I had a great time helping out at the East Meets West startup conference, hosted by Blue Startups. 

We toured some key sites in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Honolulu, including Elemental Excelerator, XLR8UH hosted by Sultan Ventures, and the Blue Startups incubator.  Then, small group and one on one sessions with key thought leaders on the waterfront Aloha Tower Marketplace, the new campus for Hawaii Pacific University.  I'm so energized!

It's been a busy spring and summer here at Hawley Legal Resources.  We've been fortunate to have the help of a summer associate to keep up with the influx of clients, and expanded our representation into the music industry.  On a personal note, I also married to my law school sweetheart and took a refreshing honeymoon to Bermuda in June. 

I did this right when all the business media was fawning over several major CEOs who "unplug" or eschew electronic and work communications during vacations.  In contrast, think of the so-called average entrepreneur or business owner -- are you glued to your Blackberry?  Do you check emails in between courses at fancy restaurants?  Are you ever really "off the clock?"

As a small business owner myself, I definitely had the feeling that I was "on" all the time.  Whether it was the always-welcome all-hours calls from nervous clients before a deal closed or trying to balance HootSuite with the bridal registry and thank you card manager, I was definitely burning the candle at every available end leading up to the wedding. 

While away, I was happy every day with my decision to leave all my tech in the States and delegate office management to an assistant.  It was worth every missed facebook status, every untweeted tweet, and certainly every phone call from an 888 area code. 

When I returned, I'm finding I triage my time a bit better.  There are "vitally important" communications and there are things that can wait until after 5 for a more thoughtful response.  I'm also reducing the number of times I log in on weekends.  It's still nervewracking to feel like I might be missing opportunities for new business, but realistically, I get the messages first-thing Monday morning, when I'm prepared to make the best of the opportunity, rather than when I'm trying to also eat ice cream or carry a beach chair. 

What about in your business?  Are you too important to the survival of your business to take time off?  Are you insecure?  Or are you just avoiding having fun because you don't think you've "earned" the time off yet?  Remember, if you had a salaried job, you'd have a fixed number of days a year for which you'd be paid to NOT WORK.  Can you unplug?

Sometimes, you just have to START.  Whether it's your blog, your business, your career change, or your day, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  Take that step.

As often as some of my clients (or their predecessors in interest) may have plunged headlong into something they may not have been prepared for, I much more often find myself encouraging action rather than discouraging it.  There is a fine balance between testing the waters and waiting until everything is perfect before taking a dip. 

"Perfect" doesn't happen.  Ever.  You will look back on the first days and years of your startup and cringe.  You will consider writing a book about how one epic, poor, pivotal decision blew up a good deal, or how you didn't listen to your gut, or how you DID and your gut let you down.  You might even fail.  And you will learn.  You will survive.  You will try again, or change directions entirely. 

It's OK. 

I can't promise you that trying is enough to succeed.  In fact, no one can guarantee you anything; not a business partner, not a venture capitalist, not a federal regulator interviewing you about how your business model might not follow the rules, nobody.  But just as clearly, life is finite.  We get so many breaths here on earth to use as we choose, and today is your day.

What are you waiting for?

Today I gave a presentation on Intellectual Property Basics to a team of accountants.  The practice has noticed an uptick in small business and startup clients, and they reached out to me to fill in some of the blanks about what makes the various types of IP valuable and best practices to protect said IP so that they have good answers when these clients look to them for advice.

Naturally, there are a variety of occasions when a patent attorney is the best resource for making decisions about an IP portfolio, but I appreciated the opportunity to share what I do for my clients and learn more about what they do for theirs.  It turns out that we often serve the same types of entrepreneurs and small businesses, and so in the future we may collaborate. 

You know the power of networking.  You can't have success in business without a solid network of referral sources, mentors, and sounding boards to serve as a launch pad for your own career (and it's best when you play those roles for others, as well).  As you start a new business, consider beginning a network of professional service providers such as accountants and attorneys.  You probably don't need to hire all of them right away, but start scouting for your team while you are still in the minors, then when you want to go Major League, you have gotten to know the capacity and value of those service providers you will rely on. 

Start off by finding one person you trust with sharing you ideas.  It doesn't need to be someone you will ever hire -- it could be a friend, former professor, or even your real estate agent.  After introducing your idea, ask specifically if they know someone who can do X.  Ask for the referral.  For the most part, people are happy to help their friends by introducing new potential clients, and the more people you can recruit to recommend resources, the more resources you have to choose from. 

