Lead Time - and Timely Lease Negotiation Tips

They say that in business, TIMING is Everything!  

Businesses certainly need to have their products or services available for customers when the customer is ready to buy. And when it comes to the location that your business will operate from, did you know that TIMING also comes into play?

Here with some great tips with respect to the TIMING involved in your Commercial lease, are my friends from The Lease Coach. Please enjoy this Guest Post to our BLOG and feel free to share it with those you feel could benefit within your circle of contacts.

Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals For Dummies

Commercial Leasing Tips for Commercial Tenants

By: Jeff Grandfield – The Lease Coach 

For many business-owners, negotiating a good lease or lease renewal against an experienced agent or landlord can be a challenge. While an entrepreneur focuses on marketing and managing, savvy real estate agents and brokers are specialized sales people. Their job is to sell tenants on leasing their location at the highest possible rental rate. 

As explained in our new book, Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals For Dummies (co-written with my colleague, Dale Willerton), tenants may go through the leasing process only two or three times in their entire lifetime – yet they have to negotiate against seasoned professionals who negotiate leases every day for a living. Negotiating appropriate leasing terms is vital for an entrepreneur as the amount of rent he pays will directly affect the business’ financial bottom line. 

Whether you are leasing a new location for the first time or negotiating a lease renewal for your business, these are some money-saving tips for tenants:

Allow Sufficient Time: For a new location lease agreement, get started nine months in advance to avoid unexpected situations and/or delays. Lease renewal negotiations should begin a minimum of 12 months before the term expires. If you can’t get a decent renewal rate, would you rather find out that you need to move with three weeks or six months left on your lease term? In both circumstances, time will be your ally or your enemy – depending on how you use it.

Leverage the Lease “Term” Into Incentives: Since most lease deals are negotiated through commercial brokers or commissioned leasing agents, the lease term (or length) is a big negotiating chip for the tenant. Even if you want a five-year lease, start negotiating for three years. Since the agent’s commission is generally five percent of the base rent calculated on the first five years, you can now control the agent’s paycheque. After the first or second round of negotiations, you may be able to leverage a lower rental rate, more free rent, and more incentives by “agreeing” to take a five-year term rather than three. Additionally, most agents will get a two percent commission on years six – 10 and sometimes even on renewals.

Talk to Other Tenants: Some of the best inside information available is from tenants already leasing space in a building. Introduce yourself as a prospective tenant and ask for an honest opinion of the landlord, the level of property maintenance, and the rental rate charged. What you learn here may surprise you; use this information wisely in your negotiations.

For a copy of our free CD, Leasing Do’s & Don’ts for Commercial Tenants, please e-mail your request to DaleWillerton@TheLeaseCoach.com.

Jeff Grandfield and Dale Willerton - The Lease Coach are Commercial Lease Consultants who work exclusively for tenants. Jeff and Dale are professional speakers and co-authors of Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals For Dummies (Wiley, 2013). Got a leasing question? Need help with your new lease or renewal? Call 1-800-738-9202, e-mail DaleWillerton@TheLeaseCoach.com  or JeffGrandfield@TheLeaseCoach.com or visit www.TheLeaseCoach.com.

 Thank you Jeff and Dale for another great post with insights that will help our readers.

* QUESTION:  When is the BEST time for a business owner to work on their Business Plan?  

ANSWER:  It's always better to have your Business Plan in a state of readiness in order to quickly make specific details available to those requiring the information. Let's talk about your Business Plan needs and help you better prepared for the next Opportunity or Challenge ahead!

NOTE: For a closer look at the services provided by Pro-Vision Solutions Inc. and how we can assist ... visit our Website: www.pvs4u.ca

We'd be very pleased to have you add your comments or additional helpful suggestions for entrepreneurs! 

Please let us know your thoughts and we invite you to share this post with those in your circle of contacts!

