
Zara Watson-Young is an award-winning trademark and intellectual property attorney who specializes in helping female founders protect their brands and businesses from copycats. She’s Ashley’s personal trademark attorney and also a client of...
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Welcome to the Marketing Matters podcast for small business owners and entrepreneurs. How would you feel about trashing your marketing funnel by building something way better instead? In these episodes, you'll learn how you can build a marketing machine in your business so that you can become findable for the people who are already searching for what you and your business have to offer. Because the best Realtor, the best interior designer, the best boutique owner, influencer, or local service provider does not win. The best marketer wins. So if you're ready for more of the right people to find you and your business, it's time you become findable. Let's get started. I'm so excited for y'all to meet Zara Watson Young. So Zara is an award winning trademark attorney dedicated to protecting female founders and empowering entrepreneurs. Together with her husband Sean, they co founded Watson and Young, which is a family run law firm that has helped over 900 brands globally secure their identities, shut down copy copycats and prevent business disruptions. Her firm has successfully defended small businesses against industry giants like Elle magazine, saved clients from costly rebranding, and protected valuable investments from trade trademark conflicts. As a wife, mother of two daughters, and advocate for small business owners, Zara brings a unique ability to turn complex legal concepts into clear, practical steps to help her clients protect and grow their brands. And I know she's done that for me, so I'm so excited to share her with you. So welcome to the podcast, Zara.
B
Thank you for having me. I'm so excited for our conversation.
A
Me too. And what's special, Zara and I were talking before we got started today and we met from, to no surprise, being in a room. We both paid over a thousand dollars, a couple thousand to, to be in a room with other successful entrepreneurs. And we got connected that way. And it just makes me like, like I, you know, how strongly I am about getting in the right room. And Zara, I imagine for your business too, that's been like a connection point.
B
For you, a game changer for sure. It's just, it's changed everything being being in certain rooms, you know, meeting certain peoples. You never know the connections that are going to form, right? Like we had no idea that we'd be connected to simply by just going to a conference. So I'm such a big advocate for that, just being around that energy. And again, you just never know who you're going to meet and how it's going to impact, you know, your future.
A
So truly the best part is I was in up in the hotel room pumping while Hannah Met you, because every three hours, I was like, gotta go, gotta go. And so, hey, I was with my friend Hannah, which highly recommend bringing a friend with you when you're going on a. On a business trip or to an event like the Power of Paid Ad Summit, which Zara will be there, but bring a friend, and then that friend may meet someone that connects you, because you and I actually didn't meet at the event. We just met because we were at the same event.
B
Right, right. And it's so funny. My two girls were upstairs. I. She was what? Oh, my gosh. Maybe 10, 11 months at the time. So. I hear you. I'm still nursing her, so kudos to you moms.
A
Like, I want you to know, many of the women who have, like, considered coming to the summit, for instance, they're like, hey, is there a nursing room? Yes. Hey, can I bring my baby? Yes.
B
Yeah.
A
We. We're women who are running our own businesses, and we're moms, and they are both, like, impacting our family's life, impacting the women that we get to serve are both so important. And so I. And you didn't let that stop us. We're like, we're gonna do both.
B
Yeah.
A
You know, you're.
B
When you want to make something happen, you will. Right? You will find a way. So don't let that stop you from being in the room. So. Definitely.
A
Yeah. So Zara. So I. This is, like, the story of my life with anybody that I work with. My initial reaction is, I don't need this. I'm like, I don't. I don't. Nobody's gonna actually try to steal this. Like, who would do that? I'm like, that would be so mean. I'm like, who would take this and say, let me go monetize this? Like. And Zara's like, and not everyone is gonna act the way maybe I would or you would. And so she. She said something when we were on a call, and it was like, you told me a story of how someone kind of had to buy back their brand in a way or rebrand. And, like, that is a thought that never once in my business have I ever thought about. Is, like, a thing that could happen.