I'll be the first one to tell you that you don't need me.  Any honest professional should do so.  But just because you don't need me NOW doesn't mean I can't be a resource in the future.  Build your dream team before you need them, and they will be ready when you call. 

The UK Daily Mail Online reports that a contractor in Virginia sued a women for nearly $1M in damages, alleging she defamed him in reviews she posted on Yelp, Angie's List, and other services websites.  The case apparently has legs, as a judge today granted a preliminary injunction that the woman remove her scathing reviews (which allege shoddy work as well as theft) from the websites until the suit is resolved.  

This is not the first of such cases, but it may have a good chance of success anyway.  In 2011, a plaintiff cosmetic surgeon's case was dismissed and the surgeon ordered to pay $20k in attorneys' fees to a former patient who had posted a bad review. A computer graphics company in Florida sued a former client for defamation as well, alleging a 70% drop in business.  The outcome is still pending there.  

Defamation -- that is, a knowingly false statement published about someone or their business which causes damages -- can be expensive.  If you experience a loss in business as a result of false bad reviews, there are steps you can take instead of or in addition to suing for money damages.  The most important thing is to "stop the bleeding" and try to improve your "Search Engine Optimization" (SEO) so that the recent bad review is not the first thing that pops up when someone searches for you.

SEO can be expensive if you outsource, but it might be worth it to put the hours in yourself.  The goal is to frequently update your online presence.  If you don't have a website, get a free one and start blogging immediately.  Comment in a positive way on other websites while using your real name.  Use your online presence to promote other positive things -- maybe you volunteer at a soup kitchen, maybe you foster rescued puppies, maybe you crochet -- so that, over time, there are many positive associations with your name and your business, which may dilute one really stinky review.Stay on message:  you are a professional who works hard and gives good value.  You love puppies and baby ducklings and orphans in Ghana.

Today's Wall Street Journal highlighted a tricky area for businesses.  The music-streaming company Pandora is struggling to stay in the black in light of increasing royalty fees due to licensing the music it streams. 

Companies young and old can get in this bind:  you need business to be in business, so you negotiate terms.  Unforeseen and unforeseeable things happen, and the terms stop being tolerable.  What's a company to do?  Without paying the license fees, Pandora has no material with which to attract users to its site, and advertisers will pay less to access that audience. 

If you business model is attracting advertizing dollars rather than selling a product, an increase in the cost of attracting an audience is your greatest fear.  Pandora does have a hybrid model, where they generate revenue both from advertizers and subscription costs, but it's at the mercy of the royalty rates negotiated earlier.

When you're building your business plan, it's important to be realistic (and not overly optimistic, a common pratfall).  Part of that reality-check is expecting things to change, and building in escape hatches in your long-term agreements.  Pandora is now in a position where they are trying to lobby the government to lower the cap on music royalties, a move that is not popular with artists.  Try to avoid that last resort! 

Earlier this year, we blogged about the co-founders of MIXED CHICKS hair care suing hair-care giant Sally Beauty for willful trade dress infringement (among other things of course) with the "Mixed Silk" hair care product line and concept.

Guess what?  The ladies won -- nearly a million dollars in actual damages plus punitive damages that push them over the $8 million mark for the jury verdict.  

This is a big win for small businesses.  The plot line of this case is a common danger to entrepreneurs, and (in my experience) a reason many entrepreneurs go off the rails when they need to scale-up their idea.  Founder(s) work hard to build a new product that solves an unmet need, get it off the ground, then, whammo!  Instead of licensing or even a takeover, a bigger company simply steals their concept, goodwill, and, in some cases, the product itself.  

What's a small shop to do?  It's tough enough to keep the doors open at an early stage, let alone pay for extra lawyers.  You could be crushed in litigation paperwork, driving up your costs until you simply can't afford to maintain the lawsuit (a common tactic, sadly).  

Hopefully, after this precedent, a wake-up call will go out that even small businesses can win when they're in the right.  Don't steal stuff, even when you think you can get away with it!  

Tarek Fadel writes in Fast Company that, even as a lawyer, the eight-year, $20,000 process of getting a patent on his user-responsive bar exam preparation software caught him by surprise.  His article outlines some of the pratfalls that befall entrepreneurs who attempt to navigate the patent process without a patent attorney.

If you haven't seen it yet, Bravo TV has a new reality show about the trials and tribulations of Silicon Valley start-up life, called, predictably, "Start-Ups:  Silicon Valley." 

Unsurprisingly, there are screaming matches and tears -- just like in real life!  I'd love to hear what you think about the show.  Does it mirror your start-up experience?