Business Entry or Exit - Buying or Selling

One of the ways used by some of our clients to help accelerate their entry into business is to purchase one that's already up and running. That can be a good approach, but don't assume that just because a business is open and available, that it's operating well, or that it's ideally suited for you!

I've invited friends from Sunbelt Business Brokers to share some of their thoughts and expertise that we feel may be equally valuable, whether you're considering buying or selling a business. Please feel free to pass this post along to those you feel may benefit from this information. And we're confident that these seasoned business professionals would be pleased to speak with you regarding your requirements, just as we'd be pleased to work with you through your business planning, development, and business financing needs. Please enjoy this guest blog post.

The Secret of Selling Your Business

And Getting What It’s Really Worth

 

Are You Ready to Sell Your Business?

by Dale Alton

Have you ever thought about selling your business?

Letting go of the business you’ve built takes careful planning and serious consideration of the financial, legal, tax, lifestyle and emotional issues you’ll be facing.

You may find yourself thinking about this significant transition with the realization that you have lots of concerns about it. You’re not alone. Many business owners have not fully considered an exit strategy that is the best for their situation.

What many owners fail to understand is that, starting this process three or more years prior to selling your business is one of the best ways to maximize your after tax dollars.

They say that “experience teaches”. Tough to get the experience you really need to sell your business if it is the first and only time you expect to do it! Experienced serial entrepreneurs will often use a business broker because of the advantages they know that a Broker offers.

Every deal is different. A business broker, working with a strong network of other experienced brokers can be key in ensuring you find the right buyer and receive the best after tax dollars on the sale of your business.

A good business broker will work with your lawyer and accountant to bring order to the process and help ensure you get what your business is worth. Do you know the buyer is probably more nervous than you about whether she/he will be getting a good deal. Sunbelt Business Brokers has found that, in the end, creating a win/win between the buyer and the seller is a great way to get you the best return.

Planning and Preparation are Critical!

So what are some of the key considerations that will affect the success in selling your business? Your after tax proceeds may be a pretty good determiner on how well you feel you did. A smooth transition and ongoing success of the business is often another major consideration. The attractiveness of your business in the marketplace, proper planning and preparation, and the execution of a business sale agreement will make a significant difference in the outcome of the sales process.

Preparation is discipline that can be tough to see the advantage of in the day to day hustle of leading and managing your business. With so many goals and objectives it can be difficult to see the end game. What will you do in the end to monetize all of that hard work you have put into your business? The added challenge is that life is unpredictable. One never knows when death, disability, divorce or just another really good opportunity may make selling your business a necessity.

You are already probably working with an accountant and lawyer. Most of them make their money doing some pretty specific things in your business, and may or may not have the experience you need to get you over the “finish line” when looking to selling your business.

A business coach, independent financial advisor, insurance professional, and business broker can all be potential members of a good team to help you strategically increase the value of your business, manage your potential risk of loss and/or get the best financial return.

The Boomer Bubble Impact

To ensure that you will put the most after tax dollars in your pocket after selling your business you first need to get the best price. So what trends might be affecting you that you do not have control of?

No one can time the market. Oil prices can wreak havoc on sales, but the cyclical nature of the market actually can work to rationalize a fair price based on the anticipated rebound and income potential. One cycle that we all know about, but may still hold a few surprises, is the baby boom.

Research indicates that in the next five to ten years, Baby Boom entrepreneurs will be retiring in record numbers. It is anticipated that 70% of privately‐held businesses will change ownership during this time.

Never in history has a change in small business ownership of this magnitude occurred. That means that if you’re a Baby Boom entrepreneur, you may be selling into a very competitive marketplace. It’s likely that only the most attractive and well‐prepared businesses will sell for what they’re worth. It is also inevitable that many profitable businesses will not sell unless they are well prepared.

It is expected that by 2018 we will see something new that will be influenced by this trend. The market is predicted to move from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market for a large number of main street businesses. Businesses that are well prepared and ready to compete in a buyer’s market will fair best in that economic climate. Preparation and timing are critical to getting what your business is worth.

