A brand name makes it easier for consumers to recognize and remember a company and hopefully leads to positive perceptions of the quality of the company’s information, products or services. In other words, a brand does have value because we know we all have a preference for certain brands because we trust them and expect a certain quality. Online brand protection is important because brand reputation influences consumers’ purchasing decisions, which in turn affects a company’s sales and growth. As Cox Enterprises vice president and chief information security officer David McLeod said during the panel discussion, “There is a lot of research showing that revenue growth is not driven by negative sentiment.” It’s the brand not being tarnished that’s the accelerator. How do I keep my brand clean if I don’t control where it’s used?” For more from David on this topic, watch the video below in the Online Brand Protection KPIs section.

At least part, if not most, of your brand value is the trust you build with your customers, and that’s what online scammers try to take advantage of. Online brand abuse or brand identity comes in the form of fake websites, fake social media accounts, fake mobile apps, fake online advertisements, etc. “False” here means that the owner or manufacturer of the online property pretends to be a brand he trusts and does not have permission to use it. The reason scammers bother to impersonate your brand is that even if they don’t own your brand, they can benefit from its value.

They make money by leveraging your brand, using it to convince victims to give up their credentials, payment details, etc. Again, this will cost you money, although it’s a bit out of your control. It costs you lost revenue/sales, fraud, investigation and response costs, lost customer reimbursements, decreased customer satisfaction, lost customers, and damaged brand and reputation—yes, many of these costs are intertwined and multiplied. Misusing your brand online can cost you, so it’s important to prevent it with brand protection.

BluePear is a brand protection software solution that has been helping brands protect against fraudulent affiliates for over a decade. It has saved over 50 clients over $1 million in payments to fraudulent affiliates. The service is open to brands of any size and from any geographical location. To get an idea of how much money BluePear can save you, you can visit the website and use the handy calculator to input your search queries and CPA rate. Additionally, the cost of the service depends on the frequency of monitoring and the number of keywords used.

Once you are ready to get started, a personal manager will be assigned to you and they will take care of the setup process. All you need to do is inform the manager of the keywords, search engines, devices and geographical locations you wish to monitor. If you do not have a list of keywords, the BluePear team can create one for you. Once the monitoring is complete, you will receive comprehensive reports detailing the ads, links, and landing pages that were used.

Additionally, if you enjoy using BluePear and want to recommend it to your friends, you can do so through the referral program and earn rewards.

Online brand abuse or brand identity comes in the form of fake websites, fake social media accounts, fake mobile apps, fake online advertisements, etc. Digital brand protection tools like BluePear based on machine learning can evaluate tens of millions of websites every day, so it is up for you what to choose.

The post How to protect your business through brand protection tool? appeared first on Waterford.

We have created a checklist to help guide you through the early stages of establishing your business. Follow the steps below to help you decide if you are ready to go into business, how to get started and where to seek help along the way.

Determine if you are ready

Going into business for yourself for the first time will change your lifestyle, professionally and personally, and can involve a significant financial commitment.

Whether your business succeeds or fails depends on many things including your abilities, initiative and capacity to work, as well as the economic and business environment.

Assess whether you are ready and your business skills.

Assess your business idea

The only way you can know if your business idea is going to work is by undertaking market research. This could involve researching information on the industry, undertaking competitor analysis and surveying potential customers. Determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis) of your business idea.

Analyse your market research with an open and unbiased mind. If your research shows that a proposed business venture has a high probability of failure it would be unwise for you to proceed.

Read our section on the feasibility of your business idea for more detailed information. IBISWorld reports covering more than 500 industries can be viewed at our business information centre. You can also request industry benchmarks by contacting one of our business advisers.

Build your business plan

Although initially it may seem like a lot of work, a well prepared business plan can save time and money in the long run and help you secure funding and major contracts.

Learn more about business planning and use our template to complete your plan.

Choose your business structure

Once you have established the viability of your business idea, you will need to decide on the structure that best suits your business and its particular circumstances.

Learn more about business structures and their tax implications.

Check your legal obligations

There are legal obligations associated with starting a business including licences, registrations, taxation and insurance.

Before your start trading make sure that you understand your legal obligations in order to avoid any fines or penalties.

Build your support team

It is advisable to surround yourself with trusted and reliable advisers who can help you with start-up issues and then assist you as your business develops.

Your support team may include an accountant, lawyer or industry association. Our building your support team series has more information to help you get started.

Figure out your finances

An important part of running a small business is understanding how to set up and manage your finances. You will need to work out whether you can afford to start the business and how much money you will need. It’s not just your start-up costs, you will also need to assess how you will access the money to fund your future plans.

