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The Business Review

Home Office Trending, Page 4

Cynthia de Lorenzi Page 2

Safeguard YourIntellectual Property, Page 6

Success in the City, Lights,Camera, Network! Page 2

J A C K S O N V I L L E - JULY-SEPTEMBER 2 0 1 1

In This Issue....

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pace since hosting the firstnetworking event in 2004.Since then Cynthia hasadded an online TV pro-gram to feature successfullocal business women. SITCalso has a blog and aspeakers service on theirwebsite in addition to theirnumerous events which arehosted at various times.According to the Founder,Success in the City haseven more reason to cele-brate, as they are currentlylicensing their successfulconcept and will be open-ing a location in Jackson-ville, Florida. What does ittake be a licensee for thisfabulous group? Manyvariables are considered,besides a strong desire tomake things happen ithelps to have a core groupof successful women to

start out a new location.Interested parties shouldcontact Success in the Citydirectly. SITC hopes tohave an active chapter inthe Jacksonville area soon.

ucess In The CityLights, Camera, Network! Cynthia de LorenziKerry’s Network Woman Of the Year

If I were to describe anelegant, gracious hostesswho’s southern charmand eloquent ways canmake almost anyonefeel at ease who wouldcome to mind? It wouldbe easy to think of some-one in your contactsphere that fits this de-scription, but for the oneswho are closest to herand attended her firstnetworking bash in Aprilof 2004, know I amspeaking of Cynthia deLorenzi, the Founder ofSuccess in the City. Lastyear, Cynthia was nomi-nated by her peers forKerry’s Network Womanof the Year. “Whatmade me take notice of

Cynthia’s nominationwas the clear passion shehad to help other wom-en business owners tosucceed. She is passion-ate about helping othersand has found a a nichein the DC Metro area. “

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SComments Kerry Heaps,President of Kerry’sNetwork, Inc. Whichhosts the contest and isopen to any womanbeing nominated. “Thebenefits of winning arenumerous. Some of thebenefits that Kerry’sNetwork provides to thewinner is exposurethrough the website andthe Business Reviewpublication. We alsoinclude our winner as aguest on our Talk Radioprogram with Blog TalkRadio.”Jennifer Abernethy, whoauthored the book “TheComplete Idiots Guideto Social MediaMarketing” nominatedCynthia & says “Cynthiachampions womenaround the world.

She truly wants them to be successful both in business and in life. Her Success in the City Network, under herleadership is bringingtogether a kaleidoscopeof professional women inthe spirit of connectingand having fun.”

Success in the City hasbeen growing at a rapid

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system of other successful womenthat she had enjoyed in Texas.

So she decided to throw a one-time networking bash to meetsome new friends. Success in theCity was born! Meant merely as arazzle-dazzle Texas-style party tosay goodbye to the successful "Sexin the City" cable network show, theparty inspired the 70 attendees tourge Cynthia to arrange for thistype of fun event again and again!Cynthia was joined by otherorganizers to create an event-driven organization which offersfriendship, fun and socialopportunities for professionalwomen to congregate and get toknow each other. For informationon membership or licensing, pleasecontact SITC.

About Success in the City

Known for its unique, fun &unconventional networkingevents, Success in the City hasbeen creating buzz since itspremier event in April 2004!Members are womenentrepreneurs, senior-levelexecutives & CEOs based in theDC metro area. For moreinformation about membership,please visit their website atwww.successinthecity.org

Success in the City has a strongobjective, to offer programs andevents that help members developlasting peer relationships with othersuccessful women. “Trust and humorare key elements for women indeveloping lasting friendships andonce those relationships are formed,deals-on-heels are sure to follow!”Says Cynthia. We asked Cynthia howshe came up with the idea for such aunique venue within the DC area andnow with plans to license her concept,a unique “National” treasure. She hastold the story many times, but doesn’tbegrudge anyone the birth of the Divamovement! Shortly after relocating tothe metro Washington region fromDallas, Texas, Cynthia discovered thatshe was missing the personal support

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have childcare for smallchildren, if she is seriousabout making money.Noise pollution may bethe greatest challenge. Achild care worker mayneed to take childrenand pets out of the homeuntil it is understood, theymust be quiet, and areold enough to have thatcapability. Until then,they must be cared for farenough away from thehome office that noisedoes not encroach thatarea.

The home office must proj-ect a professional image,meaning no dogs barking,crying babies or televisionblaring in the backgroundwhen on the telephone!

