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A Beginner's Guide to Bitcoin: The Problems and Possibilities

Posted: 23 Sep 2019 01:00 PM PDT

A lot of my readers know that I have been associated with firms that have helped me launch region-first products in the financial tech, blockchain, fiber-to-the-home and e-commerce spaces. Since I am a firm believer in teaching through experience and was around when blockchain tech was being implemented in the Middle East, I thought it would be best to weigh in on the founding use case for blockchain, which is cryptocurrencies. There is a lot of misrepresentation on the subject, and a lot of people are losing money fast due to a lack of base knowledge and market hype. (Please note that this is an academic piece; any investments should be made on the basis of further research and review.) 

In the beginning, there was Bitcoin

To keep the conversation simple and focus my efforts on a single currency for now, I thought it best to focus on the founding currency itself: Bitcoin. 

Although Bitcoin has been around since 2009, its incredible coming-out party started in 2017, when the world's first digital currency began an unparalleled ascendance that ultimately lifted the token to a value of nearly $20,000. Ever since then, Bitcoin and a cadre of other cryptos have consistently attracted mainstream headlines and big-time investors. 

Today, cryptocurrencies boast a collective market cap that exceeds $300 billion, while standing apart as one of the most desirable investments in the digital age. There are thousands of digital currencies, but Bitcoin is by far the most popular, accounting for almost 70% of the crypto cap. 

This transformative digital asset seems uniquely suited for our digital-first environment. At the same time, buying and holding Bitcoin is becoming easier than ever as new platforms help users eschew the industry's weaknesses while making Bitcoin more accessible than ever before. 

A bit on Bitcoin

First released in 2009 in the midst of the global financial crisis precipitated by bad actors in the traditional financial system, Bitcoin was developed to serve as a digital currency that would allow direct P2P value transfers. Its creation is attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonym that could refer to an independent developer or to a collective looking to upend the established financial system; such anonymity is irrelevant to its many active community members. 

Although the token is more than a decade old, its prominence is peaking as more extensive adoption and burgeoning use cases make it less of a fringe idea for its most ardent supporters and more of a global reorientation of money on the digital age. 

Today, Bitcoin has nearly unanimous brand recognition, with 89% of survey takers reporting that they have at least heard of the digital asset. Moreover, new and better use cases are continually emerging. Mainstream stores such as Starbucks, Nordstrom and Whole Foods are accepting Bitcoin at checkout, and institutional investors are embracing it as a speculative asset in a portfolio of investments. 

While Bitcoin's perfect use case is being decided by users and consumers, its rapid ascent hasn't always been smooth. 

Problems in the making

Despite its unprecedented growth in the past few years, the crypto movement has several persistent problems. Notably, crypto price fluctuations can be extreme and unpredictable. Their wild price swings are now infamous, and ominous monikers like "flash crashes" largely define the space. 

At the same time, crypto's UX makes it difficult to secure private keys, a deluge of hacks on exchanges and wallets costs investors money, and a murky regulatory landscape continues to plague investors. These problems hinder crypto adoption, but they are mild compared to the veritable PR disaster surrounding high-profile cryptocurrency exchange hacks and the continual regulatory concerns surrounding this nascent digital asset. 

Exchange hacks

2018 set a record for crypto exchange hacks, as six prominent heists netted cybercriminals millions. That record is set to be broken in 2019, and thieves have already stolen $356 million from cryptocurrency exchanges, making it a real Wild West – full of instability and risk.

Indeed, while cryptocurrency is an incredible monetary expression that is uniquely suited for the digital age, the list of high-profile and expensive shortcomings is extensive, spooking many investors. 

Regulatory concerns

As institutional investors become interested in cryptocurrencies, these problems are exacerbated. People wish to try new technologies knowing they can, at the very least, stay safe, and they look to regulators to step in and build more trust.

Platform developers and global regulators are slow to take action, but institutional solutions exist that allow cryptocurrency users to participate in this burgeoning economy without placing unnecessary risks in their path.  

The rise of institutional solutions

When it first launched, Bitcon was an asset for individual investors. It mostly comprised those who firmly believed in its privacy feature and functionality. However, institutional investors have entered the space in a big way. 

Professional solutions like CME's futures trading, IBM's Hyperledger alliance and Facebook's Libra are creating a comprehensive market for everything from crypto derivatives to advanced tax-planning platforms. Most importantly, they provide a solution to the vexing problem of cryptocurrency ownership and token storage. 

For crypto investors, there are two approaches to currency storage: They can hold their assets independently with a digital wallet, or they can rely on a custodial service to store their currencies on their behalf. 

