That’s because your company’s brand identity (everything visual about your brand) can be the difference between success and failure.

It can be hard for a small business owner to justify the expense of a professionally designed logo. But this is shortsighted. A logo is one of the most important parts of your brand identity.

Though cheaper options such as ready-made design stores and designing your logo exist, they rarely produce the type of quality design expected in today’s business landscape.

The problem is that many of these other options can seriously harm your business.

When it comes to design, investing in quality as soon as possible is the best way to get the most growth out of your business. Otherwise, you may work harder than necessary to earn customer trust and stand out from the competition.

And, importantly, a high-quality logo design costs as little as $300!

Here are five ways that investing in design early can influence business growth.

1. First Impressions Matter

During a study at Carleton University in Ottawa, participants were shown websites for only 50 milliseconds and asked to rate them for visual appeal. The participants were then shown the websites for a longer time and asked to rate the websites again. The study found that the participants rated the websites’ visual appeal consistently, regardless of how long they were shown the sites.

What does this mean for small business owners?

Use principles of marketing psychology to your advantage. You have 50 milliseconds to make a good impression on your potential customer, and quality design will play a major role.

Once your prospective customers form their first impression, it will be very tough for you to change their minds.

2. Communicate visually with your customer

When properly designed, your logo can say a lot about your company. It may be the only opportunity to identify what your company does or to separate you from the competition in locations like app download stores and social media. As branding expert and author of Designing Brand Identity Alina Wheeler puts it:

To rise above the clutter, a symbol or a logo is the fastest communication known to man. It unlocks associations with your brand on sight, so it’s important to get it right the first time around.

3. Make your business memorable

A memorable logo doesn’t just help customers create a relationship between your company and its services, it can actually make them more engaged.

An online study conducted by branding firm Siegel+Gale found that memorable logos are 13 percent more likely to get consumers’ attention, 7 percent more likely to make them want to learn more about the brand, and 6 percent more likely to suggest a company is more unique than others in its category.

What makes a logo memorable? Simplicity.

Simple was the word that came up above and beyond, more than anything else,” said Brian Rafferty, global director of research insights for Siegel+Gale. “When people were asked what makes a logo memorable, it was simplicity.

A simple design is harder than it sounds, and many low-quality logos have complicated elements to mask their shortcomings.

Don’t make the mistake of confusing complex with quality.

4. Stand out from the competition

As mentioned earlier, ready-made and generic logos can harm your business.

Ready-made logos such as those bought from online logo stores or pre-made template sites can be purchased by other businesses and could lead to brand confusion when shown next to competitors that went the same ready-made route.

The generic elements often used in homemade designs have been seen so many times by customers they can begin to ignore them completely.

As the visual representation of everything your brand stands for, it’s important for your logo to be unique.

Professional designers take the time to learn about your business and create a logo that represents your company in a way that a generic option never could.

5. Invest now or spend more later

Spending little to no money on logo design might make financial sense in the early phases of starting a business, but it is a short-sighted decision.

If the competitive advantages of investing in quality design from the outset aren’t enough, the financial advantage is also clear.

Low-quality or generic design has a short shelf-life and will likely require a redesign in the future.

Whether it is because you are unhappy with what the design says about your growing business, or you found that your logo design is not as flexible as your marketing strategies, a logo redesign is an additional expense that can be avoided by making the decision to invest in quality design from the start.

Ready to invest in good design? Tens of thousands of the world’s best entrepreneurs, small businesses, agencies and non-profits trust crowdspring for high-quality, professional, custom design. Get started now and request a free, no obligation design consultation for a new custom logo, website, print design, package graphics, or any other design, with one of our design experts today.

The post Five Reasons Businesses Should Invest In Design Early appeared first on crowdspring Small Business Resource Center.

People get so fixated on their ideas that they forget or ignore the business model.

But we’re always surprised when that entrepreneur or small business owner has a tough time describing the potential customers for their new business’s products and services.

After all, without customers, there is no revenue. And without revenue, there is no business.

Most of the time, this happens because the person didn’t conduct market research and didn’t take the time to write a business plan.

If you try to sell your products and services to everyone in the world, you will waste both time and money.

In this video, I outline five main factors you should consider when choosing a market for your startup or small business:

Ready to invest in good design? Tens of thousands of the world’s best entrepreneurs, small businesses, agencies and non-profits trust crowdspring for high-quality, professional, custom design. Get started now and request a free, no obligation design consultation for a new custom logo, website, print design, package graphics, or any other design, with one of our design experts today.