In a series of articles we over the next few months, we hope to provide you with valuable insights into the process of selling your business. We invite you to contact a Sunbelt intermediary for a complimentary consultation about how you can achieve optimum success in selling your business.

You will want to understand and take control of the factors that affect the value of your businesses and to constantly build for maximum return on investment. Every step you take to prepare your business for sale will also ultimately create a more enjoyable and more productive business environment. It will also ensure that you’re ready when the right opportunity comes along.

In the next installment “20 Ways Business Owners Mess Up When Selling Their Business” we bring you a 3 part series that provides suggestions on how to meet many common challenges for owners looking to sell their business.

How do I Determine My Goals in Selling My Business?

• Define and thoroughly evaluate your reasons for selling
• Consider the alternatives to selling
• Determine if selling is indeed your best option at this time
• Work with a financial planner and tax lawyer to structure optimal transaction strategies and your best approach to managing the proceeds of the sale (ask your Sunbelt intermediary for recommendations)
• Determine if the proceeds of the sale will provide the funds you require to sustain your lifestyle
• Evaluate your optimal terms and conditions for sale (your Sunbelt intermediary can help)
• Determine the best possible timing for you:

• Are you ready for your retirement?
• What will you do once you sell your business?
• How does your family feel about selling?
• Will selling satisfy your financial needs for retirement or other pursuits?
• Are you interested in continuing to work in the business?
• Do you plan to buy another business?

 

Sunbelt Business Brokers Edmonton

Sunbelt’s team of brokers, operating at local and regional levels, have experience selling small to medium sized businesses. 

Michael McCulloch

Dale Alton

Sunbelt is the world’s largest business brokerage firm with approximately 300 licensed offices located throughout the world, and 33 offices across Canada alone. 

More than 1,400 Sunbelt brokers annually coordinate an estimated 4,000 Main Street and Middle Market business transactions.

A variety of strategies are required to sell businesses from different industries, of different sizes, and in different economic climates. Many Sunbelt brokers have specific industry experience and cooperate with their counterparts to identify the buyer and create the right framework for the sale.

Your Local Sunbelt Business brokers sell a diverse mix of main street businesses valued under $3 Million. Mergers and Acquisitions of larger and more complex business transactions of up to $30 Million are managed out of the Ottawa Head Office. We would like to help you plan and look forward to retirement, expansion or an exciting new business opportunity. 

Have you ever thought about selling your Business?

Sunbelt represents clients who may be interested in buying a business like yours. If you are thinking of selling a business now or in the next 3 years, discover what your next steps should be. Feel free to contact our Sunbelt Business Brokers Edmonton office if you have any questions or would like a free confidential consultation. Give me a call. Dale Alton – 780-878-8787

Sunbelt - The Place to Buy or Sell a Business.

* Thank you Michael and Dale for these points to consider when either Selling or Buying a business. You've raises a number of things that need to be evaluated by those looking at either side of that type of transition.

 

If you'd like to explore how this might fit into your larger plans for business, let's start with a coversation! Together, we can see how we can work towards building this into your Business PLAN.

NOTE: For a closer look at the services provided by Pro-Vision Solutions Inc. and how we can assist ... visit our Website: www.pvs4u.ca

AND, we invite you to add your comments or additional helpful suggestions for entrepreneurs.   Please let us know your thoughts and feel free to share this with those in your circle of contacts!

More 'Ins and Outs' with a Commercial Lease

There are a certainly many things that a business owner will have on their mind when it comes to starting or expanding their business. Often, that doesn't take into consideration a situation where the owner may want to get out of their lease earlier than anticipated. 

Here's an important tip related to that and a few other things you'll want to consider when going into a Commercial Lease. 

Thank you Dale and Jeff, our friends at The Lease Coach, for sharing these insights with our audience. 

