Things take longer than you think
By
Teresa Wojcik
Published on
August 20, 2024
Hi there!
Things feel like they are moving slowly right now. There are a lot of procedures that need to be correctly executed in the background to be able to move quickly and efficiently in the future. While this is frustrating, I am trying to use it as an opportunity to work on other aspects of the business I might not normally have time for, and to be as thorough as possible.
I nearly didn't write a newsletter this week, then I ran into a coworker this morning who mentioned she had come across Your Season completely by accident through the write-up 'RiotACT' did about Your Season a few weeks ago and signed up to the newsletter. She has enjoyed reading about the business and said she would be interested in hearing about the weeks that are moving slower, too.
Thank you, Beth. That really meant a lot to me!
I had a chat with Yuki from Miiroko last week, who was kind enough to share his story and some pointers with me. He said that you should plan for 4X the amount of money you think something is going to cost! Oof, it looks like I won't be quitting my day job any time soon!
The new website development team is on board but haven't started working yet. It's been almost a month since the contract was signed, and we are still in initial discussions. It is important to get this bit right, to make sure that money isn't wasted, and steps don't have to be redone, but it is an absolute test of patience for myself and Tanja, my marketer, who are champing at the bit to get the website looking and working beautifully.
I am also still waiting on the Griffin Trust to be paid out. There are a lot of internal due diligence steps that need to be taken...that take time....
And there was an interesting update on my trademarking process this week, which has been going on quietly in the background for quite some time. An ex-AFL player has already trademarked "Season", so I was rejected for "Your Season". Options were to apply to have the previous trademark removed or ask the holder of the trademark permission to also trade under the name.
I was initially going to go for the second option, but as this ex-player was a semi-celebrity, they understandably seemed to want to keep their contact details private. So, as they hadn't created any business, or shown any business activity towards using this trademark, we applied to have it removed.
Ooh boy, did we kick the hornet's nest. The founder stated they were very much intending to use the trademark and put in the relevant paperwork (including an email address and phone number). So, we decided to try and contact them to see if they would grant shared permission. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be “anything in it for them”. Well!
Now, Hayley (my TM lawyer) and I are going to try and argue the ruling. There are a lot of other businesses registered in the classes that Your Season is going for, that use the word “Season” in their name. Many of them were registered before “Season” was trademarked. How is it then, that the line is being drawn at my business?
This trademarking back and forth has now been going on for at least 4 months. Hopefully there is an end in sight soon.
As I mentioned before, I have been spending this extra time on jobs I might not normally have time for, for example, setting up procedures. I have finally tackled my Xero for teaching singing, and will next move onto my Xero account for Your Season.
Another job I have today, is to read through the draft of the business constitution. This is one of the final pieces in my legal arsenal.
And I am still reaching out to stylists, to see if they might be interested in a white-label subscription version of Your Season. I have had one stylist respond recently asking for more information, so I will draft a reply to her this afternoon.
I had an interesting chat with Roo Harris from Scale Investors. She said I am still too early-stage for them to invest, but she likes the idea, wants me to stay in touch, and recommended some early-stage resources for me which was very kind of her!
Thanks for reading along! If you can think of anyone who would be interested in joining me on this journey, please invite them to subscribe to the newsletter here.
Talk soon!
