Branding Services – Two Noteworthy Issues
Having spent the last few years immersing myself in books about brands and branding, listening to podcasts and audio books, writing and broadcasting on the subject and offering introductory courses on branding, I’ve identified 2 fundamental issues in this area that I’m keen to address. These issues led to my realisation that there is a…Read more »
Branding – The Terminology
A brand is about a lot more than just about how it looks. “Brand” can be an important business tool if used well. Yet “brand” and “branding” are terms that mystify many business owners. Even those who go through a branding process often emerge without a clear idea of the meaning of these words, and…Read more »
Promoting Your Brand
In my blog Should you Develop Your Personal Brand? I argued that it is indeed very important to do so, and that it’s not enough to just focus on building the business brand. The world has changed, and nowadays the personal brand must be part and parcel of the promotional mix. Even if it’s your…Read more »
Building a Business to Exit
People often have a vague idea that they will grow their business and sell it one day, or perhaps they start out with a specific plan to exit within 5 or 6 years. This is rarely thought through in detail as there is a dearth of information in startup books about what the end of…Read more »
Licensing Agreements
If there is any type of agreement that should not be grabbed online and used it’s a licensing agreement. A while back I came across someone who had used an agreement that was appropriate to another country, and in that agreement he had effectively given away all his rights to exploit his intellectual property because…Read more »
How to Promote Your Business on Social Media – My Trials and Tribulations
Over the last few years, I have really enjoyed creating content to share my thoughts about brands and IP because that is how I refine my thinking and develop new ideas. In the process, I have come up with a framework that moves the needle for business owners. It’s a product called Brand Tuned, which…Read more »
Top 3 Most Common Naming Mistakes
Although Interbrand’s ‘10 most common naming mistakes’ article is featured by Google as a top resource, it is more about getting the reader to think that naming is too difficult to do, so they’ll engage a specialist branding agency to help them to choose a name, than guidance for people looking to make a better…Read more »
Why Trademark? Essential Thinking Inspired by The Road Less Stupid
In the book, "The Road Less Stupid: Advice from the Chairman of the Board" Keith J. Cunningham describes how smart people do dumb things. Business is an intellectual sport, yet many entrepreneurs and business owners cause themselves problems due to their “excessive optimism and emotional belief in magic pills, secret formulas, and financial tooth fairies.…Read more »
How to Decide on a Niche to Focus on in Your Business
In my podcast Brand Tuned, Successful Brand, Successful Business, Ronnie Fox discussed how focusing on the right niche led to success in his long and illustrious career. He mentioned that he decided to specialise in a relatively narrow field of employment law when he started his own law firm, doing “golden handshake” work. In those…Read more »
How Brands Grow – A book by Byron Sharp
Back in 2011 when I began writing my book Legally Branded I realised that despite spending years focused on brand protection, I didn’t really know what the word ‘brand’ meant and what was involved to create one. Having joined BNI soon after starting my business in 2006 I kept hearing the designer in the chapter…Read more »