Particularly ifchildren and pets are inthe home, it is ideal tohave an area where adoor can be closed. Ifthat is not possible, the ar-ea needs to be set apartas a “no entry” area.Putting tape on the flooraround the office sectionwith an inexpensive freestanding screen help todesignate the work area.

Increase of Americansworking from home hasbeen on a steady risesince 1999. Estimatesvary greatly, but, it isupwards of 25 millionpeople. The home officehas become an integralpart of the home. It’sworth taking a look athow to be successfulworking at home.

There are preconceivedideas needing to beaddressed & correctedabout working at home.Mothers thinking they willnot need child care,friends thinking they canchat or visit anytime,and family expectinglunch, rides and errandsjust because you are athome all take re-education! The homeworker must look atwhat they do as a realjob and the place ofwork in the home as areal office, trainingothers to think this way,also!

Here are some of theimportant considerationswhen setting up andworking from home:

It is absolutely necessaryfor a mother workingwith a home office to

For efficiency, do notplace work surfaces fac-ing a blank wall with noambient light or win-dows, if at all possible.Remember, mothersused to put children inthe corner as a punish-ment. Looking at blankwalls does not stimulateproduction or inspire cre-ativity. Adequate sur-face work area isimportant, but, evenmore crucial are win-dows & live plants! Ideal-ly you will face a windowor have one parallel tothe work area. If no win-dow is available, studieshave shown that plantsare even more essentialto work environmentthan a window. Liveplants lend more to thework process than onemay think. The color oflive plants adds vibrancyand provides a calmingvisual cue, as well as be-ing air purifiers. Accord-ing to a recent researchworkers with plants arehappier than those with-out them. Think of a largeplant as a piece of art.

Using art and plants forcolor accents is a goodway to add contrastingcolor to the home office.

Home office TrendingBy: Lindy Spencer

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the more you will enjoy produc-ing and enjoying the benefits ofnot having to negotiate trafficjams.

1The number of Americans workingout of their homes increased fromabout 9.5 million in 1999 to about 11.3million in 2005, from the U.S. CensusBureau.

2 Horticultural Science, researchersat Texas State University in San Mar-cos, May 2008.

3 Tina Marie Waliczek Cade, author ofthe study & the happy steward of avariegated philodendron & an ivygeranium,Texas State University's Ag-riculture Department.

Lindy Spencer is a colorconsultant with

A part of Image Essentialswww.ImageEssentials.InfoAll rights reserved by ImageEssentials©

Acknowledgement & thanks toDeLisa Huff for editing.

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Contrasting colors are an importantqueue to the brain signaling a be-ginning and ending which trans-lates to beginning and ending intask orientation. Factories that add-ed contrasting colors saw a signifi-cant rise in production. Whateverpredominate colors you have inyour work area, make sure you addpops of color, with plants, art andaccessories. If you find yourselfstarting many projects and not fin-ishing, add more contrasting colorsto your surroundings.

Enough surface area to maintainfiles and supplies is essential. An“L” arrangement of surface workspace is ideal, rather than onelong area. No longer is it accept-able or efficient to shove a laptopon a small surface in a corner.

A well lit work area makes it easierto stay alert. If you have room, abulletin board for notes to self,calendar and reminders are veryhelpful. You can buy corkboardtiles that are easy to to place onthe wall serving great function.

The more pleasant and well de-signed your work area is,

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rademarks, Copyrights & Patents..

What is a Business Owner to do???By: Jo-Anne Yau

Trademark Office, the (R) sym-bol should be used.  These sym-bols put the public on noticeabout the status of the mark asa registered trademark, andhelps prevent infringement.Trademarks are vital for a busi-ness planning to expand andgrow. Franchising and licensingoptions depend on protectedbusiness methods and regis-tered trademarks.

CopyrightsCopyrights prevent other par-ties from copying any creativework, and calling it their own.Copyrights in the business sec-tor pertain mostly to writtenmaterials, such as Policy & Pro-cedure Manuals, EmployeeHandbooks, and website con-tent.Copyright registration alsotakes about a year to process.Thus, for content that is likely tobe frequently edited, updated,

or changed, I do not recom-mend registration.  However,where the content remains rel-atively static, and the writtenwork has creative value, Iwould recommend copyrightregistration.  Particularly in anera where others can accessdigital formats of the work, and"Copy & Paste" the material,copyright registration becomesmore important to prevent mis-appropriation.

Excellent sea viewfrom the Costa Del Renta.