Crypto wallet services have an uneven history, and users always run the risk of losing their tokens to theft, misplaced passwords or other user errors. Because crypto transactions are permanent, there is no way to undo this damage once it occurs. 

For those investing significant sums in cryptocurrencies, custodianship is the most prominent solution to the problems of risk and regulatory uncertainty. With custodial services, investors gain access to digital currencies without having to personally store these assets. 

Within my experience, I was looking for simplicity above complexity, a payment processing company that could help me buy and exchange crypto across multiple countries and currencies. Fortunately, I found Skrill. It gave me a fast, easy and secure way to transfer money across more than 200 countries using 40 different currencies. 

I've had an intuitive and simple experience that, for me, eliminated many of the risks associated with cryptocurrency investment. Security was more of a concern than ease for me, but getting to this point required research to satisfy my wish list. 

In addition, several crypto exchanges, including U.S-based Coinbase, offer custodial services that help bridge the gap for some investors. To use Coinbase's custody services, users need to register their institution through an application process. The platform includes designated, segregated cold storage and an insurance policy for their digital assets. Coinbase users can choose to use an independent Bitcoin wallet, like Electrum, to securely store their assets. 

This simple approach to buying Bitcoin can get any user in the door, while providing a strong subset of features that make the approach accessible and secure. 

A necessary development

Cryptocurrency has a defined and expansive ethos that supposedly eschews the need for trust and government oversight. To an extent, this is true, and its most ardent supporters believe in the decentralized manifesto that empowers all users. 

Even so, as more people enter the crypto space, many will never want the responsibility of personally holding funds. Instead, people are looking for ease of use and functionality, something that new custodial services like Skrill and Square are happy to provide. This puts cryptos more on par with more traditional financial services, which, despite their own set of problems, have a well-established track record for usability and accessibility. 

The industry's continued evolution accounts for these shifting sentiments, ensuring that the infrastructure and functionality is appropriate to meet our modern movement. Therefore, whether users want to trust a third party or not, there are many good ways to buy and hold Bitcoin. 

In 2019, cryptocurrencies aren't just becoming more valuable. They are becoming more accepted, acceptable and accessible than ever before.

3 Tips for Managing Independent Professionals

Posted: 23 Sep 2019 11:00 AM PDT

Independent talent – including freelancers, contractors and consultants – can offer your company advantages that are hard to come by in a traditional workforce such as access to on-demand expertise, staffing flexibility and cost control, to name a few. And the independent workforce is growing, with more Americans choosing to go independent for the many advantages it offers such as better work/life flexibly and the opportunity to build a career out of a skill or passion. 

Independents professionals are experts in their industries who operate as their own business entities, providing high-value skills to clients. If businesses want to engage the very best of this talent, they need to think proactively about how to attract and retain these individuals. Here are three tips to consider when incorporating independent talent into your workforce.

1. Offer independent professionals a variety of ways to engage with your company.

When engaging independent talent, one important thing to realize is that independents are not a one-size-fits-all type of worker. For example, some independents meet the numerous legal qualifications required to be classified as a "1099 independent contractor" in the eyes of the IRS, but others may have different preferences and requirements when working with a client.

Some may be happy working under a standard W-2 employment status. Others may want to work as a 1099 independent contractor but may lack a few of the provisions that would qualify them for this work status. For instance, they might not meet certain business insurance requirements or have an active professional website. In this case, it can be risky to simply engage the worker as an independent contractor because it can make your company liable for worker misclassification.

On the other hand, using a strict engagement program that classifies all workers the same across the board can leave a large percentage of independent workers unhappy. They may choose to take their work elsewhere or look for ways to circumvent the classification, again putting your company at risk.

When engaging independent talent, it is important to take these needs into account and consider ways your company can provide flexible and varying engagement options. Because engaging independent talent isn't a straightforward process due to the many nuances, complexities and regulations surrounding worker classification, businesses often benefit from partnering with a third party to manage engagement and provide these flexible options. For example, if a worker wants to be classified as an independent contractor, but your compliance team finds that their status is not clear-cut, a third party can work with them to make sure they are fully qualified before they begin working with your company.

Once you've agreed on the terms of employment, a scope of work (SOW) outlining an independent's specific responsibilities can provide a clear timeframe and payment terms for both you and your independent workforce. Even if things change in the future, setting expectations ahead of time provides a framework for both parties to work from.

By supplying flexible engagement options, companies can both ensure compliant engagements and attract the very best independent talent, who are drawn to work with a client who lets them work the way they want.

