Light, Motion and Magic

Since making the decision to start our coffee service business, I’ve been doing some research (of course!) on coffee consumption. One very interesting site is The National Coffee Association of USA, Inc.

Here are some of the more interesting highlights from their National Coffee Drinking Trends 2008 study:

• 17% of the adult population consumed a gourmet coffee beverage on a daily basis in 2008
compared  with 14% in 2007.

• In 2007, past-day consumption of coffee surpassed that of soft drinks for the first time. While the gap narrowed in 2008, daily consumption of coffee is still directionally higher.

• 18 to 24 year olds are becoming serious coffee drinkers. In 2005, only 26 percent of young adults in that age bracket considered themselves coffee drinkers. By 2007, that figure was up to 37%, making the 18-24 year old coffee market the fastest growing segment of the market. Older adults, in the 40 to 59 year old bracket, are also big coffee drinkers. This age group increased from 59 percent to 61 percent over the previous year, and those age 60 and over report the most coffee consumers - 74 percent of adults in that age bracket reported that they drink coffee every day.

• Consumption of cups per day by consumers age 18-24 continued to trend higher in 2008. Young adults who drank coffee consumed an average of 3.2 cups per day as compared with 3.1 in 2007, a significant increase over 2005’s level of 2.5 cups per day.

So, coffee consumption is going up, but what about the economy? Coffee houses aren’t doing so well these days, are they? The International Coffee Organization released a report in February on the “World Economic Crisis and the Coffee Sector”:

Early reports show that food sales are holding up better than those of non-food
products.  It seems that big chains are competing by cutting prices rather than losing market
share or seeing the volume of sales decrease, even at the expense of profits.  In the developed
country markets of North America, Europe and Japan, which account for approximately
58% of world consumption, coffee is a staple good that represents only a small fraction of
consumer spending.  The information available suggests that coffee consumption in these
markets is holding up well.  Instead of limiting overall intake, consumers are more likely to
shift from out-of-home to in-home consumption and from higher cost products to cheaper
brands.  This trend to less expensive products is corroborated by the strong results reported
by discount food retailers and by reduced earnings in the speciality coffee sector in the last
quarter of 2008.

Increasing coffee consumption, especially among young adults, bodes well for the future of the coffee industry, despite the downturn in the economy. These coffee-drinkers know a good cappuccino when they taste it, and our Miri Market coffee service will allow businesses to offer barista-style coffee drinks to their employees and clients for a fraction of the coffee house price - a great thing in this economy.

Tags:Add new tag, coffee consumption, economy, Miri Market, National Coffee Association of USA, National Coffee Drinking Trends

A French philosopher, said that “to exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly” (Henri Louis Bergeson.) I believe that is an accurate description of my business endeavors. Change, maturity, re-creation.

Clearly this is not an economy to manufacture and try to sell non-essential decorative merchandise, as I started out to do with Miri Market. Although I have not given up on that idea, I have definitely put those dreams on hold.

But Miri Market still exists, my legal business entity, with the ability to go on creating itself endlessly, as in the quote above. “Miri” means to be amazed, to marvel, to wonder at. It is from the language Esperanto, an international language based on words common to the chief European languages. For example, mira in Spanish means sight; intention; just look. Miracolo in Italian means miracles; wonder. And as a girl’s name (Latin, Slavic, Hindi) Miri means ‘wonderful’; ‘peace’; ‘prosperous’. Can you think of better connotations for a business name?

So it is to marvel and wonder at that my husband and I were presented with a business opportunity that - yes, even in these uncertain times - we decided to seize. David and I together will be working on a small service business. Our website, and this blog, is being reworked to reflect our new venture.

Miri Market coffee service - using state-of-the-art gourmet coffee machines, stocked with the finest coffee and backed by a committment to service and responsibility - makes barista-style coffee drinks available any time at your business for your employees and/or clients.