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Ttrademark process asearly as possible, since itcould take about a yearfor an application tomove through the sys-tem.  During this year, al-most all my clients beginusing the trademark incommerce, thus puttingit in a position for registra-tion.How do you knowwhether another party isalready using a name,logo, or slogan?  A trade-mark's availability is notguaranteed, just be-cause the business is reg-istered with the State'sDivision of Corporations.It is also not enough tohave purchased a do-main name.  Only a thor-ough trademark searchcan reveal existingtrademarks that are thesame or confusingly

similar.  While there aretrademark search com-panies that can conductthis search, only a trade-mark attorney can give alegal opinion as towhether another trade-mark is "confusingly simi-lar." As soon as acompany decides on aname, logo, or slogan,the (TM) symbol shouldappear next to it.  Oncea trademark is registeredwith the U.S. Patent &

The success of a businessdepends on its unique-ness and innovation.  Asan Intellectual Propertyand Franchising attor-ney, there are three mainways help my clients pro-tect their intellectualproperty.

TrademarksTrademarks are a funda-mental necessity for abusiness.  A trademark isany feature that a con-sumer uses to identifywhere their products orservices originate.  Themost common trade-marks are the businessname, the logo, and theslogan.  However, savvyentrepreneurs come upwith a number of ways toidentify themselves totheir customers, like hav-ing a unique uniform, orclever product packag-ing.  Even sounds, likeNBC's 3 chimes, can betrademarked. It is a myththat a company has to

use the trademark be-fore a trademark appli-cation can besubmitted.  The truth isthat the business cannotclaim any rights to atrademark until it hasbeen used.  Wheneverpossible, I encourage myclients to begin the

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“To keep competitors from exploitingyour competitive edge, protectyourself properly with trademarks,copyrights, and patents.”

PatentsBy far the most expensive of thethree, patents prevent newand useful devices.  The mostcommon type of patent is autility patent, which protectsthe way an invention is put to-gether.  It is essentially the"recipe" for building the prod-uct.  Ironically, I do not recom-mend patents for food recipes.Because patents are availableto the public, it would not bewise to publish a successful rec-ipe for competitors to access.Rather, food recipes are bestprotected by trade secrets.As opposed to utility patents,there are also design patents.These are much less commonthat utility patents, becausethey only protect the functionaldesign of a product.  Also, utilitypatents are valid for 20 years,whereas design patents are on-ly valid for 14 years.  Despite thelimited scope of protection ofdesign patents, however, theydo serve a particular purpose,and offer protections not avail-able under utility patents.As with trademarks, a patentsearch is essential to determinewhether the invention has al-ready been disclosed.  The Pat-ent Office requires disclosure ofeven similar inventions, and theinventor must explain why thepresent invention is a new, use-ful improvement on existing in-ventions.To date, it takes at least amonth to properly prepare apatent application. Once sub-mitted to the U.S. Patent &Trademark Office, it takesabout 25 months before theinventor should expect to get aresponse.

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Get away from it all in this excellent location.

During that time, how-ever, the inventor mayclaim "Patent Pending"status, and begin topromote and sell theproduct.  A word ofcaution, however:  with-out patent pending sta-tus, if an inventor uses,describes, sells, or pro-motes the invention inpublic, that inventor willonly have one year tofile a patent applica-tion.  After that time, thePatent Office will not al-low an application tobe submitted.

Businesses have manyobstacles to face.  It isalways beneficial in at-tracting customers tooffer unique and newproducts and services.To keep competitorsfrom exploiting your

competitive edge, pro-tect yourself properlywith trademarks, copy-rights, and patents.

About Yau Law Firm:

Jo-Anne Yau is an attor-ney based in Jackson-ville, Florida.

Her primary focus is onintellectual propertylaws. The firm also has avariety of legal servicesavailable. You canlearn more about YauLaw by visiting theirwebsite, or to contactdirectly.

www.yaulaw.com

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Kerry’s Network, Inc.

Tune in Weekdays at 10 AM EST

Our show offers Business advice from the Smart& Savvy! We want to help you with everyaspect of your business as you reach for thenext level of success in your business. We haveseveral co-hosts that are here to help you:

Wednesdays - “New Business” with Beth Andrus,Author of The Essential Business Handbook.

Thursdays - “Women in Business” with Cynthiade Lorenzi of Pink Collar Ink.

Every other Thursday - “Get Famous!” withDennis Erokan of The Placemaking Group.

Fridays - “Intellectual Property” with Jo-AnneYau of Yau Law Firm.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/kerrys-network