2. Rethink the onboarding process with independent talent in mind.

The vast majority of independents say that having a fast and efficient process for setting them up for work is an important factor as they decide which clients they choose to work with. It's important to keep top talent satisfied because these independents have a lot of choice in where they work and who they work for, and you want to be at the top of their list. Building a good onboarding experience is a big part of keeping independent talent satisfied, and can begin before talent is even engaged.

Take a look at your current website and make sure that the language used applies to independent talent as well as traditional employees. Work for independents should be clearly advertised and easy to find, not hidden in a link at the bottom of a careers page. Websites that have a clear value proposition for independent talent make the engagement process more welcoming and straightforward.

After engaging talent, make sure they understand the ins and outs of working with your organization. Educate them on how payment works, what engagement documentation they can expect to receive, and what type of background checks they will need to complete.

Remember, independents function like an independent business – your relationship with them is B2B. Independents may have multiple clients with different onboarding requirements. Most independents have choices in how they work and who they work with. Attracting top independent talent is easier when there are fewer pain points in the process, and that starts with clear-cut instructions.

One useful way to do this is through a welcome page on your website that is specifically for independent talent. This page can be used to provide information about upcoming roles and responsibilities, or key contacts within your organization. A robust onboarding program can help build the foundation for a strong relationship and set the stage for a successful project.

3. Don't underestimate the value of good communication.

Communication is a huge driver of satisfaction among independent talent. In order to ensure that projects run smoothly from beginning to end, it is important to lay a good foundation for communication from the start. Managers and independent contractors should talk with each other before the project begins to set goals, review expectations and set a defined plan for communication. Every manager and project are different, so establishing a mutual understanding of what type of communication is expected – including how and when – each time a new project begins is a good best practice.

Be sure to discuss the best channels for the different types of communication you wish to incorporate as well. For instance, a bi-weekly status meeting might take place over the phone whereas a larger deliverable might require a video chat to walk through details. There are a wide variety of communication tools available like shared workspaces or folders that can facilitate project activities. Talk about the tools that would work best for the purposes of your project, and then make sure everyone has access to them and understands how to use them.

If a contractor is working with multiple departments in your organization, it might be helpful to establish a single point of contact within the company. Having to ask for signoffs from several different employees can slow a project down. Funneling communication through one person prevents response time from delaying a project.

Overall, remember to be responsive. Responding to small problems before they become larger issues can help prevent major headaches down the road. Provide timely feedback; be sure the contractor knows what they are delivering, when, to who and how. Working together to create a clear project scope helps act as a communication guide and reference for any questions that arise.

As unemployment remains low and the jobs market tight, competition for independent talent is growing. By structuring policies, procedures and engagement practices to prioritize the needs of these workers, your company can remain both compliant and competitive. Creating a positive engagement experience and work environment not only makes it easier for managers who work with independent talent, but it also builds satisfaction among independents, providing an incentive for them to return for future projects.

How to Segment Your Email List for Better Engagement

Posted: 23 Sep 2019 09:00 AM PDT

Email marketing is one of the most valuable strategies you can use to boost sales. Not only does it open a direct line of communication between you and your subscribers, but it encourages engagement, introduces users to your brand and drives traffic to your website. 

How do you create campaigns that help your brand reach its goals? It isn't as simple as sending weekly newsletters and expecting the conversions to flow in. You need a strategy in place that targets the right subscribers, gives them what they want and encourages them to engage with your brand. When you use segmentation, this is possible.

Email segmentation is when you divide subscribers based on different criteria, such as purchase history, buying behavior, location, and more. The DMA National Client Report found that 77% of email marketing return on investment (ROI) comes from segmented, targeted and triggered campaigns. If you aren't segmenting your emails based on the different pieces that comprise your audience, you're missing out on increased user engagement and conversions. Segmentation provides personalization, which makes your brand stand out from the rest.

Editor's note: Looking for the right email marketing service for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.

 

If you want to segment your email list for higher engagement

  • Create detailed customer profiles
  • Choose how to segment your list
  • Write compelling, attention-grabbing content
  • Test your campaigns

Let's dive further into these tips so you segment your email list like a pro.

Create buyer personas

Imagine trying to segment your email list when you aren't even sure of what kind of customers you have in the first place. Pretty difficult, right? However, personalized emails deliver six times higher transaction rates compared to generic emails, so it's worth it to perform research and collect data. 

If you expect to own a business that thrives, it's your job to know your customers inside and out. How you respond to their needs determines the overall performance of your business and how quickly it reaches its objectives. When an issue arises, you'll find it challenging to solve, because you don't know how to cater to their needs. 

