Online Incorporation MaxBlog

Naming your new business is probably the biggest decision you will make about your budding enterprise…it’s what the world will know and remember you as so you want it to be practical and memorable too.

And you will want to spend some time thinking about this too – don’t simply go with the first thing that pops into your head or your gut instinct. Chat it over with friends, do some research and come up with several ideas before making a decision.

Before doing any of this though you may want to do a trademark/name search to find if there are any other businesses out there using that name. You would hate to go through this arduous process just to find out that someone already has that name and has trademarked it.

Incorporating a business with a trademarked can be a costly mistake – at minimum you will be forced to change names and incur all expenses with doing that.  Next, you could be sued by the trademark owner and if you use a federally registered trademark improperly, you could really be in trouble. In this instance, a court will assume you knew the name was federally registered and consider you a “willful infringer,” meaning you could be put on the hook for large damages and the owner’s attorney fees.

If you choose to incorporate a business online with MaxFilings, we do a preliminary name check as part of our online incorporation process.

However, save yourself the trouble before hand when you’re deciding on what to call your new venture and do a quick trademark/name search (U.S. Patent and Trade Office) for your new business or products and also do some general searches on the Internet to see how the name is being used. You can also use a fee-based service like Thomson’s SAEGIS database.

Whatever you do, look into it…it will save you in the long run.

We’ve all heard the news – supposedly the worst recession in a generation is nearing an end. With the advent of bailouts and massive government stimulus, many political leaders are playing the economy up in hopes a strong recovery is under way.

Of course economic recovery would mean people can find meaningful full-time work and begin rebuilding their lives.

And of course, many entrepreneurs and small business owners have been hanging on a thread for the last two years waiting for a meaningful recovery to get underway – according to a recent National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) study, 53% of small business owners believe the economic climate will worsen in the next six months – that’s up from 37% just a month ago!

Other tidbits from the survey – the number of businesses saying it’s harder to get a loan rose to 15%. One good bit of news, 15% of businesses say they plan to hire, which is up a couple of points from the month before.

But the NFIB’s optimism index came in at 86.8 in March. Readings below 90 for this long is unprecedented (18 months straight to be exact). Nine of the ten components the NFIB uses to arrive at this optimism index number either fell or remained unchanged from their readings in February – not the “picture of an economic expansion” as so eloquently expressed by the NFIB.

Take a look at this report to see for yourself. While the economy’s future is uncertain, don’t let that dissuade you from incorporating a business. Many successful companies got their start during the Great Depression and other recessions that have rocked the U.S. since.

If you have a good product/service that people in a recession would find useful, don’t let the economic numbers discourage you…incorporate online today and when things finally turn around, you will be in a good position to really grow your business.