Page 103 - The Magic of Tiny Business

Part III  Practice Your “How”

our styles themselves. They went with a “business as usual”
approach, putting profits ahead of partnership. That com-
pany eventually sold to a much larger corporate brand and
we remain independent. It’s a path with many roads, and
when you’re a Tiny Business you get to choose which one
you want to take.

In cases like that, it is essential you are prepared to act.
Do everything to legally protect your brand. Defending
your brand can take a lot of resources, so instead of being
thrown off course every time another business “steals” an
idea or product, be ready to respond with all the right
forms and practices.

I will say, though, we live in a world where making
something for less somewhere else is easily done. What
matters more than your product being copied is your brand
integrity and its reach. The bigger focus needs to be on
protecting your brand. That’s where your energy and vigi-
lance as a Tiny Business needs to go. You can’t build an
impenetrable wall around your brand to protect it, but you
can build a moat that will make it easier to defend what
you’ve built.

Exercise: Prepare to Protect Your
Brand by All Means Possible

Here’s my exhaustive list. Start checking off items today!
® Get everything in writing.
® Register your brand name in multiple permutations, word and

design marks (We registered Eco-Bags, Eco-Bag, ECOBAGS,
ECOBAG).

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