If you want to know your audience better, create buyer personas, or detailed customer profiles. They tell you things like demographics, buying behaviors, interests, pain points and more. Knowing these details helps you segment your email list by defining which segments need which content. 

Using this information, you're able to divide customers into different categories based on how you'd segment them for your email list. Doing so will keep you organized and make creating a personalized email marketing strategy for individual customers much easier.

How do you find this information about your target audience? There are a few ways to start.

  • Scour social media. Customers love to share their experiences, positive and negative, with friends and family on social media. By searching industry hashtags and key phrases, you'll find a plethora of information about your industry and what your customers need.
  • Email existing subscribers. Do you already have an email list you can work with? Take advantage of it by sending your subscribers a survey about what they want to see from your brand, what they're struggling with and how your business can do better.
  • Research your competitors' audience. If you don't have enough information of your own to work with, look at your competitors. Everyone should monitor their competition to gauge what they're doing right and wrong so they can learn from it.
  • Review your website data and analytics. What webpages gain more traffic than others? Where are your visitors spending more and less time? Where are they most engaged? Evaluating this data helps you determine where to refine your strategy for better results. 

Choose your segments

Depending on what you come up with when creating your buyer personas, you'll see which segments you can create for your email list. Use this knowledge to gauge which segments might be most beneficial to your business and will help it grow. For most brands, this takes trial and error by monitoring data to see what results in the most ROI. 

Base segments on the specific action you want your subscribers to take. Do you want them to buy your product? Leave a review? In this case, you want to increase user engagement, so keep your end goal in mind when creating your segments.

Here are a few examples of categories you can use to split your email list:

  • Location
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Buying behaviors
  • Education level
  • Past purchases
  • Lack of engagement

Craft compelling content

Regardless of the criteria you choose to base your segmentation on, it's essential you craft your content well. It's crucial to keep your target audience in mind when brainstorming how you're going to reach subscribers.

Each person on your email list is at a different stage of the sales funnel. One person might already be a paying customer, while another recently opted in and wants to learn more about your brand. When creating email copy, write content that speaks to where that subscriber is in the funnel. 

When creating email content, make it skimmable and easy to scan using headers, subheaders and bullet points. Add visuals where it makes sense to spice it up and break the monotony. Make the focus of the emails on your subscribers and how your content, products and services benefit them rather than stating features. Write an attention-grabbing headline that persuades them to click through.

Consider your brand image when creating your content. If it doesn't match your business's voice or tone, it mars your image and throws off readers. If the copy on your website is casual and conversational, but your emails are serious and professional, you'll see a spike in unsubscribers and less engagement. Your visitors subscribed to you because they like your brand, so it's important to align your email copy accordingly. 

Test your campaigns

Once your emails are sent out, it's time to sit back and wait for the results. In a lot of ways, this is the most important part because it tells you if the levels of engagement you want are there or if they're suffering. It also tells you what other aspects need fine-tuning so when you create the next campaign, it performs exponentially better.

Utilize A/B testing to determine which components worked and which didn't. Only change one element of your campaign at a time. If you're testing multiple things at once, it's near impossible to tell what's increasing or decreasing engagement.

Depending on what you want to test, there are several components you can split test and track, including the:

  • Subject line
  • Sender name
  • Design
  • Landing page
  • Personalization
  • Call to action

Wrapping up

Going the extra mile to segment your email list will do wonders for your business. Your customers do not want the same thing; they use your products or services for different reasons. Different people make up your subscribers, and you have to take that into account when crafting your brand's emails. How you cater to your audience via email marketing determines how they interact with you and whether they become loyal customers.

How will you segment your email list to increase engagement?

6 Secrets of a Successful Social Media Strategy

Posted: 23 Sep 2019 07:00 AM PDT

In this age of social media, it's a huge mistake for a brand not to leverage social platforms. Social media acts as a bridge between your brand and your target audience. It helps you connect with your potential customers and enables you to achieve your brand's objectives and goals.

A strong social media strategy will help you implement these tactics successfully. Continue reading to discover the secret sauce of devising a foolproof social media strategy.

1. Set actionable and measurable goals.

Before you dive into creating a social media strategy for your brand, you need to list your objectives and goals. It's critical that you analyze the purpose of your brand's presence on social media and determine what you want your social media strategy to achieve.

There are a few common but essential goals that you can achieve for your brand through social media, such as driving traffic, increasing brand awareness, building brand loyalty or credibility, and generating more sales. 