B
Right. Legal is usually the last thing that anyone wants to think about. And I get it. Right. You want to focus on, you know, especially when you're first starting out, the branding, getting your website, getting, you know, pretty logos done. But legal, especially when it comes to trademarking, it is the foundation. Oftentimes business owners think, oh, I have an llc. You know, I'm an S corp. I'm fine, right? Like, I have the. I have everything in place. I have a few contracts here and there. No. When it comes to actually owning the actual brand, that is where trademarking comes in. And if you want to go after anyone who's copying you, the only way to do that is through a trademark. Your LLC has nothing to do with it, right? Having a contract, yes, that's important, and that's great. But if you want to stop someone from copying you, maybe they're copying your content, maybe they're copying, you know, your course name or methodology name, etc. The only. Only way to be able to do that is through trademarking. So we can go on and on in terms of stories of people, you know, clients having to buy back a name.
A
Can you tell me a story about that? Like, do you have a. Yeah.
B
Yes. So she's pretty big in the personal finance space. Her podcast is the number one podcast in the personal finance space. And she had been operating for basically five years. And she was now ready to start the trademark process. And we did a comprehensive search. That's the first part of the process. And when we did that search, we discovered that someone already had a registered trademark. So she's like, oh, my gosh. She's like, I'm not changing the name. You know, I've become known for this. And we. Basically, one of the options that we gave her was to basically reach out to that company, their hedge fund, and see if they would be willing to negotiate to sell the name to her. So we had to talk about numbers, right? You know, how much are you willing to, you know, sell or, excuse me, buy the name for? And ultimately, that hedge fund didn't want to, you know, sell the name, right? They were asking a lot of money, and they're just like, you know, it's not really worth it to us. So we have to go back and forth. And she's still using the name, which is great, thankfully, but, you know, it's a huge risk, right, because they basically can just come after her and have her take everything down. So that's one example. We had a client, she spent $40,000 on product packaging. It's a story I talk about all the time. Thankfully, we were able to, in a way, perform a miracle because that attorney who reviewed her application, by the. By the grace of God, they allowed that application to proceed because the names are so similar. And she's. It's still risky, right? Because she doesn't have that peace of Mind, because that name, it's essentially similar to another name. So she spent $40,000 in product packaging, did that, and then came to us to start the trademark process. And when we did the search, we're like, oh, my goodness, this name is already taken. Essentially, it's very, very close. So, you know, here are the options. We can still proceed. And she's like, you know, it's still file and see what happens. And thankfully we were able to have the trademark register. Right. So there's so much at risk if you wait and don't do the, you know, take, don't take the proper steps.
A
Yeah, I, I just hadn't thought about even when you and I have worked together. And by the way, if you're listening, Zara is also a client. We're a client of each other's. So she's helping the trademarking. She also is excited to share some of her, like the wins that she's had with ads and what's great, you know, all of the time on this podcast in YouTube channel, we talk about specific data and numbers, but there are other wins that come from learning ads. And she's going to talk a little bit about that. And honestly, what it had, the revenue, it's going to save her long term. We're going to talk about that too. But when Zara and I met, I actually had a specific scenario where there was a little bit of just, I guess you could say in a way, using what I kind of saying what I was saying, someone else was saying what I was saying. And so we were trying to navigate, I was trying to navigate that with her. I'm like, what do you do? How does this work? And so I just learned so much about what is and is not allowed. And also when you, when something does happen, how do you approach it? Like, what are the best steps? Because what the example I give all the time, Zara, is you don't want to learn how to change your tire when your tires flat on the interstate.
B
Yes.
A
Like, it's so much better if you would just know how to do that proactively so that when it does happen, you're like, I have a plan.
B
Yes, exactly.
A
You know, and so you help me navigate that, because especially with Instagram and everything, YouTube, it's very easy for someone to see it and say, let me just go do that exact same thing. Because obviously that's working. So let me just take what somebody else has already done and do it.
B
The Internet is a wild, wild west. I always say that. And it's Better to be prepared because, you know, as you're growing your business, as you're scaling, it's not a matter of, you know, if it's when. Right. Because with more visibility. I always talk about this. With more visibility comes the risk of people copying you. Right. Like. Like you just said, people like, oh, you know, this must be working for her. So let me copy the same exact thing. And one of the ways to combat that is to have your trademark registered and your copyright registered. And the reason is because if you want to take this to the next level, let's say someone is cop your entire course. Right. They've literally copied everything verbatim. And you're like, oh, my goodness, I have to go to court. I have to have the, you know, maybe recoup some of these profits that they've made. The first thing a judge will ask you is, do you have your trademark and your copyright registered? If you don't, you won't be able to, you know, recover anything. Right. Really important to have these things in place. Like, we have people come to us all the time and saying, oh, I want to send a cease and desist here, cease and desist there. And the first thing I ask is, are these things registered? So we will actually register your trademark. At least have a pending application before sending a cease and desist out. These are really foundational elements that you want to make sure you have in place.
