Today on The Legalpreneur Podcast, I review the fundamental benefits of a business, a brand and why you should have both. While both  businesses and brands can operate independently; together they have the capacity to maximize profit and growth.

As I’ve reviewed in previous episodes, a business is simply providing a service or product in the pursuit of profit. Having a brand is what sets your business apart from everyone else doing the same thing. Branding your business gives you a competitive edge that adds value to your product or service that otherwise is not legally protected. Trademarks were built to protect brands much like an LLC functions to protect your business, together they legally protect you on all fronts. 

As you establish a brand that consumers trust and seek to emulate, trademarks of your brand allow you to access a new form of revenue, licensing. When you own your intellectual property, you can then certify others to sell your IP for a fee. A business cannot do this without a brand and a brand can’t make money without being in business which is why it is so important to understand and leverage both. In this episode, I will teach you the essentials and hopefully inspire you to build a successfully branded business!

Key Takeaways:

[1:49]You may have a business without a brand or a brand without a business but you want both

[2:30] The main purpose of a business is to make a profit (excluding non profits)

[3:15] A side hustle, freelancing or even a lemonade stand can be a business

[4:05] Trademarks protect your brand which are the designs that set you apart from other sellers

[4:35] An LLC protects your business but legally has no protection over your brand

[4:50] The intellectual property clause is the most important aspect of any business contract

[6:45] Having a brand increases the value of the products or services supplied by your business 

[7:45] Certification is the licensing for coaches, allowing you to profit from others selling your IP

[9:00] Trademarks ensure that you can build and scale your brand while maintaining your IP

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Disclaimer: 

The Legalpreneur Podcast is advertising/marketing material. It is not legal advice. Please consult with your attorney on these topics. Copyright Legalpreneur Inc 2022

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Legalprenuer transcript:

Andrea Sager  00:03

Welcome to the Legalprenuer podcast. I’m your host Andrea Sager founder and CEO of Legalprenuer Inc. As a serial entrepreneur and someone that works exclusively with small business owners legally protecting their business. I’m dedicated to covering common legal issues faced by business owners, providing you with the business knowledge you need to catapult your business’s growth, and showing you just how some of the world’s most elite entrepreneurs have handled these legal and business issues themselves. In true attorney fashion, the information in this episode is not legal advice. This is for informational purposes only. And you should always consult with your attorney before implementing any of the information in the show. Hey there, welcome back.

Andrea Sager  00:47

I cannot wait for today’s episode, because these two things are what I’m truly most passionate about my wife. And that is a business in a brand, we’re going to dive into both and really dig into the differences because you may have a business but not a brand. And it’s important to understand why you may want to build a brand. And that’s really the main reason why trademarks exist is because of brands. And anyways, that’s what we’re diving into today. So before we get into it, I am so excited that the Legalprenuer book is here like it is officially out in the world. And you can get it anywhere online, Amazon Barnes and Noble walmart.com. Basically, anywhere you buy books, you can get them online. And let me tell you this book launch, I wanted to write it, of course to get it out into the world. But I really didn’t expect to have a lot of sales because I was just like, who wants to read a legal book all about the legal stuff, whatever, blah, blah, blah, yeah, this book is doing way better than I thought it would. And if you don’t have your hands on it yet, get a copy. Now I would be so grateful if you ordered it online and left a review. No matter if you buy it on Amazon Barnes Noble, if you could just leave a review there that would help me out, I would really, really appreciate it. So I like I’m honestly just blown away. Already. That book has been out not even a week officially. And it’s just it’s crazy.

Andrea Sager  02:13

But anyways, on to today’s episode, which is a business versus brand. And let me start by saying you may have a business but not a brand. And you may have a brand but not a business. But you want to have both. If you’re listening to this, you either probably have or want to have a business. So the official definition which if you Google like definition of a business, there’s a million different definitions. But I’m going to tell you just my favorite, short, sweet basically encompassing the purpose. And it is the purchase and sale of goods or services in an attempt to make a profit. That’s the main purpose of the business is to make a profit. If and this is not to get in a debate of business profit versus nonprofit, like just we’re not talking about nonprofits here. So if you want a business or if you have a business, your main purpose is to derive a profit from selling something goods or services. But a brand is different. So you could have a business by just doing some stuff on the side for somebody you could have a business for being a freelancer, like if you’re selling something, if you have a lemonade stand, that’s a business. If somebody pays you to come clean their house, that’s a business if somebody pays you to make some food for them, that’s a business.

