If you’re in the process of starting a new business, you may be worried about how you can legally trademark your business name and logo. Trademarking is a way to protect them from being taken over or used by another company who wants to use your name without permission.

If you want to trademark your business name and logo a good place to start is trademark registration guide for entrepreneurs might come in handy:

Create A Unique Logo

Your logo is a way of marking your company in a more visual-focused way rather than just using your company name alone. You want your trademarked logo to stand out in a positive way as it’s the first thing people see when they first encounter your new business. Your logo needs to be a reflection of you and the company, and not just something that you found online or at your local business centers.

When creating a logo for your own business, keep in mind that you shouldn’t make it so similar to another person’s or business’s logo as this might confuse your customers. Sure, taking inspirations from other logos might help, but using someone else’s idea as yours will not help your business stand out from the competition. The worst cases, copying other logos can become the reason why your business will face litigation.

Instead, create a logo that’s unique and different from all the other logos on the market. Never use the same fonts and colors as the other logos, especially those that are used by your direct competitors. Carefully think about the different design elements that represent your business and incorporate these to your logo.

Preparation Is Key

Before you move ahead and apply for a trademark, make sure that your company has a business license. If your company doesn’t have this, you need to request it as soon as possible.

Once you have all the needed paperwork, you can begin the application process. The last thing you want is to have to deal with a legal issue down the road, so make sure that everything is ready to go.

File The Necessary Paperwork

For you to trademark your name and business logo, you need to file an application for a trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

To register a trademark, all you have to do is file the paperwork with the US Patent and Trademark Office. As an applicant, you must provide evidence of your unique ability to market a product, the likelihood that you’ll succeed in marketing the product, and the possible value of the product or its components in the marketplace. The USPTO will, then, evaluate the merits of an application and determine if it’s eligible for registration. By doing this, you gain exclusive rights to your brand name so that no one else will be able to legally use it in any manner.

A federal trademark gives nationwide protection to your logo. You can obtain nationwide protection of your logo once it becomes a registered trademark in another state or country. This means that no other individuals or businesses can use your logo; if they insist on doing otherwise, their actions can result in legal repercussions.

Aside from the USPTO, there are other ways to protect your business’s name and logo besides filing federal paperwork, such as registering with the International Trademark Association (ITA).

Enforce Your Rights

Trademarks are the property of the owner; thus, if someone infringes on your rights, they can be held liable for the infringement. Trademarks protect your company’s rights to your name and its associated products and services so that others won’t be able to use them as a way to market their own products or to gain access to your market. Trademarks help your business to remain on top of the competition because individuals and businesses don’t have the right to use your name and logo to market their products as this infringes your company’s rights.

If you own your company’s logo, it means that you have exclusive rights to it. This means that if someone uses your trademarked name or parts of it to market their own products, then, they can be held responsible and you have a greater likelihood of winning the legal case.

Always pay attention to the competitive landscape and assess if other businesses are using your name or logo. If they do, reinforce your rights by filing the appropriate cases against them. All of your efforts to trademark your name and business logo will be useless if you allow other businesses to use it.

A clean office invites more clients, keeps employees happy and it’ll reflect the reputation of your business. For these reason, it’s important to choose the right office cleaning service since it will also ensure the health and safety of everyone coming in and out of your office or business establishment. So, how do you choose a professional office cleaning service?

Here are some useful tips that can help you select the right office cleaning service for you:

1. Meets Cleaning Standards 

A good office cleaning company always makes a good impression by following the set cleaning standards by respected organizations, like the World Health Organization (WHO). Shine Cleaning Solutions explains that a good cleaning service should maintain general hygiene and high cleaning standards in the workplace.

Check the following cleaning standard criteria in commercial establishments:

• Physically Clean: The surface must be free from apparent dirt and dust when wiped by hand.

• Chemically Clean: The surface area must be free from harmful chemicals and in the surrounding air.

• Bacteriologically Clean: To eliminate harmful microorganisms causing infection or disease, all surfaces should be cleaned. This is a ‘clinical standard’ followed by healthcare facilities.

• Entomologically Clean: The area should be free from pests or harmful insects.

• Osmologically Clean: It demands areas and surfaces free from any inorganic or organic matter that emits odor.

• Terminally Clean: It pertains to the cleaning standard in operation where surfaces need constant sanitizing against pathogenic microbes.

2. Choose A Cleaning Provider Offering Wide Range of Services

Whether you have a small or medium-sized office space or a building, make sure to hire a cleaning service provider that can customize their services according to your needs. For instance, seasonal businesses might only need part-time or contract cleaning services for a few months of service.