A
Yeah.
B
Right. It's just a matter of when.
A
You know, Zara and I were talking about ads, and it actually ties to what she was just talking about, of how, like, if you wait until it's too late, you're. It can cost you so much money.
B
Yeah.
A
That you just didn't. It's honestly just money you didn't have to spend. Like you could have not had to spend on, like, having to do a lawsuit a lot or go back and rebuy your brand. Like, all these things. Business owners, what we'll do is we'll often sell ourselves and why we don't need this now. But it's the same thing with insurance. Why do you get insurance? You don't think that you're going to get an offender bender. You don't think bad things are going to happen. But insurance is required for your vehicle for a reason, because it happens. And it's like the thing about this type of this industry is it's not required. So you can actually just not pay for it and then have to pay so much on the back end. And I actually feel that same thing about Ads. And I've shared this recently, but when you, and so Zara outsourced, you outsourced your ads for a little while, right? So there's three things I like to think about. When you outsource your advertising, it cuts into your revenue. When you don't advertise, it costs you revenue. And when you know how to advertise yourself, it creates revenue. And so Zara and I, like, people don't think about this, but Zara and I were talking and she had, she had worked with someone to help her with ads for a little while. And it was like, what, thousands of dollars per month for a little while?
B
About $4,000 a month?
A
Yes, 4,000amonth. And you know, I told Zara, I'm like, if you find someone, there's, there's such a spread of experience, right? And everybody has to start somewhere but you, you find someone that's skilled and so you pay them $4,000 a month. And that's wonderful. And they may do a great job and they may actually get you results. But what's hard is that $4,000 is coming off the top every single month. So four times 12, so that's $48,000 a year. So it's half a million dollars over 10 years. So that's hard. Imagine indefinitely.
B
I was gonna say especially, I mean, I'm sure with every industry there are certain, maybe agencies that, you know, specialize in working with, with these types of groups. But for us as lawyers, there's a lot of marketing agencies, ad agencies, you know, that want to work with law firms. And, you know, they make a lot of promises, which I understand, and I know that it was well intentioned totally. But I didn't, I didn't know anything that was going on. Even the, the videos that they were asking us to send, there was no strategy. It's like, oh, like, you know, you have this video, let's just see how it works. There was no, like, there was no strategy behind it. Like, knowing what I know now. So it's so interesting having gone through a lot of, you know, your course modules in comparison to what they were doing. It's like, wow, I had no idea what was going on and I wasted so much money. So I'm so grateful to you and your course and what I, what I'm, you know, what I'm learning. I just feel so much more empowered and I understand the basics, right? It's okay. This is how you set it up. This is what you're looking for. These are the certain keywords you always talk about having intent, right? Knowing the intent of who, whoever is searching for you. So that alone is just so.
A
It's so powerful.
B
So I'm so grateful.
A
Yeah. And it's not to say. And I'm so thankful too, because most. Well, let me ask you this, Zara. Most business owners would say, hey, I'm wearing so many hats, Should I be the one to learn this? What was your take on that? Because I know you're busy. You have so many clients, so how did you rationalize it in your. In. In your mind as to why it was worth it for you to learn it or have someone on your team be able to look at it too?
B
Yeah, I mean, I think having gone through that, that bad experience really taught me. It's like, yes, we are so busy because, you know, we are. We're done for you service. Right. So we're doing a lot of deliverables, client calls on top of that, marketing as well. But at the same time, it's like thinking long term, I need to know the right when. When it's time for me to pass this on to someone else, which we. We actually have a marketing agency. At least I know I can actually just, you know, review their work and I know what to look for.
A
Yeah.