If you are considering obtaining finance you will need to complete some financial forecasts beforehand to provide to your financial institution or investors.

Market your business

Many small businesses come up with a great business idea and then fail to market it successfully. You need to get out and spread the word about your product or service to the right people to generate business. Advertising and selling are part of the process but there is much more involved.

Our marketing section has some useful resources and information to assist you.

The post 8 steps to starting appeared first on Waterford.

1. Being great at your profession does not guarantee a successful business.

Many people go into business with years of experience in their trade or profession to draw on, which makes them great at being ‘on the tools’. However, business owners need a range of addition skills including business planning, financial literacy, sales and marketing skills, people management and more to run a successful business.

Luckily, there are many resources out there to help you go from being great at what you do, to be great at running a business. A good starting point is our practical and affordable small business workshops and free building your knowledge guides.

Getting advice from others in the same situation is also useful. Our Facebook group of Western Australian small business owners has over 10,000 members ready to share their advice with you!

2. You can’t do it all. No matter how good your time management is.

Running a small business places many demands on your time. Sometimes the ‘hustle’ culture can lead you to feel like you should always be doing more. However, trying to do it all, particularly in a solo business, is a recipe for burnout.

Help manage your energy by differentiating between important tasks that will move your business forward, and ones that simply keep you busy. If you can afford to outsource to someone who can do a task more efficiently than you can, it can be a good investment. Otherwise, look at what you can automate to save time that you could be spending on more important things.

Remember, being too busy all the time stops you from working on your business rather than in it – a key to progress.

3. If you go into partnership with ANYONE, including family or friends, ensure everything is done legally.

Whether you are thinking of working with family or partnering with someone else, it is absolutely essential that you spend time evaluating your potential business partner to see if you have shared goals and can complement what you are bringing to the business.

Once you have found your perfect match, don’t skip finalising your partnership agreement with the help of a lawyer.

4. Set boundaries with yourself for a healthy work-life balance.

Set them with friends, especially those who think they’re entitled to mate’s rates but give you nothing in return. Set them with staff, suppliers and customers.

Setting boundaries can feel awkward to some, especially those who like to keep everyone (especially customers) happy. But being clear about your limits and sticking to them can be an important part of staying mentally healthy and managing stress.

5. Learn from your mistakes. If they cost you money call it the cost of the course you just did in what not to do.

While we all hope to avoid costly mistakes in our business, sometimes they can provide the best lesson in what not to do.

Remember, if you are not sure about a business decision you are making you can always turn to our experienced business advisers to provide a sounding board. This includes specialist commercial tenancy advice, which is well worth seeking before entering into a commercial lease.

6. You are your most important investment. Look after yourself first so you can look after everyone and everything else.

Managing your wellbeing as a business owner is essential, particularly in disrupted times. It’s important to keep an eye on your physical and mental health before it becomes a problem.

While your GP is an important first port of call if you are feeling unwell in mind or body, there are also many other resources including the Ahead for Business website, which offers a range of free tools to help you take action to manage your health and wellbeing, and the My Business Health portal, which offers mental health support designed especially for small business owners.

7. My university degree gave me zero education in running a business…

While a tertiary education is very useful and can give you the tools you need to work in your profession, practical and up-to-date business skills are often not taught at university or in other traditional educational institutions.

The SBDC is a State Government agency that is dedicated to giving small business owners the skills and support they need to start strong, survive and thrive in their business as well as their profession. Our small business workshops have been designed to give business owners from all educational backgrounds the practical skills they need for running a business.

8. Keep a full-time source of income on the sidelines until the business proves to be profitable and reliable

A business doesn’t have to be full time to be a real business, and testing the marketing while keeping another source of income to meet your living costs is a wise idea if you are unsure whether your business idea will succeed.

In today’s ‘gig economy’, starting a side gig in addition to your regular job is a valid choice that can give you a financial – but make sure you understand the difference between a hobby and a business to avoid tax and legal implications.

9. A business will never outgrow its owner. The level of a business’s growth and development is a mirror image of my own personal growth and development.

growth mindset and investing in ongoing self-development can help you grow both personally and professionally, bringing benefits to both you and your business.

10. Cash is king, focus on getting paid on time and also paying on time.

While there are many reasons that people start their own business, at the end of the day you need to be paid for the work you do, for your business dream to be viable. While getting paid on time can be a challenge for many businesses, staying on top of your cash flow is essential — even if you have to have an awkward conversation with a customer, send a letter of demand to a debtor, or tighten up your terms and conditions of trade.

Paying your own suppliers on time also helps ensure your business has a great reputation and credit history. After all – money makes the world go around!

The post Lessons business owners have learnt about running a business appeared first on Waterford.