Dale Willerton and Jeff Grandfield

Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals For Dummies

Commercial Leasing Tips for Commercial Tenants

By: Jeff Grandfield – The Lease Coach 

For many business-owners, negotiating a good lease or lease renewal against an experienced agent or landlord can be a challenge. While an entrepreneur focuses on marketing and managing, savvy real estate agents and brokers are specialized sales people. Their job is to sell tenants on leasing their location at the highest possible rental rate.

As explained in our new book, Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals For Dummies (co-written with my colleague, Dale Willerton), tenants may go through the leasing process only two or three times in their entire lifetime – yet they have to negotiate against seasoned professionals who negotiate leases every day for a living. 

Negotiating appropriate leasing terms is vital for an entrepreneur as the amount of rent he pays will directly affect the business’ financial bottom line.

Whether you are leasing a new location for the first time or negotiating a lease renewal for your business, these are some money-saving tips for tenants:

Termination Clauses and Outs: A good lease agreement from the tenant’s perspective includes an early Termination Clause. Such a clause can be based on the landlord maintaining occupancy levels especially if you rely on traffic. Some business owners like to have the right to terminate in the event of personal illness or even poor sales volume. Landlords may not willingly include these clauses for the benefit of the tenant – they must be negotiated into the agreement.

Don’t Forget the Parking: When negotiating for parking, first establish the availability and preferred locations. It’s much harder to negotiate for parking spots after they have been all taken rather than when there is a surplus of spots. If you can’t get a landlord to come down on the asking rental rate, at least ask for a few months of free parking as a lease incentive. Parking is worth negotiating on – so that you, your staff, and your customers have a place to park.

Measure Your Space: Most commercial, office, retail, and industrial tenants lease space and pay rent per square foot. So often, however, the premises or area has not been measured properly and the tenant is paying for Phantom Space (or additional space reported that does not exist). Measurement discrepancies are common so make sure that you have your square footage verified. Your measured area not only affects your base/minimum rent, but also your CAM costs.

For a copy of our free CD, Leasing Do’s & Don’ts for Commercial Tenants, please e-mail your request to DaleWillerton@TheLeaseCoach.com.

Jeff Grandfield and Dale Willerton - The Lease Coach are Commercial Lease Consultants who work exclusively for tenants. Jeff and Dale are professional speakers and co-authors of Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals For Dummies (Wiley, 2013). Got a leasing question? Need help with your new lease or renewal? Call 1-800-738-9202, e-mail DaleWillerton@TheLeaseCoach.com  or JeffGrandfield@TheLeaseCoach.com or visit www.TheLeaseCoach.com.

* Lately, we've been speaking with a number of business owners who've been taking a closer look at how their business location needs fit into the bigger picture of their business, and into their Business PLAN.

NOTE: For a closer look at the services provided by Pro-Vision Solutions Inc. and how we can assist ... visit our Website: www.pvs4u.ca

Care to add your comments or additional helpful suggestions for entrepreneurs? 
 
Let us know your thoughts and please share this with those in your circle of contacts!

Planning Tips to Negotiate a Better Lease

• Plan your lease payment due date
• Plan to inspect HVAC equipment
• Plan for a smoother business transition

It all comes down to negotiating with your landlord!

In the last few weeks I've been speaking with a client who was looking at buying a business and taking over it's current leased location. While they hadn't yet gone into a detailed review of the various agreements that were in place, the tips provided by The Lease Coach in this BLOG have been very helpful! 

We've always encouraged our business clients to engage the services of experienced professionals to assist them with aspects of business where the professionals can add tremendous value. And our network of professional contacts continues to grow!

Here are some more great tips and suggestions from our friends at The Lease Coach. Thank you Dale Willerton and Jeff Grandfield for sharing the following helpful insights with our "Business Success" audience!

Dale Willerton

Jeff Grandfield

Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals For Dummies

Commercial Leasing Tips for Commercial Tenants

By: Jeff Grandfield – The Lease Coach 

For many business-owners, negotiating a good lease or lease renewal against an experienced agent or landlord can be a challenge. While an entrepreneur focuses on marketing and managing, savvy real estate agents and brokers are specialized sales people. Their job is to sell tenants on leasing their location at the highest possible rental rate. 