B
That alone is worth every penny to me. And it's saving me money, right? Saving me headache. And just keep in mind, right, I know now when I pass it on to someone, I know what to look for. I know if they're doing the right thing and if they're spending too much. That alone is huge. Right. It's like, I don't have to spend. I don't have to start out spending, you know, $4,000 to run, to run. Start with like $5, you know, $7, $10, and just work my way up incrementally. And I'm tracking everything. So it really empowers you. Literally every day I track, like, okay, did we get today? So it's fun. I. I find it fun.
A
And it is fun.
B
I'm not biased. I tell everybody.
A
I'm like, you think you don't want to run ads? Start getting in the weeds and seeing how cool and specific and targeted you can be. And Zara mentioned, like, keywords. And so for those of you listening who don't know when you do it the right way, there is a way that you can essentially hand pick your clients that they're actually looking for exactly what you have to offer. Now, there's a process to doing that, but knowing how to do that the right way and how to think about what you're doing. It can save you so much. So what Zara is doing is every day she's setting up, she's saying, and she's finally getting. You're getting now traffic to your website daily for people searching for exactly what you've created.
B
Yep. And another thing that I love learning are the negative keywords.
A
Oh yeah.
B
I'm like, what? They're negative. I can like, I can specify what I don't want people to search for. That is amazing.
A
So I know that before it's like going to a restaurant and saying, I really want this, but do you have anything gluten free? I mean, like, we do have something you'll love and it doesn't have this thing like that, that. So Zara has learned like you can actually target. Here's what I love about targeting, which I know. She can go talk about copyright and trademark all day. I can talk about ads all day. There is a way that you really can make sure that it's the right people and actually exclude certain things when you know what you're doing. That's the thing. It's like, if you didn't take this course, who's going to teach you randomly? Or if you don't know, you could open up a Google Ads account. You would never know that that's a thing. And, and even if you knew it was a thing, you wouldn't know how to do it.
B
Right.
A
It's, it's so many intricate details. And Zara, I bet you feel the same way that someone might, could go online and try to do their trademarking stuff on their own. They have no clue about the intricacies. They have no clue about who would actually advocate them. They don't know what class of it. There's so many minute details.
B
Yeah.
A
You and me both could have people, they're like, I can just figure it out. But it's not a good idea.
B
Yeah, not at all. And we do have people who do that and they come back to us and you know, sometimes you have to clean things up. So it's, it's going to cost you more, really. And your brand, this is your livelihood. Right. So misclassifying things, not including, you know, enough classifications to protect you. So there's so many things that you can do wrong. Just like in ads.
A
So, yeah, I forgot if I share this on one of the podcast episodes recently, so I'll keep this example short, but I had, there were actually the small group, so I a couple years Ago, my husband and I were in a small group with our church. It was like a husband and wife. And he owns a remodeling business in Texas. And he paid a Google Ads expert to run his ads. And within about 15 minutes, I could see the volume of money, not, not that they had just paid him, but the volume of money that had been spent on someone searching for interior design. And I'm like, oh, he, he hired an expert who is absolutely not serving ads for home remodeling. And they're paying them and the ad spend and it's. I know, it's scary. That's why, that's why, you know when people say to me in the past, and I'm sure people have said this to you, someone has said, oh, I, maybe I've worked with a trademark attorney. It didn't go well. Oh, I've tried ads. It didn't go well.
B
Right.
A
There's a way that it does and it's just the, it's the level of skill. The performance will fall to the level of the skill. And you have a high level of skill in what you do. And I have a high level of skill in what I do. So just because someone's had a bad experience in the past with ads or even lawyers, attorneys in general, it doesn't mean there's not a great option out there, you know?
B
Absolutely, I agree. 100 and it's, it's interesting that now that we're talking about this, it's like, wow, you probably, for, you know, for the ads industry, there's probably a lot of negative, you know, connotations or just like stereotypes with ads. Just like with law, with lawyers.
A
Right.
B
To go the lawyers XYZ and I'm sure with ads as well. So I think it's so important to have these converse conversations to show, you know, not every bad experience is going to continue to be that way. Right. Like there are good people in the world doing good work and who are experts and who can help you.
A
Yep, that's exactly right. So Zara, I know that you have learned some Google Ads and you've learned some meta ads. Do you see yourself long term just being the one at your, at your company who is just kind of leading the strategy? Like you're not implementing. You at least can have the conversations. Like, do you feel like that's your role?
