I recently attended a teleconference where my jaw was dropped practically the entire time. Not because the content was fabulous - but because it was my content the leader was sharing - without giving any credit to where she learned the information.

In an age where information is a commodity, many business owners haven’t educated themselves on what they can and can not use themselves to re-sell for their own profit.

Today, during a coaching call with a business owner who was putting together a unique presentation, this topic came up regarding ways for her to protect her information from being re-used, or distributed without her company name, or author’s tag on it.

I gave her several tips on what she could do immediately to begin protecting her work, and then I encouraged her as I would any business owner to learn everything they can about protecting their intellectual property. And do it before someone tries to hock your material as their own.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is also offering a conference on how you can protect your intellectual property from being swiped by other unethical or unscrupulous business owners.

Why would you want to go to this type of conference personally? Well - once you do all the work and put forth the research, time, money and energy into innovating the information, products, seminars or workshops you put together and sell, you’ll most certainly want it protected from those who simply copy others.

CONFERENCE ON
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN THE
GLOBAL MARKETPLACE*

July 18-19, 2005
8:00am to 6:00pm

Hyatt Regency Phoenix
122 North Second Street
Phoenix, Arizona

Let me share one secret that can help you in a court of law if you ever needed several ways to prove that you developed and used the information first.

Mail yourself a printed copy of the workshop handouts, book, or printed web pages that you have on content you create. Whether it’s a web site, company name, USP, unique strategy or design, mail it to yourself before you let the general public see the information.

Once you receive it - do NOT open the envelope. Keep it in a sealed envelope, so that the judge could open it if you needed additional proof that you had it in use first.

I would also include your handwritten notes, mindmaps, or anything else you used to develop your innovative idea or material.

While this isn’t necessarily a legal strategy - it has helped other writers in the past to prove their creative contributions to the book/product. Afterall, if you have gone through these great, innovative lengths to protect this information, and your unscrupulous copycat competitor did not - who do you think the judge will side with?

Now - if you really want to learn more about protecting yourself, I’d highly recommend you attend the FREE conference on intellectual property so you will know the law about using other people’s material, and protecting your own.

Why attend the conference on intellectual property in Arizona?

Here’s two reasons directly from the USPTO web page promoting the FREE conference:

Do you know what’s in your intellectual property portfolio?

“Day 1” presentations help participants to identify
(a) the types of intellectual property that may be in their portfolios and
(b) the steps they need to take to protect their assets in the United States and abroad.

The presentations will cover the four major types of IP that businesses typically encounter: patents, trademarks (and domain names), copyrights, and trade secrets.

Do you know what steps to take to enforce the rights in your portfolio?

“Day 2” presentations focus on enforcement issues that may arise in protecting intellectual property rights here and abroad.

The presentations will help participants to understand the various types of intellectual property violations: patent, trademark, and copyright infringement; unfair competition; and counterfeiting and piracy.

“During the two-day seminar, patent, trademark and copyright experts and lawyers from the USPTO will provide small- and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs, and independent inventors interested in manufacturing or selling their products abroad with specific details and useful tips about protecting and enforcing their intellectual property rights in the United States and around the world.”

To win in any game, you have to know the rules first, right? Then you have to play by those rules and improve your performance within those parameters. This is true in every sports game we play. But it’s not true in the game of business ownership.

Business is the only game in life where YOU can set the rules. As a matter of fact, if you’ve structured your business on other people’s rules – you’re bound to fall far short of your full potential. That’s because other people have set the rules to play to their strengths, not yours.

Success in business begins with deciding the game you want to play, and how you want to play it. Personal fulfillment starts with consciously deciding things like what positions you’ll personally fill on the business team, and what you’ll outsource.

Why are so many entrepreneurs and business owners miserable, unfulfilled or eeking out miniscule profits?

It’s because they haven’t ever taken the time to view their business in this light. They’re playing a game where other people made the rules. They’re at the mercy of the rules they never had any input in setting, and even worse – rules that can change at any time without warning. (Remember, rules are basically limitations.)

