think you are at this moment, you could be wrong in the long run. We’ve discussed entrepreneurial traits and skills several times before so I won’t go into great detail here.
Step two in the process is to decide what kind of business best suits you.
Don’t pick a business just because you think it’s easy to get into or is the most lucrative or has the best chance for success or offers the greatest rewards. You should choose a business because it fits your personality and goals.
Remember that happiness thing I mentioned earlier? You could have a thriving cash cow business, but if it’s a business that you hate running with customers that you hate dealing staffed by employees you can’t seem to manage, the money is not worth the heartburn.
Step three is figuring out how to fund the business you’ve chosen.
This is the brick wall that repels most new entrepreneurs. Many business ideas have died while waiting on funding.
You can go the traditional routes of raising money: use your savings, tap into friends and family, mortgage your house, cash in your 401K, seek angel investors and venture capitalists. All have their advantages and disadvantages.
I’m a huge fan of bootstrapping, i.e. starting with as little out of pocket money as possible and using creative strategies like partnering, extended credit terms, bartering, and vendor financing to fund and grow the business.
Step four is to write a detailed business plan. Again, this is a subject I’ve covered in-depth several times over the years, so I won’t go into great detail.
There are lots of books and software packages that can help you create a business plan. You can also contact organizations like SCORE and the Women’s Business Center for assistance.
Next time we’ll continue this discussion and look at the remaining steps in the process like finding a location, lining up relationships with vendors and distributors, creating a marketing plan, hiring employees, and a few other things that will help you get started.
I’m sure most of you (probably 72.5%) just can’t wait for that.
Permalink
Be sure to see all our latest wholesale arrivals @ http://savesucash.com/
Friday, May 11, 2007
The Business of Identity Theft
Q: I use PayPal to accept credit cards for my online collectibles business. I recently received an email that my PayPal account was going to expire in five days if I didn’t click a link in the email and give them my PayPal account information. Being naturally paranoid I decided not to give this information and I’m happy to say that my PayPal account did not expire. Was this a scam? — Brenda A.
A: Be thankful that your paranoia kicked in, Brenda, because you were about to fall victim to the scam of the week, this one aimed at the 35 million merchants and individuals who use Paypal.com as their online payment processor.
The email you received was not from PayPal, but from an Internet bad guy behind a forged email address using the PayPal.com domain. You should understand that no reputable online company will ever ask you to provide your account information. Think about it. They already have this information. Why would they ask you to provide it.
Since I use PayPal for several of my online ventures, I, too, received the email in question. The email first seeks to instill fear in you by saying that your PayPal account will be closed if you do not provide personal information. You are then directed to open an attached executable file and enter your PayPal account information and other personal information that PayPal doesn’t even require, including your social security number, checking and savings account information, driver’s license number, and other personal information that can be used to clean out your PayPal account and perhaps even steal your identity.
If you’re not familiar with PayPal, it is a hugely successful, web-based company (purchased by eBay in 2002) that many online retailers and eBay sellers use to accept electronic payments for everything from newsletter subscriptions to consulting services to just about any product for sale on eBay.
The allure of PayPal is that it does not require the seller to have a bank merchant account through which to process credit cards. Anyone with a verifiable email address and bank account can use PayPal and the service can be implemented almost immediately after registering.
When someone places an order on a website that uses PayPal for online payments, that customer is directed to PayPal.com to complete the payment process using a credit card or electronic check. The merchant can transfer the money collected in his PayPal account to his checking account any time he likes. Since many larger merchants make this transfer just once a week or so, their PayPal accounts are ripe for the picking from those who have the cunning and lack of ethics required to gain access.
The shear number of PayPal customers is one reason it has become a popular target of scam artists trying to steal personal information from individuals and businesses alike.
Identify theft is on the rise. Thanks to the Internet stealing someone’s identity has never been easier. At any given moment, there are any number of Internet thieves using all manner of high tech wizardry to steal personal and business information from unsuspecting souls, and many times they can gain access to this information simply by asking the person to provide it through fraudulent means.
The PayPal scam is just the latest in a long line of sophisticated attempts to steal personal information through online means, Amazon, eBay, Dell Computer, and many others have been the brunt of many such scams in recent years.