For a large office space or business establishment, you might want to avail a cleaning service that includes the following services:

• Commercial builders cleaning
• Cladding and external cleaning
• Commercial window cleaning
• Event cleaning
• Commercial carpet cleaning
• Hard floor cleaning
• High-level cleaning

3. Avoid Cleaning Services Hiring Mistakes 

If you don’t want to end up hiring a cleaning service company that’ll waste your money because it doesn’t live up to your expectations, avoid committing the following hiring mistakes:

• Choosing the Cheapest: While you want to set an affordable budget for cleaning services, make sure not to compromise quality services. However, choosing the cheapest option may lead to more money wasted.Check the company’s track record and find out what clients have to say about their cleaning services. Choose a cleaning service provider that offers a reasonable price at the same time offering excellent cleaning services.

• Being Misinformed: Every cleaning service provider has a specialty service. While some specialize in cleaning offices and warehouses, others focus on cleaning restaurants, event centers, and other commercial establishments.It would help to determine the best cleaning company that caters to their services to the type of business you have.

• Not Looking For Licenses and Certifications: Licenses and certifications make up a cleaning service provider’s expertise and reputation. They reflect the amount of time that the company spent to develop their cleaning skills, elevating the cleaning company’s craft.
• Not Fully Comprehending Service Agreement: Analyze the company’s cleaning services, including the inclusions and exclusions or what services would warrant extra fees. Never assume all verbal agreements are final. Carefully read the contract before signing.

4. Search For Proof of Insurance

One of the basic requirements you should demand before hiring a cleaning service provider is proof of insurance. Make sure that the company has liability insurance and offers workers’ compensation to its employees.

Liability insurance is important because it protects you against all possible incurred costs in the event a cleaner becomes injured while cleaning your office or business establishment. On the other hand, workers’ compensation benefit is essential to ensure that cleaners are fully compensated when they meet an accident while performing their duties, including lost wages.

5. Ensure Ease of Communication

Never underestimate the importance of ease of communication, which is incredibly imperative when selecting a service provider. The cleaning company should understand your needs to maximize the benefits of your business.

Determine the mode of communication the company offers, such as having a customer service hotline number for concerns. Chat support, email, and text messaging are other options available, depending on your preference and needs.

Conclusion

Choosing the right office cleaning service involves ensuring that the company meets cleaning standards and one that offers ease of communication. Also, avoid hiring mistakes such as not looking for credentials and choosing the cheapest option. Lastly, look for insurance proof, such as liability insurance and workers’ compensation benefit.

Every small business needs business insurance for protection against the many threats your business will face while operating. In a perfect world, you wouldn’t need business insurance, but just like health and auto insurance, it’s always good to have in the event that something unexpected happens. Having this type of protection for your business is what can ultimately determine if your business will have a flourishing future or come to a screeching halt.

But the real question, in reference to business insurance, is what type of business insurance policy do you need?

Well, a good rule of thumb to follow when seeking business insurance is that it’s recommended for all business types to invest in a general liability policy. A general liability policy is going to protect your business against property damages, bodily injuries, various marketing/advertising damages, and any type of incidents involving your clients or customers.

Once you have general liability insurance, you can then start looking at the other types of policies you may need based on the type of business you’re running and the risks involved.

Having proof of business insurance is actually one of the major requirements to lease an office space. But all too often, business owners fail to read the fine print and forego business insurance, thinking they’ll be able to rent without it… This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when renting an office space.

But that’s the way business works, right? Trial and error, and hopefully learning from your mistakes. But the one mistake you can always avoid is running a business without business insurance… You want to always have that coverage… And remember, your business may require you to have multiple policies.

Business Insurance Policies Explained

Worker’s Compensation Insurance

If you have employees, your business is required by law in most states to carry worker’s compensation insurance. This type of insurance provides coverage in case one of your employees suffers an injury while on the job.

According to injuryfacts.nsc.org, the top three leading causes of work-related injuries are:

1. Overexertion and bodily reaction: This injury is a result of excessive physical effort including lifting, pulling, pushing, turning, and holding. It’s a strain or type of stress on the body.
2. Slips, trips, and falls: These types of injuries are typically accidental and involve everything from falling from structures or against objects to slipping on liquids and tripping over misplaced objects.
3. Contact with objects and equipment: This injury can be the result of bumping into equipment, being squeezed or compressed between heavy or shifting objects, or a worker getting struck by a moving object.