B
Oh yes, that is my role now for sure. I am absolutely big picture. So definitely in terms of ads, definitely leading the conversation. We, I think I may have mentioned to you before we hired Recently a marketing agency. Yeah, yeah. And they're doing a lot of our social media. And that's one area that, you know, I do plan to pass on to them. But I'm just so grateful that I know I know what to do and to tell them. You know, these are the keywords. You know, here's what's working, here's what's not working for Google and then for Metta, you know, the story follow. I didn't even know about that. About that. Which has been great in terms of increasing the number of followers on our page. And then we did a few carousel ads, which you recommended. We have a personal stylist, contact template. We have contract templates along with what we do as trademark attorneys, and that's one of our best sellers. So knowing, like the interest, like, I've been very specific in terms of that, the demographics, all this information, I just feel like when it's time, I'm ready, I know what to do and what.
A
To say and, you know, what questions to ask. I mean, at the end of the day, whether it's me, whether it's you, whether it's you listening, your ignorance will cost you eventually.
B
Yes.
A
Are like, I think about how I went to this tax conference. Someone was like, why are you at a tax conference? I'm like, because I need to know this stuff.
B
Yeah.
A
I need to know about. I need to have a foundation on ads. I need to have foundation on money things. I need to have a foundation on copyright, trademark. I need to have a foundation on leading and growing a team. Like, as a business owner who's actually taking their business very seriously, there's a certain level of knowledge that you need even to hire the person that you should have be the expert. Like, it's not that you're assuming all these roles forever. Now some of you may literally love ads so much, you're like, this is fun. I want to do this forever once you get into a groove. And others of you may say, I want to just be able to lead the person well, ask the right questions, not get taken advantage of for a lack of knowledge. And this is one of those areas, both of ours, what our businesses are that I'm now realizing are like super critical because eventually it'll cost you if you don't know about one or the other.
B
I agree 100%. One of the big things that we always speak about during our first call is the vision of the brand. Right. Where are we going? You know, like. And that plays into who you need to hire. Right. So it's like that conversation of who you're becoming and who you need to be involves these. These decisions and having that awareness and not being ignorant, because like you said, that will cost you so much more not knowing. Mm.
A
Okay, Zara. So obviously, when we think about math and numbers, for just a second, we think about how you and I paid a certain amount to be in a room at Myron's event, which is so good. And then if anything came from it, I became your client. You became my client. Like, people go to events because they think they're going to learn about the topic, which is cool, because you do get that for sure, and these doors have opened. So for someone who is on the fence of learning about what they should do about their trademark learning, you know, on the fence of learning about paid ads, on the fence of even attending the summit, which you and I will both be at, is there anything you could tell that person that maybe feels they're just not there yet? They're like, I. I don't have a business like Zara or Ashley's yet. Or maybe I've already got this figured out. I'm making it because there's people that feel like they're behind, and there's people that may feel like they're too far ahead. Like, what would you say to that person? When you think about why is it valuable in general to get in the rooms with other people that are doing different things than you?
B
I'm such a big believer in never stop learning, right? You've never arrived. So always, always it's true.
A
You have never arrived.
B
So you want to. How do I put this into words? It's. It's that on top of your vision, right? So it's like, who do you see yourself being, right? So it's like if that future you is, you know, making whatever amount of money and like, just whoever that that person is, you have to put yourself into certain environments to become that person, right? So I'm such a big believer in just doing whatever you need to do to surround yourself with people who are already where you want to be. It's never too. Too early to start and just having a curious mind, right? Learning. You want to just put as much information as you can into your mind so that you can eventually become that person and just continue learning, right? You never, ever stop. So I. I can't just. I can't advocate enough being in environments where people are already doing what it is that you want to do. That energy is so palpable, and you just never Know who you're going to meet.
A
So doors open. You don't even know, are there.
B
Yeah.
A
You know, I was listening to a podcast on the way back from this tax strategy event, and they were talking about how one of the number one indicators of a successful business or business owner is curiosity. And you know what I thought about? I thought about how curiosity killed the cat, but it saved the entrepreneur.
B
That's hilarious. I always tell Sean that I said that. I. Oh. Because he's so curious. I'm like, you know, curiosity kill the cat, but not when it comes to business.
A
No, it saved the entrepreneur.
B
Yes. It's so true. True.