The post How To Choose A Market For Your Small Business appeared first on crowdspring Small Business Resource Center.

A strong brand identity is one of the most important tools that can help you to be more competitive.

Crucial brand elements like your business name, company logo, and business tagline should be protected so that no other company can enter the market and use your identity to sell their product or service. One of the earliest steps you can take to protect your business’s intellectual property is to register your trademark.

In the following guide, learn the basics of trademark law and 5 tips for leveraging trademarks in your business.

What is a Trademark?

Trademark law prevents businesses from operating under business names – or using logos – that are likely to be mistaken for the name of an existing competitor.

For a more complete definition, here’s how the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office defines a trademark:

any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from goods manufactured or sold by others, and to indicate the source of the goods. In short, a trademark is a brand name.

A service mark is similar to a trademark – but it’s used to distinguish the services of one provider from services provided by others (and to indicate the source of the services).

Imagine if dozens of businesses operated under the same name or logo. How could people tell them apart?

What’s the difference between copyright and trademark law?

Copyright and trademark law both protect intellectual property – but they protect different things.

Copyright protects works such as poetry, movies, writing, music, video games, videos, plays, paintings, sheet music, recorded music performances, novels, software code, sculptures, photographs, choreography, and architectural designs. Trademarks are names, logos, sounds, shapes, colors and even smells that distinguish the source of goods or services of one party from those of another party.

Example: A computer software program may be copyrighted. The name of the software can be trademarked.

If a trade name or logo is protected by copyright law, is it automatically protected by trademark law?

No. A trade name or logo design might be protected by copyright law, but is not protected by trademark law unless it is actually used in commerce.

This is because trademark rights arise only through commerce (such as when you offer items for sale and use the trade name or logo in your marketing materials or on the products).

So, it’s not enough to get a logo design and keep it secret. You must use that design by offering products or services for sale under that brand.

Must a trade name or logo be registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to be protected by trademark law?

No. You are not required to register a trade name (or logo). You can acquire common law rights simply by using the trade name or logo in commerce.

Do you have to be a U.S. citizen to register a trademark?

No. But you must disclose your citizenship in the application.

How Long Does a U.S. Trademark Last?

U.S. Trademark registrations filed today have a 10-year term. NOTE: There are periodic requirements to maintain an active registration and you must follow those requirements or risk losing your trademark registration.

Can you sell or assign a trademark to another person?

Yes. If your mark is registered, you can (but don’t have to) record the transfer with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Is a U.S. trademark or use solely in the U.S. sufficient to acquire trademark rights around the world?

No. Trademark rights are territorial.

If you’ve registered your trademark in the U.S., you can generally enforce it only against those who infringe it in the U.S. Many European countries have adopted the Community Trademark (CTM) – a registration under that common system allows the enforcement of rights in all of the signatory countries. The CTM doesn’t replace national trademark rights in the signatory countries, but it does coexist with those rights.

If you own a U.S. trademark or have applied for one, you can seek registration in any of the countries that have joined the Madrid Protocol by filing a single application – called an “international application” – with the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization.

What Should Small Businesses Do To Avoid Violating or to Leverage Trademark Law?

Here are five practical tips about trademark law and your trade name or logo:

1. Do a trademark search before you settle on a trade name (company name) and/or logo.

You can search (for free) the federal trademark database – Trademark Electronic Search System.

You can also leverage Google, Bing and other search engines to look for companies using the name you intend to use for your company or product. Don’t forget to do a domain name search to see if someone is using the name as their domain.

It’s always a good idea to hire a trademark search service – even if you think you’re a good researcher. Professional search costs several hundred dollars (and can cost thousands of dollars depending on their coverage), but covers many more databases than you’ll have access to, will often include an international search, and will typically be much more thorough.

Although more expensive than many others, this is the company I often used when working with clients on trademark matters.

Intellectual property lawsuits can be very expensive. Take care to make sure that you’re not exposing yourself to unnecessary risk.

2. Register your trademark.

You are not required to register a trade name (or your logo). You can acquire common law rights simply by using the trade name or logo in commerce.

However, registering the trade name or logo is useful. Among other things, it notifies others that you assert rights over the trade name or logo and that you’re serious about protecting your rights. The registration date also contains the date you first used the mark – which serves as evidence against other parties you might later allege violate your trademark rights.