It becomes much easier to design a social media strategy once you decide what you want to achieve. Define these goals in a SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound) manner so that they are clear for your entire team. Setting them in this way also helps you track your progress along the way with ease. 

2. Define your target audience.

After determining the objectives and goals of your social media strategy, identifying your target audience is a crucial step. Unless you target the right audience, your strategy may not generate the desired results. The prime reason for this is that your content needs to be tailored to the likes and interests of your target audience. 

You can define your target audience based on their locations, demographics and psychographics. It's also crucial to understand their pain points, because you need to create content that addresses those pain points and helps solve them. This will help make you your customers' go-to source of information on your business's area of expertise. It's through these pain points that you can market your products or services too. Tailor your offerings to the audience in a way that shows how your product or service will help solve their problems. 

You should also thoroughly study where your audience is the most active. This will help you decide which social media platforms to focus on. [Looking for social media management and monitoring tools? Check out our best picks and reviews.]

3. Study your competitors.

Before you build your content strategy, it's essential that you study your competitors. A thorough analysis of your competition may help you understand which tactics or content types are performing the best and which ones are not as effective.

This analysis will also help you learn from the mistakes of your competitors and build your social media strategy accordingly. Also, if your competitors are not fully leveraging certain social platforms, then you can double your efforts on those social platforms.

The objective here is not to directly copy or steal the strategies of your competitors. It is, in fact, to gather insights and adapt and improve upon their strategies to create your own.

For this, you can either follow your competitors on social media platforms and study them or use competitor spying tools. Either way, looking into your competitors' performance on social media will help you determine what works and doesn't work for them. Then, you can modify your own offerings accordingly to suit your audience better. 

4. Build a robust content strategy.

Without content, you cannot create a strong social media strategy for your brand. A wide range of engaging and educational content can help you strengthen your social media presence, reach your target audience, and successfully convert them into buyers. 

There are many types of content to choose from, such as images, videos, text, links and podcasts. Make sure to utilize the content types that will best help you get the attention of your target audience. [Read related article: How to Create a Content Marketing Strategy From Scratch]

Along with the right content type, you need to find the right times and right frequency to post. This is where the study of your target audience comes into use. You must study what form of content they prefer to consume and create it according to their needs. This will increase their engagement with your content.

This will also help you decide which social media platforms to use to reach them. For instance, if your audience prefers images and videos only, perhaps Instagram is the best platform for you. 

Based on where your customers are, you'll get a rough idea of the times when they're likely to be the most active. This can also increase engagement. 

5. Focus on visual content.

Visual content has the power to get people's attention better than text. That's not to say textual content isn't important, but you should place more focus on visual content on social media. Put real effort into creating high-quality images, videos, infographics and more. These elements should be seamlessly incorporated into your social media strategy to ensure maximum engagement. 

You can also use designing tools such as Canva and Stencil to come up with innovative visual content for your social media profiles. These tools make it easier for you to design even if you have no knowledge of advanced tools such as Photoshop. 

Find out what type of content works the best for which social media platform, and use that to increase your engagement and reach even further. 

6. Track and measure your progress.

This is the most critical step to perfect a social media marketing strategy for your brand. Regular monitoring and evaluation of your performance will help you strengthen your strategy. It will also help you formulate effective ideas to promote your brand and reach your target audience.

You need to continuously monitor all of your major performance metrics. These include your reach, engagement, lead generation and conversion rates. You must decide on a few key performance indicators (KPIs) that are the most relevant to your social media goals. By tracking your KPIs, you can easily follow the progress of your campaigns. 

Almost every major social media platform offers detailed analytics from your campaigns to help you understand their progress. Based on this data, you can find out which form of content works best for you and which ones you don't need. You'll find out the best times to post your content and how often to post as well. 

It's also a good idea to use social listening tools to learn and understand what your audience is saying about your brand. This can give you ideas of how you could improve. You might get some innovative content ideas from this too. 

Lastly, the analytics will show you which of your posts are performing the best. You can run a paid promotion for these posts and increase your brand's reach manifold. 

If you want to learn more about creating a successful social media strategy for your brand, check out this infographic by UTM.io. It can help you in building an effective strategy.

Can You Patent or Trademark Your Original Recipes?

Posted: 23 Sep 2019 05:13 AM PDT

  • Getting a patent on a food product is possible but not easy. A patent attorney can help you navigate the law.
  • Trademarking your unique beverage or food item is good for branding.
  • Major corporations keep their secret recipes under wraps by making them trade secrets, and you can too. 