Identity theft is what’s known as a knowledge crime, which means that the criminal doesn’t have to break into your house to rob you blind. If you have a bank account and a social security number, you are susceptible to identity theft.
While most people are familiar with identity theft, most business men and women never think about it happening to them, at least on a professional level. Consider this: if a criminal can learn your business checking account number or the number of your company credit card, they can steal far more from your business than if they had simply knocked down the door and carted off your desk.
The Internet aside, most business and personal identity theft is still the result of stolen wallets and dumpster diving. You should guard your business records closely and be very careful what you throw away. Stop and think for a moment what a criminal might find in the dumpster behind your office.
There’s a good chance that dumpster has, at various times, contained scraps of paper with your social security number, driver’s license number, credit card number, old ATM cards, telephone calling cards, and other pieces of vital business information like bank statements, invoices, and purchase orders. A dumpster-diving thief could literally rob your business blind in a matter of hours.
Here are a few ways to protect yourself from business and personal identity theft.
* Never give out your first name, last name, business name, email address, account passwords, credit card numbers, bank account information, PIN number, social security number, or driver’s license number.
* Change your online account passwords every 30 days. Believe it or not, a hacker who steals your personal information can guess your online account passwords in about two minutes. If your Charles Schwab online account password is your birthday or the name of your first born or family pet, count on a hacker cracking that code faster than you can say ‘Bill Gates.’
* Never provide personal information in response to an email or telephone call. Just because someone calls and says they are from Dunn & Bradstreet and need to confirm your business information does not mean they are really from Dunn & Bradstreet.
* Never give your business credit card number over the phone to place an order with someone who has called you unsolicited. If you are interested in what they are selling get their number, check out their company, then call them back to place the order.
If you think that you have become the victim of identity theft or think someone is trying to steal your identity or personal information you should report them immediately to the Federal Trade Commission. You will find more information on their website at http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/. For more information on what to do if identity theft happens to you visit http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17a.htm.
So, if you ever receive an email from PayPal, Amazon, eBay, or any other ecommerce website asking you to update your account information by email you can pretty much bet the farm that it is a scam.
In business, as in life, a little paranoia is a good thing.
Permalink
Be sure to see all our latest wholesale arrivals @ http://savesucash.com/
A: Be thankful that your paranoia kicked in, Brenda, because you were about to fall victim to the scam of the week, this one aimed at the 35 million merchants and individuals who use Paypal.com as their online payment processor.
The email you received was not from PayPal, but from an Internet bad guy behind a forged email address using the PayPal.com domain. You should understand that no reputable online company will ever ask you to provide your account information. Think about it. They already have this information. Why would they ask you to provide it.
Since I use PayPal for several of my online ventures, I, too, received the email in question. The email first seeks to instill fear in you by saying that your PayPal account will be closed if you do not provide personal information. You are then directed to open an attached executable file and enter your PayPal account information and other personal information that PayPal doesn’t even require, including your social security number, checking and savings account information, driver’s license number, and other personal information that can be used to clean out your PayPal account and perhaps even steal your identity.
If you’re not familiar with PayPal, it is a hugely successful, web-based company (purchased by eBay in 2002) that many online retailers and eBay sellers use to accept electronic payments for everything from newsletter subscriptions to consulting services to just about any product for sale on eBay.
The allure of PayPal is that it does not require the seller to have a bank merchant account through which to process credit cards. Anyone with a verifiable email address and bank account can use PayPal and the service can be implemented almost immediately after registering.
When someone places an order on a website that uses PayPal for online payments, that customer is directed to PayPal.com to complete the payment process using a credit card or electronic check. The merchant can transfer the money collected in his PayPal account to his checking account any time he likes. Since many larger merchants make this transfer just once a week or so, their PayPal accounts are ripe for the picking from those who have the cunning and lack of ethics required to gain access.
The shear number of PayPal customers is one reason it has become a popular target of scam artists trying to steal personal information from individuals and businesses alike.
Identify theft is on the rise. Thanks to the Internet stealing someone’s identity has never been easier. At any given moment, there are any number of Internet thieves using all manner of high tech wizardry to steal personal and business information from unsuspecting souls, and many times they can gain access to this information simply by asking the person to provide it through fraudulent means.
