Starting an apparel company..pt.3 trademark

     As we discussed in the last post, starting an apparel business begins with a clear idea of where you are going and what you aim to achieve. This is the case with apparel, or any other business. For the sake of this article, I am assuming that you are interested in starting a clothing business in order to put out your own line .

    So now you have figured out what you are going to do, now you have to protect that idea from thieves. Ok, ok, you can’t really “protect” yourself, but a Trademark does allow you some recourse in the event that one of these bottom feeders comes along and tries to swipe your designs. Believe me, if your creative process reults in a product which can be profited from, there will be shadowy figures there ready to rip it off.

    Owning a trademark also allows you to appear as much more legitimate when it comes to attracting some sort of loan or investors. A trademark tells those potential investors, or loan officers that you take your business seriously. I think having a trademark also communicates that your are a person who at least has some sort of understanding for, and willingness to work within recognized business paremeters. Rail against the system all you want ;you still need to work within a certain framework to get things done. I come into my current business after being a tattoo artist for 12+ years. I have tattoos on my neck, but I still wear a suit when I go to business meetings. Just because you like to march to the beat of your own drummer doesn’t mean you’re going to make things better for yourself by totally ignoring the rules. Moving forward without at least getting the trademark application process started is stupid. Don’t be stupid.

    Before you can apply for your trademark, you must have something to trademark. You must have some physical article, like a drawing, or logo to submit as a specimen. An idea can’t be trademarked. You need to take your idea and make it into an actual item.

    As far as the all of the technical how-to information on getting a trademark, all of that information is contained on the trademark and patent government website www.uspto.gov  . Personally, I went with www.legalzoom.com . They filed for me at a fraction on the cost of hiring a trademark and patent attorney, and kept me posted pretty well throughout the entire process. There are other legal-aid sites out there, so do your homework if you decide to go this route. The governement site has alot of very helpful information, and you can file for yourself; however, the language on the documents filed must be precise. Not having your application filed correctly can cause serious delays, and/or rejection. As with any government filing, application fees are Not returned.

    In all, the complete process, from filing to recieving my trademark registration number and certificate took about seven months. I was surprised, once the application was recieved, how well and frequently the trademark office communicated with me. If you decide to go with a application provider like legal zoom, you can expect  for it to take about a month to actually get your application sent off to uspto. Be patient. Preliminary searches must be made to ensure there is no one who owns a trademark (or patent) similar enough to yours as to cause conflict. This process takes time, so remember that this extra step and time will save you some down the line. As I stated before…you won’t get your application fee back.

    Once you have filed for your trademark, you have provisional protection while you wait. You can use the  tm sign on your goods, and your business is now protected, if temporarily. We’ll assume, though, that you are going to get your trademark so now you can move along to other things like  getting some products created, and funding your new venture.

starting an apparel company..pt 1

Okay, so the very first thing you would want to do when starting an apparel company is to have an idea what exactly you would like to do. What are your goals? What are you trying to comunicate? Are you a designer with sewing skills? Do you have clever jokes or sayings you want to capitalize on? Having a direction is very important. In my case I have a trademarked image that I am attempting to brand. My entire line revolves around one theme, and that is Play. You can go to www.hloplaywear.com to see what I mean.

i will discuss the trademark process in my next post

   I would not be surprised to find most apparel companies failing even before getting off the ground simply for lack of a clear goal or idea. The best way to get lost is to not have a destination in the first place. I’ve seen it time and again, and not just in apparel. I recently watched a business a few miles from where I live open and close within months…and you could see it coming from day one. These poor people opened a beauty salon/old fashioned barber shop/used appliance/appliance and repair store. Sorry, but too many things going on there. A beauty salon and an old fashioned barber shop are not the same thing. Having upscale, one of a kind, custom made- high fashion designs right along side of your hand-painted, profanity laiden trucker hat collection probably isn’t going to work either.

   Getting a clear idea of what to do and where to go can be the trickiest part of the entire process. You have to believe in what you are doing, and believe in the place from where your ideas come. We’ll get into some of the technical things and exact steps to take later on, but you will never make it past those hurdles if you don’t have a rock-solid faith in what you are trying to accomplish. Doubt will assail you. You will wonder if you are doing the right thing. In my experience, it is so much easier to set those feelings aside and keep pushing through when you have a clear understanding of what you are trying to accomplish. You can only do this by “doing you”. I can’t possibly speak to what I don’t know, and would come off as fake  for trying…so if profanity laiden trucker hats is where you are at, then that’s what you gotta do.

   So toss those ideas around untill you find something that really strikes a chord with you. Your idea should get you excited and make you take some sort of action immediately. When you get all jazzed up..when you want to just start telling people about this great idea…that’s when you have something. You can’t pretend that when you are putting something out simply because you think it will sell. You won’t fool yourself, or anyone else for that matter.

  Your ideas are there for a reason; so use them. Don’t hold back. Share your flavor with the world.

Starting an apparel company..intro

Starting an apparel business has been a fascinating, and sometimes frustrating affair. Delay has seemed to be the theme for 2009. Everything we have undertaken insofar as getting HLO Playwear up and going has been an excersise in patience.  Filing for our trademark, to getting a small amount of funding, to getting the proper liscenses, merchant and business accounts; all of these items have eaten up day after day. What can really be fun is when one of these items completion is dependent on another item’s completion.

The thing is, to be successful, you have to not only deal with problems gracefully; I think you have to enjoy the process as well. It is very important to find humor in dificult situations. I try to always look at delays and unforseen roadblocks as opportunities to hone my problem solving skills. These are opportunities to sharpen your negotiating prowess.

Sometimes it is tempting to get pushy, or even hostile or threatening (ala the Godfather..I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse). Unlesss you happen to be in a very superior position, these tactics never work. Even if you are in such a position, and these tactics do work, you’ve done nothing to garner any real support, and life has a way of bringing things back around. Someone you threatened into doing things your way may one day be a person you find yourself in the position of needing help from. You never know.

Patience and dedication to your goal is key. Enjoying the process of getting there may be even more important. Savor it. Learn. Enjoy and nuture the relationships you form on the journey. Business is, after all, about relationships with people. That’s how I prefer to look at it anyway. Operating a business is about creating a better life for yourself and your family. Business is about dreams. Business is a process.

Enjoy the process.

p.s.  More posts with specific start-up info coming soon.

Hello world!

HLO Playwear is a new play-themed apparel  company, and we are here to promote fun.  We are starting out with only three designs, but we aim to be introducing new ones soon. All of our apparel will feature our Trademarked HLO Playwear “smiley kid”  in a wide array of play. We also intend for all of our apparel to be made as limited edition, only printing 300-500 pieces per size and color.

We would like very much to get some feedback on our designs and our website, soooooo…if you would, please check out www.hloplaywear.com and let us know what you think.