A
Okay, Zara, so last thing before we go is when it comes to ads, is there anything. And just from learning, just from the bit you have, from what you've started so far, is there anything that has surprised you about, like, actually learning some.
B
Of this, how low I can bid? Oh, I didn't know that. That's a huge game changer for me. I was like, seriously, I can start with like, $2, $3. What? I didn't know that. Remember my past experience, we were spending basically 4,000amonth, so I thought I had to spend thousands of dollars to just get. To get clicks because we're in New York. I didn't mention. Mention that in the beginning, but we're based in New York, so it's a very competitive legal market. So in my mind is like, yeah, people were spending, you know, $10,000 a month, whatever amount, but definitely more than, like, a few dollars. So the fact that I could start bidding so low was a huge game changer for me.
A
Okay, I was not expecting that, but that's actually good because one of the number one questions I get in the business is, okay, well, how much did I spend on ads? And I'm like, well, especially with Google, we're going to start real low. Like, you know, we start as low as we can go. It's limbo. How low can you go?
B
And.
A
And it's intentional, like, why we start that way. But that's so interesting because it's not that you nor I, like, I tell everyone that my dream for you is you have an unlimited budget, because if it's performing so well, you don't care. But the great news is you can start there and get some data and then scale. That's where I started. It's where Target started. It's where every Starbucks start. They all started not spending a million dollars a day. They started small, and then it just started to, like, snowball. Where you were like, okay, we got a client. Let's put 20% of that back into ads. Let's put 20. And so that makes me so happy. So, everyone listening yet? Zara? Indeed. I think you started your Google campaign, which is five or ten dollars a day, just to get started.
B
Yep.
A
And now you're getting the right people for less than that per click.
B
Yeah. Which is amazing.
A
Oh, my gosh. I was just not expecting that. But I love it. And it is so comforting because whether you want to spend a thousand dollars a day or five, you can. And it can be on the exact right person that you want to target, which is so fun.
B
Yep, absolutely. Prior to that agency I was telling you about, a lot of people that I spoke to, they were saying, oh, in your market, you have to spend like, three. You know, the average, like, cost is like 3,000, 4,000. So when I did hire that agency, y. When I did hire that agency, they're like, yeah, you know, it's about 4,000amonth. I was like, okay, like, this is like the. The normal. So we're gonna have to just spend that much money. So when I discovered you and we were talking, I was like, I didn't know that I could spend this. This, you know, to really get started.
A
So, yeah, think about how. Think about how, knowing what you know now, if you spent $4,000 a month just on your ads, how much traction, like, you would. For sure. I feel like it's nearly certain you would get a couple clients on Google. And I know you're just getting started with that, and that's the whole goal, but, like, that volume and just actually the people versus the actual outsourcing of that.
B
Right. Yeah. So thank you, Ashley.
A
Thank you for enlightening me so much. I'm really glad that I found you. And I just know that that's why I do what I do is because there's people that are searching for you. So I'm so excited that more people are going to find Zara. And so if you want to meet Zara and ask her your trademark questions, because I know you have them, I'll link to her profile below. But also, she is. She has a VIP platinum ticket to the Power of Paid Ad Summit.
B
Yeah.
A
So you would get to meet her, and she's. She's going to be there in that VIP room. So there's still a few tickets, as you listen to this now, to get in the room with Zara for the VIP ticket or the VIP platinum ticket holders, it's going to be really good. You get to meet women like Zara.
B
Get in the room. Guys, I cannot stress enough the importance of what we do right. Like, you are helping people become findable, and we're helping you protect that visibility. So I hope to see you there, and it's going to be amazing. I can't wait.
A
It is. I can't wait. Thanks, y'all. I will see you on the next episode.
Marketing Matters with Ashley Brock: Episode #46 Summary
Title: Client WIN: How Zara Saved $4,000 per Month on Outsourcing Fees
Host: Ashley Brock
Guest: Zara Watson Young, Award-Winning Trademark Attorney
Release Date: November 13, 2024
In Episode #46 of the Marketing Matters podcast, host Ashley Brock welcomes Zara Watson Young, an award-winning trademark attorney who specializes in protecting female founders and empowering entrepreneurs. Zara co-founded Watson and Young with her husband, Sean, a family-run law firm that has safeguarded over 900 brands globally. The conversation delves into Zara's expertise in trademarking, the challenges of outsourcing advertising, and the strategies she employed to save substantial costs.