The PayPal scam is just the latest in a long line of sophisticated attempts to steal personal information through online means, Amazon, eBay, Dell Computer, and many others have been the brunt of many such scams in recent years.
Identity theft is what’s known as a knowledge crime, which means that the criminal doesn’t have to break into your house to rob you blind. If you have a bank account and a social security number, you are susceptible to identity theft.
While most people are familiar with identity theft, most business men and women never think about it happening to them, at least on a professional level. Consider this: if a criminal can learn your business checking account number or the number of your company credit card, they can steal far more from your business than if they had simply knocked down the door and carted off your desk.
The Internet aside, most business and personal identity theft is still the result of stolen wallets and dumpster diving. You should guard your business records closely and be very careful what you throw away. Stop and think for a moment what a criminal might find in the dumpster behind your office.
There’s a good chance that dumpster has, at various times, contained scraps of paper with your social security number, driver’s license number, credit card number, old ATM cards, telephone calling cards, and other pieces of vital business information like bank statements, invoices, and purchase orders. A dumpster-diving thief could literally rob your business blind in a matter of hours.
Here are a few ways to protect yourself from business and personal identity theft.
* Never give out your first name, last name, business name, email address, account passwords, credit card numbers, bank account information, PIN number, social security number, or driver’s license number.
* Change your online account passwords every 30 days. Believe it or not, a hacker who steals your personal information can guess your online account passwords in about two minutes. If your Charles Schwab online account password is your birthday or the name of your first born or family pet, count on a hacker cracking that code faster than you can say ‘Bill Gates.’
* Never provide personal information in response to an email or telephone call. Just because someone calls and says they are from Dunn & Bradstreet and need to confirm your business information does not mean they are really from Dunn & Bradstreet.
* Never give your business credit card number over the phone to place an order with someone who has called you unsolicited. If you are interested in what they are selling get their number, check out their company, then call them back to place the order.
If you think that you have become the victim of identity theft or think someone is trying to steal your identity or personal information you should report them immediately to the Federal Trade Commission. You will find more information on their website at http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/. For more information on what to do if identity theft happens to you visit http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17a.htm.
So, if you ever receive an email from PayPal, Amazon, eBay, or any other ecommerce website asking you to update your account information by email you can pretty much bet the farm that it is a scam.
In business, as in life, a little paranoia is a good thing.
Permalink
Be sure to see all our latest wholesale arrivals @ http://savesucash.com/
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Protect Your Ideas With Copyrights and Patents
: Can you tell me the difference between a copyright and a patent? Also is that something I should let a lawyer handle for me?A: A wise man once said, “The biggest difference between a copyright and a patent is the number of lawyers it takes to do the paperwork.” There is a point to be made there, mainly that if this wise man had paid his attorney to copyright that tidbit of wisdom I probably would have had to pay him five bucks to use the quote.
Copyrights, trademarks and patents are similar in that they are designed by law to protect your rights of ownership, but that’s where the similarity ends. A copyright protects a creative work; a trademark protects a brand or company identity; and a patent protects an invention or process.
A copyright protects the rights of anyone who creates an “original work of authorship.” A copyright owner has the exclusive right to reproduce the work; prepare spin-off works based on the copyrighted work; and to sell, perform and/or display the copyrighted work in public.
Copyright protection is afforded to eight categories of creative works: literary works (the written word); musical works (lyrics, music, melodies); dramatic works (plays, scripts, screenplays); artistic works (pictorial and sculptural), sound recordings (LPs, CDs, audio tapes); choreographic works (dance, pantomime); audiovisual works; and architectural works (blueprints, designs, renderings).
An original work is automatically copyrighted the moment it is put into a fixed format such as a paper copy or recording. In other words, once you put your original story in writing or make a recording of an original song, your copyright is automatically secured. From that moment on your work has copyright protection for your lifetime, plus 50 years after your death.
Registering a work with the U.S. Copyright Office is not required, but since it is relatively simple and inexpensive to do so, I advise that you register a copyright for each work you wish to protect. Also, your copyright must be registered in order to take legal action against someone who might infringe on the copyright in the future.
You can register a copyright without the assistance of an attorney. Simply visit the U.S. Copyright office website at http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/ and download the appropriate form. Complete the form and send it in with a $30 nonrefundable filing fee. This must be done for each individual work you wish to protect.