Our system grinds and brews each coffee drink in 30 seconds flat. At the push of a button a cup of delicious freshly ground and brewed specialty coffee is yours to savor. Miri Market coffee service allows your employees and/or clients to enjoy the flavor, cost and convenience benefits of coffee house drinks at a fraction of coffee house prices.

On the one hand, it seems crazy to jump into a new business when the bad economic news is piling up around us like dead leaves in the fall. Yet we made our decision quite quickly to do this. We’ve always wanted to work together, and this business seems to have the right requirements of each of our strengths and expertise. It is a simple business, a delicious business, that we can run to our standards of taste and responsibility.

Hazel Henderson is a futurist and economist, and the author of several books. In 2007 she started EthicalMarkets.tv for public television to showcase video of people and organizations around the world with socially responsible endeavors. She has said, “If we can recognize that change and uncertainty are basic principles, we can greet the future and the transformation we are undergoing with the understanding that we do not know enough to be pessimistic.”

So I guess that in these uncertain times, David and I simply don’t know enough to be pessimistic. We’re going to give it a whirl!

Tags:business, change, Coffee Service, Hazel Henderson, Miri Market, start-up

Happy Birthday to me! I began this Light, Motion and Magic blog a year ago - and what a great year it has been! Today I’d like to write a little about what I’ve learned from the blogging experience - and since this blog is all about being a woman entrepreneur starting my business - I’ll outline where my business efforts are right now.

This blogging experience has been terrific. There have been both outward and inward benefits to this blog. I started it because I realized that there is an online community that I would need to understand, reach out to and be a part of if I were ever going to make a success of my online business. That online community is every bit as robust as I thought it would be, and more. The other blogs and bloggers that I’ve followed, those I’ve communicated with in forums, and the additional Twitter community that I engage with has simply become a part of my life now. Yes, it takes up time, but it’s well, well worth it. I have a genuine fondness and respect for the friends I’ve made online, and the times I’ve reached out, I’ve rarely been disappointed.

On an internal level, I can’t overstate how important it has been, as I’ve gone through this business start-up process, to take the time to concentrate my thoughts and experiences as I’ve gone along. Yes, it’s been hard to think of exactly what to write about sometimes, but the effort has always been rewarding, and has often crystallized my thinking, or spurred me to more needed research.

I am very, very glad that I took the leap to try this online format, and I look forward to another year with you!

My latest test of patience in getting Miri Market off the ground is finally drawing to an end. Johannes will be done with the design enhancements soon, which I am very excited to see. After that, I look forward to getting reactions to the concept from people through online surveys and face-to-face research.

The economic conditions in which we find ourselves is going to affect my business decisions, without a doubt. It’s tough enough to get a business off the ground, even without the tremors of a looming economic crisis shaking that very ground. I will continue to move forward very cautiously. Admittedly, getting Miri Market going has been s-l-o-w-w-w-w, but I’ve always believed that the process will unfold as it should, in due time. Perhaps the delays have been a good thing, and I should be grateful that the nervousness of watching the economy this week was not compounded by having a container of new product to launch and sell! These are uncertain times, for sure, highlighting the need to minimize risk and do my research to make sure this is a product that will be well-received.

Thus, I start out on Year Two of this blog. As I proceed with my business plans through the months ahead I will continue to write about my experiences and bring to you my honest observations and insights. I thank all my readers, and I hope you’ll keep stopping by to take this journey with me.

Tags:blog, Blogging, business decisions, economy, Light Motion and Magic, Miri Market, online community

Monday was an exciting day. I went to see Johannes Gaston for the presentation of initial design concepts for my product. I am delighted with the possibilities!

Keep in mind that this is only the beginning of the second phase in a 6-phase process:

1. Research
2. Concept
3. Design
4. Documentation
5. Sourcing
6. Follow-Through

Out of 8 concept drawings, I will decide which designs to enhance and refine. By August I will be ready to put them through a user feedback process. One-on-one feedback sessions and focus groups will help me get a better feel for general reaction to the designs. Additionally, because these concepts are drawings instead of 3-d models, Johannes said we will also be able to put them in a format where people can go online to give me feedback. That means that many of you who have been following my journey through this blog may be able to participate!