Ashley begins by highlighting the significance of being in the right environments to foster meaningful connections. She shares how both she and Zara invested substantial amounts to attend events with successful entrepreneurs, emphasizing the unpredictable yet impactful nature of these interactions.
Notable Quote:
Ashley: “How strongly I am about getting in the right room... you never know who you're going to meet and how it's going to impact your future.” [02:02]
Zara echoes this sentiment, stressing the value of surrounding oneself with energetic and successful individuals to create unforeseen opportunities.
The discussion shifts to the critical role of trademarking in safeguarding a brand. Zara illustrates common misconceptions among business owners who often overlook legal protections, thinking that having an LLC or basic contracts is sufficient.
Notable Quote:
Zara: “Legal is usually the last thing that anyone wants to think about... but if you want to go after anyone who's copying you, the only way to do that is through trademarking.” [04:20]
Zara shares real-world scenarios where businesses faced significant risks due to inadequate trademark protection, including potential lawsuits and costly rebranding efforts. She underscores that without proper trademarks, business owners are vulnerable to intellectual property theft and brand dilution.
Ashley reflects on her collaboration with Zara, noting how Zara’s insights into trademarking have been instrumental in her own business operations. Their mutual support exemplifies the podcast’s theme of community and shared growth among entrepreneurs.
Notable Quote:
Ashley: “What you’re doing is it's not required... so you can actually just not pay for it and then have to pay so much on the back end.” [10:23]
This highlights the preventative nature of trademarking akin to insurance—an investment that mitigates future risks and expenses.
A significant portion of the episode focuses on the financial and strategic benefits of managing advertising in-house versus outsourcing. Ashley recounts how Zara initially spent approximately $4,000 monthly on outsourced ads without seeing proportional returns. This recurring expense amounted to nearly half a million dollars over a decade, highlighting the unsustainable nature of such outsourcing.
Notable Quote:
Ashley: “When you outsource your advertising, it cuts into your revenue. When you don't advertise, it costs you revenue. And when you know how to advertise yourself, it creates revenue.” [10:23]
Zara shares her transformative journey from relying on expensive agencies to mastering Google and Meta Ads herself. By understanding key aspects like keyword targeting and negative keywords, she significantly reduced costs while enhancing ad effectiveness.
Notable Quote:
Zara: “It's amazing that I could start bidding so low... in New York, it's a very competitive legal market.” [24:51]
This transition not only saved her substantial amounts but also empowered her to take control of her marketing strategies, ensuring better alignment with her business goals.
Ashley and Zara discuss the perpetual nature of learning in business. They emphasize that no matter the stage of one's business, continuous education and networking are vital for sustained growth and adaptation.
Notable Quote:
Zara: “It's never too early to start and just have a curious mind, right? Learning. You want to just put as much information as you can into your mind...” [22:58]
Ashley reinforces this by comparing curiosity to a driving force that propels entrepreneurs forward, debunking the notion that experience alone suffices.
The conversation delves deeper into specific advertising strategies, such as low-budget bidding on Google Ads and the implementation of negative keywords to refine target audiences. Zara explains how starting with minimal bids allows for data collection and gradual scaling, avoiding the pitfalls of overspending without insights.
Notable Quote:
Ashley: “It's intentional, like, why we start that way... you can start there and get some data and then scale.” [25:47]
Zara shares her success in acquiring the right clientele at reduced costs, showcasing the effectiveness of informed, strategic advertising over generic, high-budget approaches.
Ashley wraps up the episode by encouraging listeners to attend the Power of Paid Ad Summit, where Zara will be present with a VIP platinum ticket. This event promises valuable networking opportunities and deeper insights into effective advertising and trademark strategies.
Notable Quote:
Zara: “You are helping people become findable, and we're helping you protect that visibility.” [28:17]
Ashley expresses gratitude for Zara’s contributions and underscores the mutual benefits of their collaboration, reiterating the podcast's mission to enhance entrepreneurs' marketing prowess.
For more insights and to connect with Zara Watson Young, visit her profile and consider attending the Power of Paid Ad Summit for an immersive learning experience.