All of these injuries are very common when you have employees, regardless of the type of business you’re running. To protect yourself, your assets, and most importantly, your employees, you want to make sure you have worker’s comp insurance before you take on a single employee.

Professional Liability Insurance

Professional liability insurance is the coverage you need for any type of mistake you make while running your business, which is perfect for all businesses, especially if you’re running a business where you’re providing services of any type.

Using professional liability, for example, you’re going to be protected against claims of:

• Misrepresentation
• Giving wrong or inaccurate advice
• Negligence

In your mind, you’re thinking it was an accident or mistake, and though your intentions were good, your mistakes have the potential to cause businesses and clients major financial losses. Because of that, they have every right to sue you for the financial losses and other damages they incurred due to your mistake or “mishandling” of your services.

Product Liability Insurance

How many times have you seen in the news various product recalls for big brand companies? You see it all the time! Do you recall back in 2016 when Samsung had to recall all the Galaxy Note 7 phones because there was a defect in the battery of the phones causing it to get too hot, which then led to the phone catching fire and exploding? Samsung faced serious lawsuits from those injured from those phones.

Those defects were unintentional but because the phone was defective, injured customers sought damages for their injuries. In running your business, you can’t guarantee that the products you’re selling won’t be defective either. And because of that uncertainty, you want to make sure your business is protected with product liability insurance… just in case a product or two goes haywire.

If you wnat to keep your business healthy, you better pay attention the types of business insurance you need.

Businesses usually relocate because of growth. Often, businesses will move to another location in order to cater to new target audience or welcome more employees. A mom or pop shop that has grown in the previous years will also move to another location to create a more significant brand or image in the market. Remember, the location and size of your business will speak volumes about your position in the market. How can you convince your customers that you are a household name if your office is in the middle of nowhere?

Once you have found the office space you will be relocating to the next big part of an office relocation is the actual move itself. The way you handle the move can significantly affect the morale of your employees and the condition of all your valuables. The duration of your move can also affect your operations – the longer your move is, the more profits you will likely lose.

For you to come up with a business relocation checklist and ensure that all the tasks are ticked off ahead of time, consider working with a moving company. Professional movers have the necessary experience and skills to help your business relocate and start its operations as soon as possible. With a moving company, you won’t have to worry about your move, allowing you to continue overseeing your business’s daily operations.

However, with the number of moving companies operating today, it’s important that you carefully choose which to hire. You don’t want to end up paying for a moving company that will only cause stress to your business relocation, right?

Here are a few suggestions on how to go about selecting a moving company.

1)  Research all the contact information for the company including name, physical address (no PO Boxes), and any other names they do business under. If you find more than one firm at the same address, that is a definite red flag.

2)  Determine how long the company has been in business. Many corporate movers have been doing business for many years so it’s a good idea to work with companies that have been around for at least five years. Knowing that you are paying for experts, working with a moving company who has been in the industry for years will give you peace of mind. These individuals have likely experienced different moving woes in the past and came up with effective solutions to surpass all of these.

It also doesn’t hurt to find out how long they’ve been operating under the current ownership and management structure.

3)  Check to see the company is properly licensed.  Properly licensed interstate moving companies will have both a DOT number and a MC number from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. You can verify these numbers yourself, for free, at SaferSys.org. Intrastate movers aren’t subject to the same regulations, but most states have their own licensing requirements you should check.

4)  Inquire about the company’s insurance coverage – what’s covered and for how much. They should carry insurance that covers your materials while in transit, as well as any damage the movers cause to your old or new properties. While all movers are required to have basic insurance, be sure to check into the limits on their coverage and consider paying extra for additional insurance if you think you need it. Also make sure they carry current workers’ compensation coverage because if they don’t, you may be liable for any injuries their workers receive.

5)  Get reliable recommendations – You MUST check out potential movers through objective sources like the BBB or your state’s Department of Transportation. A reputable commercial moving company will be listed with both these agencies.

Note:  You can also call FMCSA’s Safety Violation and Consumer Complaints hotline at (888) 368-7238. It’s free, available 24/7 and you can check the complaint history of any interstate mover.

6) Don’t just jump at the lowest price! You need to investigate the estimate to find out if it’s realistic. As they say, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!  Get at least three estimates from commercial movers. This will allow you to make a fair, objective comparison.

Compare apples to apples. Break down each mover’s estimate into parts and compare them to estimates from other commercial moving services. Consider factors like the amount of time and the amount of materials estimated.

Expect estimates to fall within a reasonable range of each other. A good estimate should be no higher – or lower – than 10 percent of the final cost of the move.

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