Stealing recipes is a time-honored tradition for home cooks and professional chefs alike, but once you're in business for yourself, the prospect of someone replicating the recipes you've worked so long to develop is no laughing matter. Many restaurateurs and food industry pros are curious about what they can do to protect their original food products, and the idea of patenting a recipe is appealing.

If you're curious about how you can protect your original food or drink creations through patenting, trademarking, or creating and maintaining a trade secret, keep reading.

Can you patent a recipe?

The short answer is yes, patent protection can be extended to a food or beverage, but don't get too excited yet. While it is possible to patent foods and trademark product names, the constraints are very narrow, and don't apply to the types of foods and beverages sold in most independent restaurants and stores.

A recipe may be successfully patented only if it meets several criteria. First, the recipe in question must be novel. That means it cannot be a food item previously familiar to the public or an obvious combination of pre-existing food items. For example, if you combine brownies with chocolate chip cookies and mix them with coffee ice cream for a flavor called coffee brownie chip, you'll have a tough time getting that recipe patented. The reason is even if no one else has sold that exact combination before, the notion of combining candy and cookies into ice cream is well-trodden territory, and, therefore, it's not a novel product. If a fellow chef can taste your recipe, discern what's in it and how it was made, that's a surefire sign your recipe isn't novel enough for a patent.

Now, if you found a way to make coffee brownie chip ice cream with a unique food formulation or process, such as using spinach instead of milk and cream, or by freezing it in a way that's never been done before (if you invented the freezing process used, for example), you have a better shot at patent protection. Remember, a patent is for the protection of an original invention or product, so your recipe can't just be the best barbecue sauce ever – it must be something that breaks the mold in terms of formulation or process, or both.

These guidelines make it difficult, bordering on impossible, to protect recipes under patent law unless you are part of a food science lab, backed by a large food corporation, or part of a powerful chain or franchise. For most independent food retailers, restaurants, cafes, bakeries and boutique food companies, there's no point in trying to get patent protection. Don't despair; there are other ways to keep your original recipes safe from the competition.

How much does it cost to patent a recipe?

The costs associated with applying for a United States patent vary. The application fees are relatively affordable, ranging from $65 to a couple hundred dollars, but navigating the patent process isn't something most entrepreneurs can do on their own.

The real costs associated with obtaining a patent have to do with the fees charged by your patent attorney. A good patent attorney will help you get everything in order for your application, and put your invention on paper for the United States Patent and Trademark Office to process. Of course, a decent attorney isn't cheap, so if you're serious about obtaining a patent, plan on spending a couple thousand dollars at least. To learn more about getting a patent or what types of patents exist, check out our patent guide.

How long does a food patent last?

A United States patent typically lasts up to 20 years (in the case of a utility patent), but there is variation depending on the type of patent you get.

Patent law is complicated, and, as such, it's best practice to consult with an attorney who specializes in it before you go through the application process. A good patent attorney can tell you not only the likelihood that your patent will be approved but also the length of time that the patent will remain valid.

Trademarking a recipe is great for branding

While patenting a recipe is extremely difficult, it is possible to trademark a recipe or food item for branding purposes. Trademarking the name of a food item won't prevent someone from stealing, recreating or selling your recipe, but it will prevent the competition from advertising it by the same name.

This is evident in the proliferation of "dupe" recipes online. It's not illegal for a chef to figure out how a popular soda is made and then publish the recipe, or even make it herself and sell it in her restaurant. However, she cannot give the soda the same name it goes by on grocery store shelves because that name is trademarked.

Fast food and chain restaurants are great at the trademarking approach, but it can work for smaller businesses as well. In many cases of trademarked foods, the trademarked name eventually becomes more powerful than the food item itself. Anyone can cook a processed frozen burger, slap some dehydrated onions on top and sell it, but only one restaurant in the world can legally serve a Big Mac.  

How to establish trade secret protection

You've likely heard the term "trade secret" before, and while a trade secret isn't legally binding on its own, trade secret protection is real. Making something a trade secret is probably the oldest and most effective way of protecting original recipes.

A trade secret essentially means that you have developed an internal system for maintaining secrecy. The key to maintaining a trade secret is having a trustworthy staff and staying tight-lipped about the secret ingredients and cooking processes for your bestsellers.

Famous trade secrets and why they work

It might seem impossible to keep a secret recipe under wraps for long, but plenty of big businesses do it successfully for decades. Some notable food and drink examples include the secret recipes for Coca-Cola and Dr. Pepper, KFC's secret chicken seasoning of 11 herbs and spices, Chick-fil-A sauce, and Bush's Baked Beans. Now you might think, "Are those really still a secret?" After all, if you do a quick online search, you'll find that home cooks all over the country have published what they promise are copycat recipes for any of those famous trade secrets. And, in fact, if you try some of those knockoff recipes, you'll find the taste is nearly identical to the name brand secret recipe, yet the big brands are still around and thriving: why? 