Moreover, when you’ve registered your trademark, you can sue those who infringe your mark to recover damages and also attorneys’ fees and punitive damages.

You can hire a firm or attorney to help you register, or do it yourself. The forms for registering with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office can be found here.

If you need answers to specific trademark questions about U.S. registration, you can also contact the Trademark Assistance Center at 1-800-786-9199.

3. Maintain your trademark if you’ve registered it.

If you’ve registered your trademark, continue using it in commerce. You can use the “®” symbol once your registration is approved – this lets everyone know that your trade name or logo is registered. If you haven’t registered, you can use the “tm” trademark symbol to let people know that you assert trademark rights in the trade name or logo but that it’s not officially registered.

4. You can file a trademark application before you use a mark in commerce.

This is especially helpful to startups – you don’t need to wait to use a trademark in commerce – you can file an Intent-to-Use application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

5. Understand the Permitted and Prohibited Uses When You Use Another Company’s trade name or logo.

Often, especially when companies enter into partnership agreements with each other, the partners must use someone else’s trade name or trademark.

For example, if I have a small electronics store and advertise Sony products for sale, I may use the Sony logo in the advertising I place in the local paper. Make sure you have the rights to use the trade name or trademark. Don’t assume that you have unlimited rights – you most likely do not (even if you’re authorized to resell a particular company’s products or services).

This problem commonly arises when stores advertise products or services for sale. Some companies have dealership arrangements and allow only authorized dealers or stores to sell their products or services.

Similarly, if you allow other parties to use your trade name or logo, make sure you carefully define how they should use the trade name or logo – and also specify any uses that are not permitted. Make sure you do this in writing so that there’s no ambiguity about permitted and prohibited uses.

If you get into a jam or are unsure about what to do – consult an attorney.

Please remember that legal information is not the same as legal advice. This post may not address all relevant business or legal issues that are unique to your situation and you should always seek legal advice from a licensed attorney.

The post What You Need to Know About Trademarks appeared first on crowdspring Small Business Resource Center.

Some fear they’ll end up paying exorbitant legal fees or that they’ll receive bad advice that will destroy their business (if you’ve watched the show Arrested Development and have seen Barry Zuckerkorn in action, you’ll know exactly what I mean).

Others agonize over how to find a reasonably priced, competent lawyer.

Much of the fear and worry is unfounded but I’ve seen too many business owners suffer at the hands of incompetent and expensive legal counsel.

Entrepreneurs hate lawyers. But your experience can be different.

Lawyers can help you navigate complex legal issues and avoid risk. They’re helpful in many situations, but especially when you start your business and need to figure out your business structure, licenses, and permits, get federal and state tax IDs, etc. Good lawyers can also help you write sections of your business plan.

Here are my seven tips on how your small business or startup can hire a good lawyer without losing your shirt (for 13 years prior to crowdspring, I practiced law. During that time, I counseled and represented clients (from small businesses to internet startups to Fortune 100 companies) in transactional matters and in complex trials all over the United States. I’ve set at the table as a lawyer, and now have the perspective of an entrepreneur and small business owner).

1. How to hire lawyers that add value.

I’ve met and have sat across the table from many lawyers who are deal-killers.

Overzealous and often inexperienced, they focus on the wrong issues and forget that their client needs the deal to move forward.

When you talk with lawyers you’re considering hiring, ask them about one or two complicated negotiations, and how they were able to overcome obstacles.

Tip: Don’t make price your main criteria for hiring a lawyer. Often, the least expensive lawyers are also less experienced – especially in the areas where you may need help. Paying a cheaper hourly rate might feel good initially, but at the end, you may end up paying far more than if you hired an experienced (more expensive) lawyer in the first place.

Also – be clear about your budget and expectations. Your lawyer should understand that your budget is limited and that they should not waste that budget on irrelevant details.

2. How to hire lawyers that are responsive to your needs.

Your lawyer won’t be very helpful if they’re not responsive when you need them. Because many deals and transactions are time-sensitive, be sure that your lawyer will be there for you when you need them.

Tip: Before you start working with a lawyer, communicate with them using different channels. For example, call them, email them, fax them, etc. Are they responsive across all communication channels? Are they uncomfortable working electronically via email? How quickly do they return your phone calls when you leave a voice mail? Can you reach them in the evening? What happens when they go on vacation and you need their help?

Also, talk to current and former clients specifically about communication and whether they felt they were kept fully informed about the progress on their matters and whether they ever had problems reaching the lawyer when they needed her help.