Now I know some of you might be thinking, “Come on J.P., there ARE some rules in business that must be adhered to.” And to that I would agree, but the key word is “some” not all. These would be the common rules of honesty, integrity, and customer-centric service, along with the golden and platinum rule. The rules I’m talking about are all the other ones that are blindly followed in your industry without any significant critical thought.

Beware of the “everyone does it this way” trap

Too many business owners think just because companies within their industry have always done things a certain way, that’s the way they have to run their company. Unfortunately that type of approach will only get you the same results other men and women in your industry are getting – average, or below average results.

I’ll share a personal example with you from one of my past businesses to help illustrate this point.

When I was 24, running my second business (a landscape design-and-build company) I remember sitting in a seminar sponsored by an industry association. One of the speakers was presenting a workshop on improving sales skills. About half way into the presentation he let loose with a comment that I’ll never forget.

After discussing the average annual gross income of several other industries he said in a matter-of-fact way — “After all, none of you got into this industry to become a millionaire. If you did, you’re in the wrong business.”

I sat back, STUNNED that someone would make such a comment and said to myself, “No way that’s true. It can be done.” I didn’t realize it then, but I was doing what I had done for years – I was setting my own rules. I spoke up and stated my view of how hypocritical it was for him as a “sales trainer” to be saying such things. But I didn’t make much headway with him.

What I did, however, is leave from that seminar more determined than ever to prove that it could be done. You can break the conventional paradigm of any industry.

Why getting motivated to set your own rules is critical

In just over seven years – I spun off a second company and designed both companies to serve specialized niches. These were businesses built consciously on my rules. Businesses that generated substantial cash flow that I then used to purchase over a million dollars in real estate.

In the two years following that achievement, we sold both businesses (for more capital and cash flow) and I started the international small business coaching company RPM Success Group Inc. with my gorgeous wife (and partner.) Best of all we relocated to the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii where we now coach other small business owners how to transform their businesses and create their ideal lifestyles too.

I don’t share this with you to impress you, but rather to impress upon you the importance of setting your own rules. My rules allowed me to break free from the constraints that so many business owners in that industry are still trapped by.

How to make the shift and start setting your own rules

It’s not that you have to make a shift in industries. (I did it for personal/lifestyle reasons, but after I had proved the conventional paradigm in that industry wrong.) The shift you need to make is in your mind, in your thinking about what it is you do – right now where you are at in your business and life.

In my work as a business coach I see this tendency to conform to the “conventional” mindset in every industry. Just look around at what the majority of other business owners are doing in your industry, and listen to how much they complain or blame things on outside influences, like “the economy” instead of reengineering how they run their business.

It’s the same in every industry, niche, or profession — you can count on it. If you doubt me, just look around at what the majority of other business owners are doing in your industry.

· How different are your competitors from each other? (My bet is there is no more than a 10 to 20% difference across the board.)

· How different are you from your competitors?

· Are you offering essentially the same services/products to the same market and experiencing the same financial rewards and constraints as everyone else in your industry?

If you don’t like your answers to these questions, then now’s time to make a change. Winning the game of business ownership, playing by your own rules takes a comprehensive strategy. But you can start setting your own rules by answering three simple questions:

1. What could your company provide that your competitors do not, cannot do, or would not to do – even if they thought of it first?

2. What’s considered “impossible” by the majority of people in your industry? How could you provide that service/product/solution IF it were really not impossible?

(Have you considered that maybe your competitors are talking about how “impossible” something is to implement because they don’t want you to create the solution, and take away their market share?)

3. What are consumers regularly complaining about in your industry? How can you provide solutions to their complaints?

Take action now!

Take your answers to these three starter questions and begin to mold your operational systems, marketing, and pricing structure around the answers you come up with. You can boost your profits and your personal fulfillment at the same time – starting by setting the rules of your own game.

When you set your own rules in this manner, you will take a commanding lead in your industry, niche, or profession. You’ll be setting the rules around what consumers want instead of what company in your industry find to be “the norm.” And when you help enough other people get what they want, you’ll get more of what you want!