 
As explained in our new book, Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals For Dummies (co-written with my colleague, Dale Willerton), tenants may go through the leasing process only two or three times in their entire lifetime – yet they have to negotiate against seasoned professionals who negotiate leases every day for a living. Negotiating appropriate leasing terms is vital for an entrepreneur as the amount of rent he pays will directly affect the business’ financial bottom line.

Whether you are leasing a new location for the first time or negotiating a lease renewal for your business, these are some money-saving tips for tenants:

Change the Day the Rent is Due: For many small or medium-sized tenants, the monthly rent represents a larger portion of their overhead. Paying the rent on the first of the month can often be a hardship. This is because other expenses such as payroll, loan payments, equipment leases, etc. also come due that same day. During lease negotiations, or even during the lease term, you can often request and get permission to pay your rent on the 10^th day of the month or even later. Ask … just what have you got to lose?

Check Out the HVAC System: If you occupy strip mall space or a building has a designated Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) unit, then your lease probably says that you are responsible for the repairs to and/or replacement of that HVAC unit. While most property managers have preventative maintenance inspections done, you can stipulate that the HVAC unit be thoroughly inspected and repaired before accepting responsibility for it. Without such inspection, you may be stuck with a large HVAC replacement cost that you were not anticipating.

Anticipate Your Lease Assignment: Landlords anticipate that you will eventually sell your business and that you will want to assign your lease agreement – you should too! Some lease agreements say that the landlord can unilaterally terminate your agreement rather than grant an assignment. On the other hand, a landlord can automatically raise the rent for the new tenant (the buyer). Check this clause very carefully before you knowingly agree to it – then negotiate for changes.

For a copy of our free CD, Leasing Do’s & Don’ts for Commercial Tenants, please e-mail your request to DaleWillerton@TheLeaseCoach.com.

Jeff Grandfield and Dale Willerton - The Lease Coach are Commercial Lease Consultants who work exclusively for tenants. Jeff and Dale are professional speakers and co-authors of Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals For Dummies (Wiley, 2013). Got a leasing question? Need help with your new lease or renewal? Call 1-800-738-9202, e-mail DaleWillerton@TheLeaseCoach.com  or JeffGrandfield@TheLeaseCoach.com or visit www.TheLeaseCoach.com.

What's been your experience with the space you've rented or leased? We'd be delighted to have you add your comments and helpful suggestions for our audience. Thank you in advance for sharing this post with those in your circle of contacts!



* In Closing:  How is your BUSINESS PLAN being used to guide you and your business into a better future?

Pro-Vision Solutions Inc. has a number of helpful ways to develop your BUSINESS PLAN! 

Simply CLICK for more information and details from our NEW Website!

Changing Times and Your Commercial Lease ...

IF there's ONE thing we know for sure, it's that things CHANGE! 

With that in mind, we know intuitively that we need to stay in touch with the needs of our customers. It’s likely that we’ll also keep our eyes and ears open to the things happening around us. But when it comes to the location that we operate from, how will the need for space to run the business continue to be met as things CHANGE around you? Planning for those needs is something that we need to carefully consider in advance. 

Dale Willerton and Jeff Grandfield

Because occupancy cost can be a significant item of expense, it warrants that some thought be given to how and when those needs will likely need to be addressed.

Here are some more great ideas related to this and other leasing considerations from our friends at The Lease Coach. 



Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals For Dummies

Commercial Leasing Tips for Commercial Tenants

By: Jeff Grandfield – The Lease Coach 

For many business-owners, negotiating a good lease or lease renewal against an experienced agent or landlord can be a challenge. While an entrepreneur focuses on marketing and managing, savvy real estate agents and brokers are specialized sales people. Their job is to sell tenants on leasing their location at the highest possible rental rate. 

