Ask Bob: Starting a branding & licensing business

I received a letter from Bruce J of the RSW Regional Jail in Fort Royal VA that really made me think. Thank you, Bruce, because while your question didn’t keep me up at night, I did have to put in some work to give you a good answer. Thanks for “thinking outside the box” and for sending that in. 

Bruce wants to start a company that brands other manufacturer’s products and was wondering about the process to license to sell their products under his own brand.

Licensing is easy – it’s done all the time.

Licensing is just specific permission to temporarily use something belonging to someone else. I license my content, like this article, that is used on the Edovo, GTL, and PayTel tablet platforms. Anyone re-selling someone else’s products will likely have a marketing agreement or license agreement, which will define what a person can or cannot do, change, alter, etc. It may even govern the asking price of an item, or a specific geographic territory you can sell in. 

Branding is a a larger mountain to scale

Branding is a little different animal. There are two ways to approach branding as a money-making idea:

1. Direct branding, or re-branding of other’s products.  This can succeed IF you get a company to give you the right to put your brand on their product. In order to do that you need to have a following larger than theirs, a large amount of proven sales of other products, or you need to make a bulk order with the right to re-brand (this is where licensing comes in). It’s a good idea, but it’s hard to launch a new business based on this concept. It is something you can work up to, particularly if you can become a social media influencer and get paid to promote or review products. 

2. Offer branding services for customers. If you’ve seen my “Starting a Business Without Money” Ask Bob then you know I define branding as super-focused graphics or design meant to define a product or thing. I learned about this watching my wife, who is a commercial graphic designer.  One of the services she offers clients is to develop a branding package, which is a consistent, engaging, professional look for a company or product that includes, but isn’t limited to, logos, business cards, advertising pieces, and sometimes even product packaging. Companies need help doing this, particularly as the internet has increased the speed of business and increased the importance of branding. 

Most companies that own products want to see a successful track record of what you’ve done to brand other products before they trust you with their creation. It’s frustrating breaking into this business. It’s kind of like applying for a job with an employer who wants someone with experience.  As the job applicant you say, “hire me and I’ll get experience.”  It is possible to break into this business, but it will take a good 3-5 years to get established, and a lot of work along the way. You’ll have the best luck working with start-ups and grow as they grow. I’m not trying to discourage your dream, just let you some of the challenges you’ll have along the way. This is a case where you can benefit by working for a marketing group or graphic design company to get some foundation in the business before you launch on your own. 

Like I’ve always said – if you can survive prison you can survive and do, anything! Good luck on this adventure.

Ask Bob answers questions about life, re-entry, starting a business and entrepreneurship, and most anything that adds value, except the column does not cover legal issues, sentencing matters, or case issues.

To ask Bob a question, contact him here.