3. How to manage legal costs.

Most business owners are frustrated when they finally start receiving bills from their legal counsel. Often, the bills include unexpected costs – something you thought would cost $250 ends up costing you $2,500. That’s quite a difference to a small business or a young startup.

Tip: Ask for fixed fees, especially if you’re asking your lawyer to draft specific documents. For example, if you need a standard employment agreement, ask the lawyer for a fixed fee to draft and negotiate the agreement, so that you don’t have to worry about how much you’ll end up paying for that agreement.

Also, be clear about the scope of work you need from your lawyer. If you need a simple employment agreement or option plan, explain exactly what you need and be clear about the business terms that must be included in that agreement.

Finally, don’t ask your lawyers to do things you can easily do yourself. If you need to fill out some forms – fill out the forms and send the completed forms to your lawyer to review and file. Or use a service like Quickly Legal, designed to help businesses with smart legal contracts.

4. How to hire the right lawyer.

If you’re a small business or startup, hire a local lawyer or firm that typically works with small businesses and startups.

Bigger, more experienced firms might seem attractive options, but if they’re not used to working with small clients, you’ll run into many issues (communication, high billing, responsiveness, etc.).

Talk to some current and former clients that are small businesses and startups and be sure those clients are happy and comfortable working with the lawyer you’re considering hiring.

Tip: You’ll generally find more added value when working with local lawyers, as opposed to lawyers located across the country. A local lawyer will have local connections that will help you with funding, can make introductions to other businesses that can help you and will invite you to local events where you can meet their other clients and network.

5. When to hire a lawyer.

Typically, the best time to start a relationship with a lawyer is before you start your company. This is especially important if you plan to be a venture or angel investor-backed company (because the type of entity you create will impact many other things).

Too many people make the mistake of forming a company and reaching agreement among co-founders without consulting a lawyer. In some cases, some co-founders leave (retaining their interest) and the rest are left to try to make the business work. A good lawyer will help you structure the business – and ownership interests – in ways that will protect everyone and give you flexibility going forward.

Tip: Make sure your lawyer knows what issues are important to you and what issues are less important (or not important). You can also help by negotiating the business terms yourself – without involving your lawyer – and then ask your lawyer to put together an agreement that reflects the deal you negotiated.

6. How to avoid having inexperienced, young lawyers doing all the work.

Many mid-size and larger law-firms have associates do the bulk of the work for clients. This can be a problem because younger associates might be inexperienced and it might take them substantially more time than it would take an experienced lawyer to solve a particular problem for you.

Tip: Clarify in advance whether the lawyer you’re hiring or someone else in their firm will be working on your matter. Worry less about the lawyer’s hourly fee and more about their experience. Experienced lawyers charge higher hourly fees (when I left my legal practice, I was billing $500 per hour!) but can solve your problems much more quickly and for less money – than less experienced lawyers.

 7. How to hire a lawyer you understand.

Many lawyers speak and write in legalese. This is a problem because it leads to more confusion, higher legal costs, and more difficulty in negotiating deals and agreements.

Tip: Before hiring your lawyer, ask them for a few sample letters and/or agreements they’ve written. Are these documents easy to understand and well-written? Are they filled with complex and hard to understand legalese?

For example, to help software developers negotiate contracts with clients, I wrote an e-book called Contracts for Software Developers Who Hate Contracts. If you download a free copy of the e-book, you’ll find that the sample contract in the e-book is written in easy to read, plain English.

The post Hire A Good Lawyer Without Losing Your Shirt appeared first on crowdspring Small Business Resource Center.

From a psychological point of view, fear is a reaction from your Lizard Brain – the part of your brain that is very primitive.

Fear is a survival tactic – it warns and protects us against dangers. It can also paralyze us from taking action.

In business, fear can be our worst enemy and it can come at the most inopportune times.

You might think, looking at other startups and small businesses, that you are the only one who is fearful of failure, being lost, etc.

You are not alone.

Fear is a common denominator that ties the business community together.

Nearly every entrepreneur experiences fear at some point in their business careers.

It usually starts for most people when they’re struggling to figure out how to start a business.

But fear doesn’t stop there.

The perceived fearlessness you see around you is typically entrepreneurs re-framing their thoughts to sound brave.

The truth is often very different.