As explained in our new book, Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals For Dummies (co-written with my colleague, Dale Willerton), tenants may go through the leasing process only two or three times in their entire lifetime – yet they have to negotiate against seasoned professionals who negotiate leases every day for a living. Negotiating appropriate leasing terms is vital for an entrepreneur as the amount of rent he pays will directly affect the business’ financial bottom line.

Whether you are leasing a new location for the first time or negotiating a lease renewal for your business, these are some money-saving tips for tenants:

Select the Best Lease Length:  While a five-year lease term is still the most common, it is not necessarily the best term for your company. One year, three years, or even ten years may be a better fit for your business and a big factor will be the cost of leasehold improvements. If the cost of leasehold improvements is low enough, you may prefer a shorter term for flexibility. If this cost is substantial, you may require a longer lease term to amortize the costs. Agents, typically, receive a higher landlord-paid commission when you agree to a longer lease term so they will be motivated and push you to sign for a longer lease term. The landlord, however, may be flexible. Take the term that is best for your business.

Who Should Be The Tenant: Don`t enter into a lease agreement (or an Offer to Lease) under your personal name. This will make you personally liable for everything. Instead, form a corporation or holding company that will become the tenant. If you are negotiating on locations, but don`t intend to incorporate until a later date, then the Offer to Lease should state that the tenant is Your Name on behalf of a company to be incorporated (or Nominee). If you are opening multiple locations, it is often wise to form a new company for each lease agreement as further protection. Corporations also have tax benefits over sole proprietorships.

Operating Cost / CAM Queries: Operating Costs / Common Area Maintenance (CAM) often make up a large portion of the gross rent a tenant pays. Before you lease, ask the landlord and existing tenants if Operating Costs have increased much over the past year. While the Base/Minimum Rent is fixed, Operating Costs are adjusted yearly and tend to rise more often than fall. Landlords managing their own property may tend to over-spend to maintain or increase property value.

For a copy of our free CD, Leasing Do’s & Don’ts for Commercial Tenants, please e-mail your request to DaleWillerton@TheLeaseCoach.com.

Jeff Grandfield and Dale Willerton - The Lease Coach are Commercial Lease Consultants who work exclusively for tenants. Jeff and Dale are professional speakers and co-authors of Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals For Dummies (Wiley, 2013). Got a leasing question? Need help with your new lease or renewal? Call 1-800-738-9202, e-mail DaleWillerton@TheLeaseCoach.com  or JeffGrandfield@TheLeaseCoach.com or visit www.TheLeaseCoach.com.

* Have you included your business location plans into your Business PLAN? 

NOTE: This is an area where Pro-Vision Solutions Inc. can assist ... for more details CLICK HERE

What are your comments or additional helpful suggestions for entrepreneurs? 

Let us know your thoughts and please share this with those in your circle of contacts!

Could a Trademark Protect Your Brand?

Do you have a trademark to protect the value you're building in your brand? 

Over the past year, this type of question has come up in conversation with a couple of my clients.  As they've been looking further into the future and considering the potential increase in the value of their business, they're wondering how to best protect important aspects of their business brand.  

To provide an informative response on this, we've called upon Gregory Pang with RedFrame Law in Edmonton.  Gregory's practice focuses on business, trademark and copyright law with RedFrame Law in Association with Nicholl & Akers. He enjoys serving exciting startups, dynamic small businesses and film & television production companies. Follow Gregory on Twitter @cyclaw.  

Gregory is one of the many business professionals we're pleased to have in our circle of contacts. It's the expertise and collaborative spirit of individuals such as Gregory, that allows us to share these valuable insights with our circle of contacts. As we've often said, ‘there’s more to be gained by working together than can be achieved on our own.’ 

Please feel free to pass these and future posts along to those within your circle of contacts. We look forward to continuing to provide some of the wisdom that others have shared along their entrepreneurial journey.