Andrea Sager  03:39

If somebody’s paying you for something, you have a business now because your employer paying you you’re an employee. But if you’re not an employee and somebody is paying you for a product or for you to perform a service that is a business however, a brand. I do like this definition of a brand because it’s and I spoke briefly about this on last week’s Friday episode, but a brand it is a name, term design symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller’s good or service from those of other sellers. That is literally the definition of a trademark. So trademarks exist because brands exist. That’s why trademarks are brand protection. Trademarks are there to protect your brand, not your business. An LLC is there to protect your business. Trademarks are there to protect your brand contracts are there to protect both. They can protect both and both ways, mainly for a business but I often I talk about in contracts, how your the intellectual property clause is most likely the most important clause in your contract, because it’s talking about your brand which is your most valuable asset, your intellectual property. Now, I wanted to dive into these two because it’s important that you know the difference and that you know how You are protecting them.

Andrea Sager  05:01

Because most people don’t know that there’s a difference between a business and a brand. And, nevertheless, they don’t know there’s a difference on how to protect both. In order to have a business, you don’t have to have a brand. If you have a business, you are just making money. But you may not truly be creating that brand, that brand recognition to where somebody wants to buy from you over somebody else. The reason that people will pay 1000s of dollars for one t shirt, or one handbag, it’s because of the brand behind it. It’s not because of sometimes it is because of the material. However, most of the time, it’s not the material, it’s because of the brand behind it. The name that that brand stands for. It’s why, Tiffany, I know I’m sure many of you remember Tiffany actually selling a paperclip for like, I think it was like $3,500. And it was a meme going around the internet. Like if Tiffany can sell a paperclip for $3,500. Like you can sell your coaching package for whatever it is all about the brand, anybody can have a business, because anybody can sell a good or service, whatever. But the brand is where the value comes in. And that’s why I talk so much about trademarks, and increasing the value of your brand. I talk a lot about Disney and trademarks. But that’s because Disney is the number one license are in the world. And the bulk of their revenue comes from licensing, it’s licensing their brand, their intellectual property. And I want you to understand that no matter where you are in business, or where you are with your brand, right now, you can do the same thing.

Andrea Sager  06:42

You can build a business and a brand. And eventually, you can get to the point where other people are paying you to use that brand, the brand you’ve created, they’re gonna pay you just to advertise it just to say, Hey, I’m affiliated with this brand, hey, I’m able to sell this if you’re a coach, and you have this coaching package. And eventually all these people love getting coaching from you. And then somebody’s like, I want to go Coach, what you coach or teach what you teach. That’s where licensing comes in. For coaches. It’s also a certification. Certification is basically a license when it comes from coaches to certification. And you teach people how to teach what you teach. And they go and teach what you teach, but they have to pay you in order to teach that. So no matter where you are, just realize whatever gift you have to give the world, you have to protect it. And when you protect it, and you really build up that brand behind it, eventually someone is going to pay you not to just buy that from you, but they’re going to pay you to then go resell that that’s where the real value of a brand comes in. So don’t get the two mixed up. There’s a difference between a business and a brand. You want to have both. And the brand is what distinguishes you from the other businesses. The brand is what is going to get you a real a real payday because the brand is what grows the value the true value. But in order to get started building a brand, you’ve got to have trademarks, trademarks are going to protect your brand and ensure that you can grow and scale that appropriately without anyone else building off your brand that you’ve created. So if this is something that you desire, and I always say I’m like trademarks, brands like this is where the passive income comes. Get started with trademarks. It’s all it takes. If you have questions reach out, don’t be afraid to build the value of your brand. I can’t preach that enough. It’s all about having a brand and protecting.

Andrea Sager  08:44

Okay, let me know if you have questions I will see in a couple of days. Here at Legalprenuer, we’re committed to providing a supportive legal community for all business owners. I know how scary the legal stuff can be. If you found this information helpful, I would be so grateful if you could share it with a fellow business owner. And quite frankly, it doesn’t cost anything to rate review or subscribe to the show. Your support helps me reach more listeners which allows me to support more business owners in their entrepreneurial journey. Have any questions or comments about the show? Feel free to drop me a line on Instagram I promise I read all of the messages and comments. And if you want to be a guest on the show or know someone that would make a great guest simply fill out our application form and a team member will reach out if we think it’s a good fit. I’ll see you in the next episode.