Connecting the Dots between Intellectual Property and Growth
Maybe you’ve hit a revenue ceiling. After all, there is only so much you can charge for a workshop.
Maybe you’ve hit an impact ceiling. Your workshop is transformative, but you are reaching only one client at a time.
Most likely, you’ve hit both.
To reach your revenue and impact goals, you need to decouple each of them from your time.
Whether you are interested in scaling now or in seeding the ground to sell your business someday, the creation and protection of intellectual property will be the foundation for your growth strategy.
Intellectual property is the bundling of your expertise into a tangible form that you can sell, such as a book, or license to others, such as a workshop or a training program to train an internal team of experts so you can serve more clients.
However, before scaling with IP, you need to make sure you own what you think you own. Unlike physical assets, ownership of intellectual property assets has nothing to do with possession, whose idea it was, or even who paid for its creation.
Even if you have been using your materials with your one-on-clients for years without any problems, increased visibility means increased scrutiny.
Scaling your business with intellectual property is like adding another floor to your house. The foundation that was good enough for your first floor may not be strong enough to hold your second floor. In other words, the intellectual property foundation for your one-on-one use may fall short when exposed to more eyeballs.
When we add a second floor, a sampling of foundation cracks that may appear:
Contractors. Do you have a written agreement for every deliverable received from a contractor that is part of your workshop? Even if you paid the contractor and the contractor used your ideas to create the deliverable, you must have a written agreement, including specific language regarding ownership, to own exclusive rights in the deliverable. Also, without a written agreement, how will you ensure that the deliverables are original and can be used in the manner that you need?
Employers. Did you take some of your former employer’s know-how with you when you set up shop? Of course, we own the knowledge and experience gained during employment, but we don’t own their proprietary information or products.
Employees. Same for your employees. Did they bring any proprietary information from their prior employer to your company?
Clients. If you are regularly signing the services agreements provided by your clients, the agreements will contain ownership language regarding the deliverables. Are you retaining rights in your pre-existing property? Non-competes are another danger—are you restricted from offering similar services to your client’s competitors?
Third-Party Materials. Is the material in your workshop 100% original to you? If you use materials licensed from a third party or provided as part of a certification program, there will be restrictions on how you can use them in your new scalable revenue streams.
Permission. Do you have the right to use someone else's name, likeness, or voice? Make sure you have it in writing.
You don’t want to be on the receiving end of a cease and desist letter from the owner of materials you don’t have the right to use. At best, you’ve wasted money and momentum. At worst, you’ll incur legal fees and permanently damage your reputation.
Whether you are working alone or with a business coach, TBIP partners with you and your team to make sure you own and control the intellectual property required to create new revenue streams and reach new audiences.
Have questions? Reach out!