If you are interested in looking at these initial concepts and giving YOUR feedback, please leave a comment and I will contact you with details.

Please know that I may have to do some screening of on-line participants, but I hope to get a cross-section of opinion from males and females of all ages, so pass the word!

Tags:design concepts, Johannes Gaston, Miri Market, user feedback

I hope you’re enjoying the new look of “Light, Motion and Magic!” I’d like to point out a few features.

For those of you who do not want to subscribe to a “feed,” you can now sign up to get my blog posts by email. In other words, every time I publish a post to this blog, it will automatically be sent to you in the form of an email. You simply sign up by typing in your email address in the space provided above and center, and click on the subscribe button. You will then go to a short form that requires you to type in the letters shown in a box - to verify that you are a human and not an automated spam program! Finally you will have to reply to a confirmation email sent to your email address, to make sure that the blog will go to the right address.

It’s an easy way for you to stay up on my adventures as a woman entrepreneur, and of course you can still come to this actual site any time!

As you can see, I now have a space on the right to feature my company, Miri Market. Click on the Miri Market logo and it will take you to my temporary Miri Market webiste. Don’t forget that you can sign up there to get my future “company” emails as well.

And finally, since my photo is above in the “About the author” section, I will no longer be putting my picture in every post. I will still use my photos and other images from time to time. I still have some work to do to fill out my blogroll and clean up the formatting with some old posts, but what you see is basically what you’ll be getting!

I hope you find this new design pleasing and easy to use. Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions.

MANY, MANY thanks to Eric Florenzano for handling the migration to this new Wordpress design, and for all his unflagging technical advice and help. (I couldn’t do it without you, sweetie pie.)

Tags:Add new tag, blog, Miri Market, Woman entrepreneur

I got a simple, great question from David Kam of the blog Marketing Deviant: “How much is it to get a logo and name trademarked?” That kind of specific information is what I want to provide through this blog, and precisely the kind of information I find extremely helpful as I build my business.

First of all, it cost me $2,500 to work with Adsoka to create my company name and logo, Miri Market TM.
Keep in mind that this included making sure that the name we picked would a) have the web domain name available (mirimarket.com) and b) would be preliminarily checked to see that the trademark for the name would be available.

I discussed this cost with a friend of mine who has a company and has contracted out for various creative services in the past. She felt this was a fair price, and considering that I am extremely pleased with the result, it still seems like a fair price to me.

I’ve recently become aware of 99designs where a client can submit a brief explanation of their company name and business, plus how much they’re willing to pay for design of their logo, business card or website - generally from $50 to $500. Then designs are submitted from a huge community of designers for the client to choose from. This wouldn’t have worked for me because I’m developing a unique product and I needed creative naming services as well as the logo, but this might work very well for others.

Regarding legal services, so far it has cost me $1,688 working with Nikolai & Mersereau (www.nm-iplaw.com) to obtain registration for my Trademark.

$522 - for a comprehensive preliminary search for the availability of my mark
$851 - for my Intent-to-use Trademark Application, and government fees
$315 - responding to an “Office Action” from the Trademark Office regarding the word MIRI. This was not significant, but needed some additional information from me plus a letter in response.

I was fortunate to know the approximate cost of this going into the process. I can’t say enough about the practical value of the information in The Mom Inventors Handbook by Tamara Monosoff. Here’s what her book said about the time and cost of getting a trademark:

“Once a trademark application has been filed, it takes anywhere from 16 to 20 months for formal registration. It can take much longer if there are problems with the registration, such as opposition from another party, or if you have to appeal.

The cost depends on the complexity of proceedings. However, you can estimate spending about $925 to $1,075, depending on the type of mark (text versus stylized) and how much your attorney charges per hour. In addition, you may pay more if additional legal time is involved due to unforseen issues that arise with the mark. (We paid approximately $1,500 for each of our trademark filings.)”