So if you want to win big in life, stop playing your game by other people’s rules. Life presents enough challenges, why create more for yourself by trying to play by other people’s rules. Step up and take a look at the game you’re playing, confirm you’re on the right field and reset the rules.

If you’re not on the “right field” playing a game that’s really in alignment with your in-born skills, talents and passions, then stop taking what life (and your business) is handing you and have your business coach help you create a game with rules that work for you.

About the Author: John-Paul Micek and his partner Deborah Cole Micek are Business Growth Coaches. They specialize in helping small business owners like you, achieve profit-doubling growth in one-third the time it would take to do on your own. With their strategic coaching programs, and the high-leverage membership benefits of www.BusinessOwnersCoachingClub.com you’re guaranteed to reach more goals in 12-months than most owners do in a decade. You can reach John-Paul at or toll free in the USA at (888) 334-8151. You can learn more about JP at www.JohnPaulMicek.com.

© Copyright 1999-2004 by RPM Success Group ® all rights reserved. Reproduction in any form without the express written consent of RPM Success Group ® is prohibited. Call RPM Success Group toll free at 888-334-8151 for reprint permissions, or by email editor@rpmsuccess.com.

It’s 6 a.m. Hawaii time as I begin my phone appointment with a new business-coaching client from Pennsylvania. Joe sounded frustrated as he related his story. “I’m 57 and I’ve been running my own company for 30 years. Now it’s time to sell my business, and I realize it’s not worth what I thought.”

Like so many other small-business owners, Joe was utterly dismayed why something he had worked so hard at for so many years had so little value. The good news is that it’s a story that you can totally avoid telling yourself.

After selling two businesses and helping many other owners prepare their small businesses for sale, I’ve found there are three basic keys to building a high-value company. Here’s a quick overview.

Key #1: Cash Flow

When it comes to valuing a business, cash flow begins with “net” taxable income. Then you add back things like depreciation, taxes paid, owner’s salary/benefits, and other ownership “perks.” A multiple is then applied against your cash flow based on your industry and geographic area.

Although those “add backs” will always be a factor in any small business, when you’re preparing to sell — the cleaner you can make your cash flow the better. Start backing off your perks two to three years out from when you intend to sell your business.

Key #2: Retained Earnings

This is the profit that your company keeps each year. A track record of steadily increasing retained earnings not only increases the value of your business, it also lowers the risk potential for buyers.

Here’s how it works for most small businesses. Owners often begin in the red when they start up. By the third year, most businesses will reach a breakeven point. Then a year or so after, the business begins to show retained earnings.

That amount will range from a couple thousand dollars to 10,000 or more depending on your industry. But what’s important is that from then on, your books should show a steady climb in your retained earnings.

Key #3: Operational Systems

Formalized systems for hiring, managing, marketing, and operations are critical in creating a high-value business. Having policy and procedure manuals, written operational systems, and customized software systems will not only improve the profitability of your company — they will turn your small business into an asset that someone will want to buy.

Without formalized systems, all you have is a “job.” And no one wants to buy a job!

If you want to build a salable small business, you need to start taking action now

Put together an advisory team with your business coach, CPA, and a business broker. Develop a plan, and then work that plan.

The sooner you do it, the more value your company will have when it comes time to sell. And, the more rewarding business ownership will be for you until that time comes.

About the Author: John-Paul Micek and his partner Deborah Cole Micek are Business Growth Coaches. They help small business owners like you, achieve profit-doubling growth in one-third the time it would take to do on your own.

In just 12-months with your membership in the www.BusinessOwnersCoachingClub.com you can bridge the digital divide and transform your small business into a click-and-mortar powerhouse that delivers the profits, personal fulfillment, and free time you want.

© Copyright 1999-2005 by RPM Success Group ®, All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form without the express written consent of RPM Success Group ® is prohibited. You may use this article/post in it’s entirety as an RSS feed without previous permission, so long as it is published in it’s entirety with all copyright notices. Call RPM Success Group toll free at 888-334-8151 for offline reprint permissions, or by email editor@rpmsuccess.com.