Jen Groover, author of What If? and Why Not?: How to Transform Your Fears Into Action and Start the Business of Your Dreams, a book about transforming your fears, says that rejecting fear creates destructive self-doubting habits:

Until you can jump over your inner roadblocks, the outer ones will stay firmly in place. Overcoming these inner obstacles is about learning to rethink the fearful thoughts that can lead you to quit before you start.

Groover makes the connection between re-framing and using fear to your advantage.

Fear can prevent bad decisions and negative situations, but fear can also be fostered in a way that propels you forward.

For example, fearing failure can push entrepreneurs to work harder in their business, and make better decisions, all while avoiding mistakes.

The key is to avoid shutting down.  Entrepreneur and author Jonathan Fields, in his book Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance, explains:

One of the single greatest determinants of high-level success as an innovator or creator in any realm is the ability to manage and at times even seek out sustained high levels of uncertainty, bundled lovingly with risk of loss and exposure to criticism. These three psychic horsemen of creation must often not only be sought, but embraced repeatedly and with increasing level of intensity over extended periods of time.

What do entrepreneurs and small business owners fear, and how can you take advantage of these fears to improve the success of your business?

Here are four of the biggest and most debilitating fears that all entrepreneurs and small business owners experience and how to overcome those fears.

1. Fear of feeling lost.

Every entrepreneur or small business owner will feel lost at some point.

It’s crazy to expect to know what you are doing 100% of the time or to always assume that the plan will work without problems. Things change fast in business, and you must constantly adjust and evolve.

It’s okay to feel lost, but it’s not okay to stay that way. Always have a Plan B and adjust to changing situations through trial and error until you get it right.

2. Fear of not having “enough” funding.

Plenty of businesses start from nothing!

You don’t need Silicon Valley unicorn-level funding to ensure success. Many successful entrepreneurs and business owners bootstrap.

Remember that fast growth isn’t always right for every business. There have been so many spectacular failures among well-funded startups and businesses that the term “unicorn” has already become pejorative in the startup community.

Just think of how Apple started – a few people in a garage, working together towards a common goal. They were not always the revolutionary tech industry leader they are today.

There are many other similar stories, including stories about some of the most successful companies today.

3. Fear of what others will think.

It would be nice to always have everyone on your side and happy with what you’re doing.

The truth is that sometimes, family and friends think you’re nuts for investing time in a business they don’t understand.

Maybe they’re right to be skeptical, but as long as you believe in your business, chances are that others will too.

People who think differently end up making a difference in the world.

Steve Jobs accomplished this with Apple. Jeff Bezos accomplished this with Amazon. And Elon Musk has made a difference across multiple companies, including Tesla and SpaceX.

People who question what you’re doing are often just fearful themselves of the risks at stake. Their fears tend to impact you.

Believe in yourself – don’t let others bring you down.

4. Fear of failure.

The fear of failure perseveres in the minds of all entrepreneurs and small business owners – even the most successful ones.

After all, if you fail, you fear that others will think you made a terrible move to quit your job to chase a pipe dream.

The truth is, you will be some letdowns, delays, and disappointments.

Everyone fails at some things. But without those mistakes, you can’t learn anything or improve from the experience.

If you can’t learn and improve, you can’t get better.

If you fail at something, ask yourself what you learned from that situation. How can you grow and improve so that you won’t make the same mistake(s) next time?

Be careful not to celebrate failure because not every failure is a learning experience.

Knowing what not to do helps you focus and avoid setbacks, but doesn’t help you adapt to changes. You know what didn’t work — does that help you next time when you need to figure out what will work? If you ask successful entrepreneurs whether they would rather hire someone who has failed or someone who has succeeded, I suspect most would prefer to hire the person who has succeeded. This is not surprising — scientific research shows that we learn more from success than from failure.

A recent University of California, Berkeley study revealed that the threshold of risk and success plays a large role in how motivating or debilitating a fear will be.

The study found that when the chances of success were high, people were more likely to use their fear as a motivator to overcome the challenges. However, when the chances of success were likely to be low, people gave in to their fear.

There’s another interesting aspect to the fear of failure. Some people imagine success and believe they will not fail.

Although this seems intuitively right, this could actually be counter-productive. Positive thinking alone is not enough.

Scientific research has shown that we create best outcomes when we balance positive thinking with visualizing future obstacles and ways we must overcome them.

Fear is real and can be paralyzing.

However, if you risk nothing, you risk everything.

The post 4 Fears Leaders Must Overcome To Help Their Businesses Succeed appeared first on crowdspring Small Business Resource Center.