Brands that rely on trade secrets typically have trademarks and brand recognition. By branding their products, like Coca-Cola or KFC, they create loyalty around the brand. When that loyalty is compounded by the idea of a "secret recipe," it leaves people turning to the tried-and-true brand rather than knock-offs. 

After all, as long as KFC refuses to publish their secret recipe, at least some people will always wonder if the copycat recipes got it right. So basically, even if someone has figured out the secret recipe to Bush's Baked Beans or Chick-fil-A sauce, it doesn't really matter because of the power of trademarking combined with a trade secret. 

How to use the law to enforce a trade secret

To increase trade secret protection, many companies require their employees to sign an NDA or nondisclosure agreement, which precludes the employees from relaying the specifics of business operations to people outside of the business, even after they leave the company. In this way, you can legally protect your trade secret. If you want to create an NDA for your employees, consult with an attorney who specializes in corporate law.

Is it illegal to steal a recipe, drink idea or promotion?

If you're pretty sure you've cracked the secret ingredient in your competitor's hot wing sauce or figured out how to make a replica of your local bar's mango margaritas, nothing is stopping you from making and selling the same product. Likewise, you can compete with local businesses by positioning competing promotions on the same days your competitors offer promotions. However, be careful about the language used in your advertising and consider the potential unintended side effects of running a copycat business.

Since a name can be trademarked much easier than a recipe, you should err on the side of caution and avoid calling your wings by the exact same name as the restaurant down the street. Chains are particularly notorious for trademarking foods and beverages, but small businesses can do it too.

Offering promotions to compete with local businesses is a good idea, but you may be better off thinking of your own promotion ideas rather than copying other restaurants and bars.

Even though promotions themselves (unlike the names of promotions) aren't legally protected, being perceived as behind the curve and lacking your own unique marketing ideas may give you a poor reputation in the local business community.

Are You Hiring or Recruiting? The Difference and Why That Matters

Posted: 23 Sep 2019 05:10 AM PDT

Are You Hiring or Recruiting? The Difference and Why That Matters

Hiring or recruiting… it's all the same, right? Not quite.

If you're a talent management professional, you already know just how important it is to get the right candidate in the right way. Though it may seem inconsequential at first glance, clarifying the difference between hiring and recruiting processes can, in fact, help you make the best choice for your organization.

When it comes to selecting between a hiring or recruitment process, context is everything. The right option for you will vary given your timeline, the level and expertise required for your new prospective employee, and how difficult it is to find someone with the right qualifications.

The loss of an employee is a huge expense that can cost an organization up to 30-50% of the departing individual's yearly salary, and this is why it's so essential to get the process right. Should you elect to use the same employee acquisition methods across the board, you may find yourself in a tight spot with wasted capital, poor selections, or excessive amounts of lost time. Choose right and you'll be pleased with your results.

First, let's look at the basic differences between hiring and recruiting.

Hiring is a need fulfillment process, which loosely works like this:

  1. Your organization needs a new employee
  2. A job is posted
  3. Candidates apply
  4. A candidate is selected

Recruitment, however, is a long-term strategy that involves building and sustaining a pool of exceptional candidates so you can have options in place long before an opening appears.

While one process is not definitively better than the other, there are circumstances where hiring is preferable to recruiting, and vice versa. Let's dive deeper into some of the more detailed differences between hiring and recruiting to get a better lay of the talent management land.

Unique Candidate Pools

Before we cover the philosophical differences between hiring and recruiting, it's important to know what their candidate pools consist of.

The Hiring Pool

The hiring process starts with advertising (internally, externally, or both) for a job position in reference to a vacancy at your company. Interested candidates apply, and the talent management team will proceed to select the best options from the applicant pool.

For lower level and temporary positions, opting for the hiring process alone can work out well. Since these positions normally do not require particularly specialized skills, more applicants may qualify for the advertised roles and the interview process is generally less complicated.

Additionally, if a lower level or temporary hire doesn't work out, letting them go likely won't make or break your business. Though it's not an ideal situation, your company should survive the setback. In other words, because there's less at stake for lower level hires, the hiring process suits the situation just fine.

The Recruiting Pool

Those who are seeking permanent and long-term hires (especially for management or specialized positions), however, will likely be better served by choosing to recruit candidates rather than to simply follow the normal hiring process. Why? For starters, recruiters will help you find the right candidates for your most important positions, whether they're actively seeking new opportunities or not. You may get the chance to make the perfect candidate an offer they can't refuse even if they're already happily employed.