NOW, please enjoy the following article, provided by Gregory Pang:

One of the most common questions I get from clients is: Should I trademark my name/slogan/logo? 

Gregory Pang

With a registered trademark, your rights go beyond that of those in an unregistered trademark, to which you also have certain rights under the Canadian Trade-marks Act. The challenge of protecting an unregistered trademark is that your main remedy is called “passing off”, which can be difficult to prove, because of the technical requirements and such a court action only fits a narrow set of circumstances. 

Only registered trademark owners can sue for trademark infringement. While you have to still make out your case to the court when suing for infringement, you would have one strong advantage: the law assumes that trademark registration is proof that you own that trademark. It will be up to the person you are suing to prove that they are not infringing and/or to bring forward evidence that they have better rights to the trademark. So, immediately, you would be in a position of strength with a registered trademark. 

Perhaps just as important, your registration gives you 15 years (about to change to 10 years next year) of exclusive rights to your trademark, which is renewable when that time is up. Your registration rights include, among other things, the protection against others using trademarks that are “confusing” with yours. This is a powerful, because your registration rights do not just protect you from someone using exactly your trademark, but also protection from someone using something similar to your trademark so that it can be considered “confusing” with your trademark. 

As a somewhat absurd example, someone’s use of the mark Moca-Cola for soft coffee-flavoured beverages would most likely be deemed confusing with the registered Coca-Cola trademark, and thus could be subject to a trademark infringement claim. While this may also qualify as “passing off”, the availability to (also) sue for trademark infringement would give the owner of the Coca-Cola trademark very powerful tools for enforcing its trademark rights. 

So, to recap, below are some advantages to registration:

•       Proof of ownership

•       Trademark infringement protection

•       Exclusive right to use throughout Canada for 15/10 years

•       Protect against “confusing” use

While those are the advantages of registering your trademark, we have to look at what that means for your business. A trademark, as intellectual property, is property of your business and thus, it is an asset. It is an intangible asset, but for many businesses, it may be their most valuable asset because it can embody your reputation and all of the good will you have built up in your business. 

For example, what would that LouisVuitton man purse I’m coveting be really worth if you were to all of a sudden strip away the Louis Vuitton trademark from it? It would likely sell for significantly less than the listed $3,250 price tag. 

So brands can be worth big money. While it may be hard to put a dollar value on your brand, ask yourself: how much would it cost me in business and how much would I have to spend to rebrand if someone were to all of a sudden tell me that I could not use my trademark? A registered trademark would go a long way in protecting your brand and, therefore, real value in your business. 

The drawback to registering your trademark is that it can be expensive. While the government fee is just $250 for filing an application plus the $200 registration fee at the end, if you hire a trademark lawyer or trademark agent to do it for you correctly, then your costs from start to finish can look more like $1500 including all fees. The reason why we money-grubbing trademark lawyers or agents charge so much is because we provide the advice and service to make sure your application is drafted properly giving you as broad of protection as possible. You also pay us to “prosecute” the application through the entire process, which can take 12 to 20 months for a relatively problem-free application to be fully registered. Trademark registration is a process because the rights granted are powerful, so the trademark lawyer or agent pushes your application through examination at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and against any potential opposition. 

In the end, trademark registration gives you powerful rights under the law to protect a valuable asset of your business. It will be up to you to weigh whether filing for a trademark registration of your name, slogan or logo will be worth the money to gain those rights only available to registered trademark owners.

Thank you Gregory for providing these great insights for consideration on this important topic of trademarks and intellectual property. 

What's been your experience with trademarks and/or protecting your brand? We invite your comments and helpful suggestions for our audience, and please share this post with those in your circle of contacts!

* In Closing:  Has your BUSINESS PLAN taken the potential value of your brand, trademark, and/or other intellectual property into consideration? 

Pro-Vision Solutions Inc. has a number of helpful ways to add this into your BUSINESS PLAN! 

  CLICK HERE for more information and details!