(This guest post was written by Jennifer A. Klear, Esq., media and technology law attorney)

Great article in the WSJ today about problems start-ups face in selecting names. It discusses the potential for trademark infringement and how some companies have already lost thousands of dollars in disputes over the company name. Here’s a link http://online.wsj.com…

While the article discusses potential risks in choosing a company name it does not discuss how to avoid them. One easy way to avoid possible trademark infringement is by doing a search on the Internet for the name you propose using. If there is already a well-established company with that name, chances are it’s not worth using. On the other hand, if the company is not in your same geographic territory and provides a service or product far different from yours, it is worth exploring further. At this juncture, you may want to perform a trademark search on the US Patent and Trademark Office’s website and/or consider contacting a lawyer. A lawyer can help perform a deeper search of the potential trademark and assist you with trademark registration should you encounter any opposition, which may likely occur.

I’ve been having a good deal of conversations lately with students about the concept of the “entrepreneurship” major.  More specifically, whether or not I believe it truly prepares you for start-up life.  I posted my thoughts over on my personal blog.  Feel free to chime in.

Read the full post here.

(This guest post was written by Ryan Bukoski, start-up enthusiast)

Everyone knows the age old question, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” A similar question could be asked regarding startups: “If a startup has an outstanding product, but no one has been made aware of its existence, is it really that great a product?” No matter how amazing your product offering may be, if you’re not taking the necessary steps to market it, then it will never see the light of day, and you’ll be nothing more than any other run-of-the-mill schlub with an idea. So network you must!

In today’s social media focused, locally-centric driven environment, it is simply unacceptable to not be networking with other like-minded individuals, both in your field and in your surrounding neighborhoods. People are talking, and it’s up to you to include yourself in the conversation. It gives you the ability to get your name and your company to be heard, and it allows you to incorporate your two cents, which you can use to steer the conversation towards piquing the interest of others to ascertain what you can bring to the table.

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…and if you really believe that, you’ve already fallen prey to the endless amount of horrid advice available everywhere in the world today for an entrepreneur.

Often when we have genius ideas, we are unsure of how to go about bringing them to fruition.  Part of your planning process will undoubtedly involve the (sometimes unsolicited) opinion of others who believe that they have something in the way of knowledge or resources to offer. Although it is true that reliable advice and guidance are key ingredients to long term success, it is also true that you must use your entrepreneurial savvy to know what to use- and what to leave on the table.

Here are a few ways you can up your chances of getting great feedback and superb guidance as you develop your ideas:

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(This guest post was written by Ryan Bukoski, start-up enthusiast)

Like many people I’m sure, I was brought up and taught the ideologies that nothing comes easy and if you want something badly enough, you’ve got to go out and get it yourself through a combination of a strong work ethic and an even stronger desire to achieve the goal you’ve set for yourself.  The benefits/results are two-fold; first is the feeling of self-accomplishment in knowing that you gave your all and were successful with your endeavor.  The second isn’t necessarily as cut and dry, and it’s the impression you leave with those around you.  In other words, if you bust your hump, whether you realize it or not, it won’t go unnoticed to those around you.

Fast forward to my first job, starting at the bottom of the totem pole for a start-up.  In an office of less than twenty people, I knew everyone and everyone knew me by the end of my first week, mostly from hand delivering their lunches to each of their desks.  This intimate setting was perfect; everyone knew the roles of one another, and more importantly, everyone held each other accountable for their workload, and if you screwed up, you were sure to hear about it.  Conversely, if you did your job correctly, efficiently, and most of all, exceptionally, you would seldom hear your name.  This seems like no big deal, but it’s something that C-level executives within earshot surely notice in a start-up office, however subtle it may come across over the span of weeks and months to everyone else.

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One of the most important aspects of sales is the follow up. In my opinion, THE most important aspect of sales at a startup is the follow up.

Staying in touch with your prospects and building a foundation for a business partnership will show a great stream of revenue for the company (not to mention, it will definitely score you some referrals). How do you know when to follow up? When is it too much? When is it not enough? And how do you move the sale forward every single time that you speak to your prospect? Before I run through the answers to these questions, I’d like to point out that without follow up, you are letting the prospect come back to you when they are ready. This rarely happens, as competition will come in and snag the business 99% of the time.

How do you know when to follow up?

The best way to gauge the first follow up call, is to evaluate your success on the initial presentation. Was there legitimate interest? What work needs to be done on your end? What information do you now need from the prospect? You need to ask yourself these questions in order to figure out when a follow up call needs to be placed. When you decide it is time to follow up, I have found that a great way to ensure that a follow up call goes well is to have an E-mail waiting for them in their inbox when you reach out. Always give the prospect a way to follow along. Whether it’s sales collateral, case studies, or generic information about your product, the prospect will see the effort you are putting forth and is more likely to help you push the sale forward.

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(This guest post was written by Patrick Iselin, sales strategist)

That’s right, I said it.

Few would agree right off the bat – but I still maintain that it is the truth.  The more somebody is micromanaged, the less accountability they have, the less pressure to perform.  They also no longer need to think for themselves once their manager is making every  decision for them.  People are fundamentally lazy and thus they get comfortable, or even worse complacent.  So what starts off as an annoyance to the employee (while the manager is asserting himself), soon develops into a sort of Pavlovian response whereby when decisions are required they need not use their own initiative but instead simply wander into the manager’s office and ask what to do.

Micromanaging starts you on a vicious cycle resulting in a grinding halt to productivity, and here is why.

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