A patent is a form of protection granted to an inventor that protects his invention in the United States for up to 20 years from the date of application. Patent law states that, “whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, or any new and useful improvements thereof may obtain a patent.” Owning a patent gives you the legal right to stop someone else from making, using or selling your invention (or one that’s very close to it) without your permission. However, proving that someone is infringing on your patent is often difficult and usually requires a trial to settle the dispute.
Since the first U.S. patent was awarded in 1790, more than five million patents have been awarded. The patent office receives more than 230,000 patent applications every year and I can tell you from personal experience that a turtle on Prozac moves faster than the patent process. Patents can take several years, truckloads of paperwork, and considerable legal fees to obtain. The cost of obtaining a patent can run from $500 for a simple design patent to $50,000 and more for a complex utility patent. However, if your company has a truly patentable idea, you would be wise to invest the time and money required to secure your rights. A good patent can be a valuable business asset.
While you can file a patent yourself, I strongly advise that you use an attorney since a naively written patent application often isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. Just recently my attorney did a patent search for me only to discover that a patent for a similar product was already in place. However, due to the ineffectual language of the patent application, the patent was practically impossible for the owner to enforce.
Good news for me. Not so good news for the wise man who wrote his own patent.
Here’s to your success!
Permalink
Be sure to see all our latest wholesale arrivals @ http://savesucash.com/
Copyrights, trademarks and patents are similar in that they are designed by law to protect your rights of ownership, but that’s where the similarity ends. A copyright protects a creative work; a trademark protects a brand or company identity; and a patent protects an invention or process.
A copyright protects the rights of anyone who creates an “original work of authorship.” A copyright owner has the exclusive right to reproduce the work; prepare spin-off works based on the copyrighted work; and to sell, perform and/or display the copyrighted work in public.
Copyright protection is afforded to eight categories of creative works: literary works (the written word); musical works (lyrics, music, melodies); dramatic works (plays, scripts, screenplays); artistic works (pictorial and sculptural), sound recordings (LPs, CDs, audio tapes); choreographic works (dance, pantomime); audiovisual works; and architectural works (blueprints, designs, renderings).
An original work is automatically copyrighted the moment it is put into a fixed format such as a paper copy or recording. In other words, once you put your original story in writing or make a recording of an original song, your copyright is automatically secured. From that moment on your work has copyright protection for your lifetime, plus 50 years after your death.
Registering a work with the U.S. Copyright Office is not required, but since it is relatively simple and inexpensive to do so, I advise that you register a copyright for each work you wish to protect. Also, your copyright must be registered in order to take legal action against someone who might infringe on the copyright in the future.
You can register a copyright without the assistance of an attorney. Simply visit the U.S. Copyright office website at http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/ and download the appropriate form. Complete the form and send it in with a $30 nonrefundable filing fee. This must be done for each individual work you wish to protect.
A patent is a form of protection granted to an inventor that protects his invention in the United States for up to 20 years from the date of application. Patent law states that, “whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, or any new and useful improvements thereof may obtain a patent.” Owning a patent gives you the legal right to stop someone else from making, using or selling your invention (or one that’s very close to it) without your permission. However, proving that someone is infringing on your patent is often difficult and usually requires a trial to settle the dispute.
Since the first U.S. patent was awarded in 1790, more than five million patents have been awarded. The patent office receives more than 230,000 patent applications every year and I can tell you from personal experience that a turtle on Prozac moves faster than the patent process. Patents can take several years, truckloads of paperwork, and considerable legal fees to obtain. The cost of obtaining a patent can run from $500 for a simple design patent to $50,000 and more for a complex utility patent. However, if your company has a truly patentable idea, you would be wise to invest the time and money required to secure your rights. A good patent can be a valuable business asset.
While you can file a patent yourself, I strongly advise that you use an attorney since a naively written patent application often isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. Just recently my attorney did a patent search for me only to discover that a patent for a similar product was already in place. However, due to the ineffectual language of the patent application, the patent was practically impossible for the owner to enforce.
Good news for me. Not so good news for the wise man who wrote his own patent.
Here’s to your success!
Permalink
Be sure to see all our latest wholesale arrivals @ http://savesucash.com/
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