As someone who is always on the hunt for new books to read, I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorites from 2019. I average approximately 1 book per week (either audio or hardback), so this is a list of my stringently culled choices that I encountered this year. And no, this list is […]

If I could impart any wisdom on any client, it’s this: “treat your business like a business“. While of course I typically tackle this from a legal angle, today, I wanted to have a little fun by approaching it from a different angle: treating your business like a business in a wholesome approach; specifically, the […]

A friend of mine asked me a somewhat disturbing question lately: in short, the “high-powered” people she had built her network around turned out to be frauds. She was asking for advice on how to “escape” or change that network. Did the reward outweigh the risks? What was disturbing wasn’t the question itself; it was […]

As I learned from hands on experience this summer, one of the most important steps a business owner can take is to ensure that their personal estate is in order, so that their failure to plan personally does not have a ripple effect on their business.  A shocking amount of families do not have their […]

Recently, a client asked me for advice on a networking scenario she was navigating. In short, my client had been “given the opportunity” to network with an industry “influencer”. When I asked for more details as to what exactly this form of “networking” entailed, she explained that she and this “influencer” had met at a […]

If you see another company using your trademark, there are reasons more than just principle that should compel you to take action: failing to do so could put the validity of your registration at risk. Trademark dilution occurs when another entity uses another company’s trademark in such a way as to cause the registered mark’s […]

When registering a trademark, there are technically two forms of registers that you can register on: the Principal and Supplemental register. Both are federal registers maintained by the USPTO. The Supplemental Register is the secondary list maintained by the USPTO for registered trademarks that do not qualify for the Principal Register. A mark may be […]

Take a look at an entrepreneur (in any industry) that you look up to or respect. How many of them are in the exact same business model, or even the same business altogether, than they were the day they began? The answer is typically: not many. If there’s a hallmark of entrepreneurship, it’s likely that […]

Many times, business owners want to claim the trademark for their business name, before they have officially launched the business to the public. While the USPTO has created strict stipulations around how exactly this must be accomplished, it is in fact possible: by filing what’s called a 1B application. As a background: In order to […]

Many overlook the differentiating factor between most truly successful businesses and others: the business owner is separated from the business, leaving it flexible for whatever may come in the future. Owning a business means taking into account all potential options for the future (looking long term); not necessarily those that come to mind now (beware […]