Business Generation

Copyrights and trademarks can be a confusing lot for the small business owner. They are considered valuable assets by giant corporations and guarded vehemently.  However, small business owners should do the same. Do you guard your intellectual property properly?

Understanding Copyrights

A copyright is any artistic or creative material that is produced on a tangible medium. For instance, when you write and post a blog article, you have a copyright on those sentences and the way you present that content. No one can steal your blog post and print it elsewhere, or post it on another website.

Likewise, any printed materials, including catalogues, brochures, white papers, and sales letters, all have an inherited copyright that your business owns.

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SOMERSET – The townwide drinking water ban in effect in Somerset has affected local business, including some restaurants that decided to close for the day on Wednesday, The Herald News reported.

The drinking water ban was put in place after a company that did not have permission to do so, hooked into a fire hydrant for hydroseeding, which caused the material, which contains some fertilizer, to back into the public water supply.

Town officials are waiting for the results of a water supply test before lifting the ban which was in effect as of Thursday morning.

The company, Hydrograss Technologies, could be charged with larceny of town water and wanton injury to property, and be held responsible for the estimated $20,000 bill for ban-related costs.

Local restaurants took different approaches to the ban, The Herald News reported.

The Rise Café on County Street and Ma Raffa’s closed for the day while the close-by Domino’s Pizza remained open. Cupper

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In April, I wrote about things that an administrative professional can beat you at. People enjoyed the post, but urged me to keep going with even more items. So here are five more!

1. Dealing With People. Around the office, you’re known as “The Grump.” And you’ll admit it: You hate dealing with people. That’s why you’ve hired a bright and smiling face to guard your door and protect you from the world. She’s known to make a sale just by smiling–something you certainly can’t do!

2. Keeping You on Task. It seems like it’s impossible for you to show up to meetings on time or meet deadlines. That’s why you should hire someone better organized than you to keep you in line. Roar like a lion as you may, you’re meek and obedient when your assistant forces you to focus.

3. Starting on Reports. If you have to

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Most modern businesses accept plastic. Credit and debit card payments account for sixty percent of all retail transactions. The numbers are even more lopsided online, where nine in ten transactions involve plastic. It is clear that we are headed for an increasingly cashless society. What does this mean for American businesses?

No matter their size, history or reputation, every business that accepts credit/debit card payments must apply for and obtain a merchant service account. Offered by banks and other authorized financial institutions, these providers perform a number of essential services for their merchant clients. For starters, they check to see if the card is valid. The merchant will see either an “approved” or a “declined” message on the screen of his card reader. If the transaction is approved, the provider will send the customer’s bank an electronic bill for the purchase. Once the

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You see them all the time. Those special ads on television that appeal to your funny bone, connect emotionally, or simply provide a good and solid marketing message that convinces you to go down to your local pizzeria and buy a pepperoni pie.

These ads can have tremendous success for the sponsoring business. Consider the “Old Spice Guy.” These clever ads have helped Old Spice become more than just a present for grandpa during the holidays. They have helped create a huge spike in sales for Old Spice body wash with purchases by both men and women (for their men).

Similarly, the E*Trade baby has brought considerable awareness of how simple it is to trade online. Their humorous ads have tickled the funny bone of many would-be self-traders and consequently have helped E*Trade’s revenues rise as well.

These ads were imagined by advertising agencies. Your

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How perfect are you? Are you above error, mistakes and missteps? I am—and of course I am lying. Who is above the need for a little grace, both in and outside of the business setting?

In “Are You a Fallible Human Being?” John Mariotti puts that question on the table. In his article, Mariotti discusses the grace factor when it comes to celebrities and other high profile individuals.  All I have to say about that is, Humans are humans and grace is grace – until you do something that I really can’t tolerate. (Well, you know how we humans are: We have a lot of grace for our favorites and none for yours).

But Mariotti did make me think about the small business owner. What happens when we misstep with our customers? Whether it

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