CentreO Blog

During our networking events people tend to ask us questions related to business incorporation, corporate bank account or visa issues. From time to time people are also curious about entrepreneurship and how to start up from nothing.

There is no “golden rule” however we learned the hard way and we have tips to share.

Centre O normally always enjoy writing blogs, sadly today is different. Today Nepal is in a state of dis-pair due to the powerful earthquake that struck 3 days ago on Saturday 25th April.
Nearly two million children feared affected by Saturday’s deadly earthquake in Nepal which has claimed more 10,000 lives to date. Depressingly this number is increasing by the minute.
As the sheer devastation of the recent earthquake becomes clearer, we know that children have been the most affected by this disaster.
Despite the difficulties in reaching some of the hardest-hit regions, we would love everyone to give much-needed items to help these children and their families.

There is a revolution of young people carving their own path introducing new products and services to the market. Your appearance is no exception in helping a prospective clients gain trust in your capabilities and believe in your value before an exchange or transaction will occur.

Whether you are meeting a customer, supplier, associate, or investors, the way you dress in business is very important because it speaks of you even when you have not opened your mouth to say anything.

Keep in mind that you represent your company and your product. Dressing better also says you take the meeting, and those you’re meeting, seriously. That’s especially important if they are potential investors or customers.

 

There are times when it’s okay to wear jeans and a flannel shirt, but there are some things you should consider first:

 

– Being respectful:

Once you’ve earned the respect of the people you work with, the people you work for, and the professionals who help your business succeed, your personal attire will have a less dramatic effect on how people view you. Once they are evaluating you and respect you based on your performance, dress becomes a non-issue.

– Your image:

Many young entrepreneurs will immediately have a casual dress code in their business. Why not? It’s more comfortable, and people like it.

No matter what industry you work in, if you wear your pajamas and slippers to work, people are going to think you are lazy and a fool. Your subordinates won’t respect you, and your customers probably won’t respect you, either.

After all, you’re a businessperson, and forming a poor impression by dressing down can be detrimental to your business and devalue you in the eyes of your personal or partners. Over time, you can earn the right to dress however you want, but it takes a proven track record of success for your appearance not to matter.

You should be conscious of the need to look smart, polished and professional. This can be done in something as simple as jeans and a blazer, if done in the right context that is, depending who you are meeting with and where.

When you look good, you feel good, so your clients will tune into your energy and enthusiasm when accessing if they want to do business with you or not.

For example:

 

A simple black blazer can be dressed up with a dress or down with jeans. If a meeting is casual, a nice pair of jeans is another staple for both men and women. A pair of jeans in a dark rinse or black (with little to no distressing) can be appropriate in a lot of casual situations like meet-ups and conferences. Women can pair jeans with a classic set of pumps and a blazer.

Women shouldn’t feel confined to wearing a sheath dress to a meeting or event, if you choose a dress, make sure you’re not showing any cleavage, the hemline isn’t too short, and the pattern on the dress isn’t too distracting. Also, darker colors are more formal than lighter colors.

A part of that, you can add accessories like belts, scarves, stoles, shoes, and bags, it can help emphasize the image, if you pay a little attention.

Accessories are similar to those for clothes: sharp lines vs. curved, dark colors vs. soft colors.  Choose shoes, jewelry, watches, and belts from such classic materials as leather, silver, and gold.

 

When it comes to starting a business, there is often some confusion about the process of business name registration. Does a trade name afford any legal branding protection? Can your trade name be the same as your trademark?

Simply put, a trade name is the official name under which a company does business. A trade name does not afford any brand name protection or provide you with unlimited rights for the use of that name. However, registering a trade name is an important step for some but not all businesses.

An important reason to distinguish between trade names and trademarks is that if a business starts to use its trade name to identify products and services, it could be perceived that the trade name is now functioning as a trademark, which could potentially infringe on existing trademarks.

Naming your business is an important branding exercise. If you choose to name your business as anything other than your own personal name, then you will need to register it with the appropriate authority.

When you register your business, you may register a business name. You should take one of the following three choices:

– register a Chinese name only (For Chinese name, you may include English alphabets, but not English words)
– register an English name only
– or register both a Chinese name and an English name.

You may not use the following names as your business name:

– A name which suggests that the business is incorporated with limited liability when it is not.
– Where the business is incorporated with limited liability, a name which suggests that the business is incorporated under a different name.
– A name which suggests a connection with the Government or any public body when no such connection exists or has existed.

Sometimes, for the same business, you may wish to register more than one business name. This is permissible. However, each registered additional business name will be treated as a branch of the business. The additional business name must also follow the rules mentioned above.

If you carry on more than one business, you should register each business separately. Each business may have its own business name.