My lawyer, Jim Nikolai, has been very candid about the costs, and they have been right in line with what this book described. The process isn’t over, but is well on it’s way.

There is a cost to doing business and my challenge is to put my money to work for me in the areas that will benefit me the most. My personal feeling was that EVERYTHING - all future business, website, trademark protection, EVERYTHING - stemmed from the name and logo and it was worth it to me to pay good money for help in getting it right. I’ve heard a lot of stories about how people grow unhappy with the name they’ve given their business and wish they’d put more thought into it. There are no guarantees, but I don’t want to be in that position

The same with trademark protection - I want legitimacy and legal protection in place from the get-go. So far I’m very happy with the work of the professionals who have now become my partners in building my business.

As always, I welcome feedback and insights you readers have about these costs and services!

Tags:99designs, Adsoka, David Kam, Marketing Deviant, Miri Market, Nikolai & Mersereau, Office Action, Tamara Monosoff, The Mom Inventor's Handbook, Trademark Application

Received from my lawyer Jim Nikolai of Nikolai and Mersereau a few days ago:

“We are pleased to be able to inform you that we have just received word from the Trademark Division of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that the application for registration of the above-identified mark [Miri Market] has been allowed and that the mark will be published in the Official Gazette of May 27, 2008.”

There are several steps ahead before I have full trademark protection - most notably MARKETING MIRI MARKET GOODS! - but this is an exciting development for my company.

What are the benefits of federal trademark registration?
According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO):

1. Constructive notice
nationwide of the trademark owner’s claim.
2. Evidence of ownership of the trademark.
3. Jurisdiction of federal courts may be invoked.
4. Registration can be used as a basis for obtaining registration in foreign
countries.
5. Registration may be filed with U.S. Customs Service to prevent importation
of infringing foreign goods.

RegisteringATrademark.com lists the benefits in more detail:

A. Greater Protection

1. A trademark registration protects a company’s name or logo, which is often a company’s most valuable asset;
2. A trademark registration grants the trademark owner exclusive nationwide ownership of the trademark;
3. A trademark registration decreases the likelihood of another party claiming that your trademark infringes upon their trademark;
4. A
   trademark registration provides official notice to others that your
   trademark is already taken; consequently, a company that later adopts a
   confusingly similar trademark can not claim ignorance of the trademark;
5. The
   owner of a trademark registration obtains the future right to make the
   trademark “incontestable,” which provides conclusive evidence regarding
   the validity of the trademark and of the registrant’s exclusive right
   to use the trademark; and
6. A United States trademark registration can be used as a basis for obtaining a trademark registration in foreign countries.

B. Greater Deterrence

1. The
   owner of trademark registration obtains the right to put a (R), after
   the trademark, alerting others to your trademark registration and
   preventing the defense of innocent infringement;
2. The
   trademark will appear in trademark search reports ordered by others,
   likely discouraging others from proceeding with the trademark
   registration of the same or similar trademark; and
3. The
   United States Patent and Trademark Office (”USPTO”) will refuse
   trademark registration to any trademark it deems confusingly similar to
   your trademark.

C. Greater Remedies

1. Trademark
   registration grants the trademark owner the right to recover up to
   triple damages and attorney’s fees from a trademark infringer;
2. The owner of a trademark registration receives the presumption of being the valid owner of the trademark;
3. A
   trademark registration increases the likelihood of the successful
   filing of a dispute resolution policy for an infringing Internet domain
   name; and
4. The owner of a trademark registration has an automatic right to sue in federal court.

This is good news for Miri Market!

Tags:Jim Nikolai, Miri Market, Nikolai and Mersereau, Registeringatrademark.com, trademark registration, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, USPTO

Tags:Adsoka, brand promise, Esperanto-USA, Esperanto.net, Miri Market, mirimarket.com, Rob Frankl