The recruiting process requires that you (or the agency you hire) create vast networks of talented candidates, including those who aren't currently on the job market. Rather than being limited to only the individuals who apply, recruiters keep their eyes on the entire playing field.

One of the greatest benefits of using a recruiting pool is that top talent has already been vetted. Recruiters have pre-screened candidates and have a deeper sense of their talents, personality, drive, and working style than any resume can communicate alone.

A Difference of Perspective

At their most basic level, hiring and recruiting differ profoundly in their approach to employee acquisition.

The Hiring Perspective

In short, hiring is a reactive employment approach that begins when an employee announces they're leaving the organization for another opportunity. Prior to the employee's notice, there's usually little to no preparation for their departure.

More likely than not, no potential replacements have been vetted, and human resource (HR) and staffing professionals like you are under pressure to find a new employee as soon as possible. If you're unable to find a new employee in that time frame, the organization may suffer. When a role goes unfilled, it can cost a company a hefty average of $500 per day!

If a subpar or unqualified employee is hired to fill the role, your business may face long-term consequences or be forced to restart the hiring process all over again. It's imperative not to succumb to desperation for a replacement.

The hiring process is not always the wrong one, though. Again, it's a great option if the position doesn't require much in the way of special skills, knowledge, experience, or education. However, if the role is not easy to fill, you may wish to carefully reconsider your hiring versus recruiting perspective, or it may cost you in the end.

The Recruiting Perspective

Recruiting takes a more proactive approach to employment. HR and staffing professionals who take a recruitment perspective don't wait for an employee's departure to consider candidates.

If you utilize this perspective, you're always on the lookout for the right candidate for a role, and you don't just consider those who are on the job market. When taking this approach, you think big, asking who the ideal is candidate for a given role. You consider who the perfect change-agent could be for your organization. Recruiting is about finding the right candidate – not just a body to fill a role.

Recruiting is all about advance preparation and making the best choices rather than simply waiting for an employee's exit to take action. It's an ongoing process and not a situational one.

Distinct Logistics

Talent management professionals know that both the hiring and recruiting processes require major time and financial investment.

How the Hiring Process Works

As soon as an employee gives notice, the hiring process begins. You must:

  • Write job advertisements
  • Post the position on job boards
  • Seek network connections
  • Review resumes
  • Perform phone screens
  • Proceed through multiple interviews

All of this is done before the job is offered to the qualified candidate of your choice. Should no ideal candidate be available, you may need to repeat the process all over again.

How the Recruiting Process Works

Recruiting begins long before an opening arises. With your talented pool of candidates already in hand, including those who aren't actively seeking new roles, you likely have top picks pre-planned and pre-screened.

The recruiting process is a far more hands-on and active approach than hiring. You select ideal candidates rather than waiting for them to come to you, approaching them with an interview offer that peaks their curiosity. Even if they're already employed, they may give you a chance if you play your cards right.

Seeing as recruitment is a long-term strategy, it's less time-focused than hiring. The process may begin long before a vacancy appears, and, in fact, recruiters are always on the hunt for candidates. Though this might seem excessive, it's often the key to finding, selecting, and building a relationship with the perfect person for the job. When selecting candidates for upper-level roles that require decision making, this well-planned approach is especially effective.

Both processes can absorb enormous amounts of time and require a great deal of organization. Whichever option you choose, it's recommended to use technological tools to streamline the required steps, thus saving you time and money in the long run. Luckily, there are excellent options for companies of all sizes.

How to Simplify the Hiring & Recruiting Process

By using talent management software like that of VeriKlick, companies may set certain hiring and recruiting tasks to perform automatically, hence cutting back on employee time investment and simplifying the hiring and recruiting processes.

Your hiring and recruiting documents should be stored in one easy location, so there's no need to scramble around looking for a candidate's resume or a new employee's contract. Keep interview schedules and vital candidate information organized and allow for efficient access with this form of technology in place. You may even require less staff to manage HR tasks.

Software for hiring and recruiting is ideal for improving hiring ROI. In fact, by using talent management software, you can drastically reduce HR's onboarding time investment by up to 50%, thus reducing costs for your company with:

  • Electronic signatures
  • Document organization
  • Vacation management
  • Employee software access

In short, technology can save you precious time and money. Now that you know the differences between hiring and recruiting, consider adopting talent management software for your organization and you may find both your hiring and recruiting processes vastly improved.
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