"Hey I have an idea, is there any way I can Copyright it so it doesn't get stolen?"

A question that we get asked every once in a while and actually a few times recently so we decided to make this blog post as an answer to that question. 

So here it goes, touching on the legal side of business which we haven't yet in this blog so this should be good:)

The answer here is no-- you can't copyright or even patent an idea for your business. Just think about it though, it makes sense, if someone were to copyright the idea of social media we would never have the platforms we have grown to love... just one platform. :/

In order to copyright or even patent there has to be a "physical" piece of property behind it. Whether that be copy written on your website or even a logo or article. There can't just be an idea that you have in your head.

In addition to this, many new business owners worry about their copy or content being stolen, which is a valid concern, but there is some laws around this can can help protect your content, copy, etc without actually going all the way and sending it to the US Copyright Office,

The law known as the United States Copyright law, for those of us based in or living in the United States, protects "original works of authorship" for any tangible thing such as content, newspapers, music, art, etc. This law protects these pieces no matter if they are published or unpublished meaning that you already have a certain level of protection right when you create the piece of work or content.

On the other hand, this does not protect the idea itself, just the execution or creation of the idea. Meaning that anyone can use the same or a similar idea in their business to execute it on their own way.

​So does this matter to your business?

No, this does not really matter that you can't copyright your idea. Just have to look at it from the bigger picture!

This creates demand and forces products and services , yes that includes yours, to be better than ever. It pushes them to create the best products for the consumers and keeps you on your toes because we have to adapt, survive and flourish.

If you think about it, anyone can have the same idea as you but they won't execute the idea exactly how you would and in the end they will most likely end up with a different product or service!

If everyone executed on the social media idea the same we would not have the countless
platforms that we currently do and each an every one of the wouldn't be different in their own way!

It's all in the execution of your idea, some may be better than others but everyone executes different so stop wondering why you can't copyright an idea and start taking action on the idea and growing the business instead!

​-Taylor

It's finally almost here, the search feature on Snapchat that allows us to find other accounts much like Instagram does!

The search allows us to find related accounts and connect with them to help grow both our followings and relationships so we can start to get to know customers on a new level.

We just wanted to hit on this new update and explain how it can help in business and he future if they decide to add onto this feature on Snapchat...

Snapchat helps give us the personal experience that creates relationships with our customers. We need to be on this platform and you will see why..

From an updated search feature to limitless snaps and group stories!

This new update expands on some older features and then adds some new ones as well. We will start off with the search feature that they have recently added and then updates over the past month.

Now, with the new update, is a more advanced search feature where it allows us to search locations and see the snap stories from those locations. This allow us to see users in those areas,
what they are doing and even add them as a friend to start connecting with them!

The search feature also allow you to search keywords and usernames to see who  relates to your specific niche and add hem as your friend.

Next, they have added new types of stories from group stories to specific community and location stories. These allow you to create stories that only the certain group can see or even only people within a certain radius of the location that you set.

Some pretty cool updates, but how can we use them for business...

This new update provides many opportunities for all of us entrepreneurs and business owners to get the attentions and create the relationships we need. These relationships help us stand out by focusing on customer experience rather than just marketing and trying to sell to them all of the time!

Starting out with the search feature, that can be used along with the Ghost Codes app, to now find other accounts related to yours and add them as a friend. This allows you to snap them and connect for either collaborations, business relationships or even on a customer level.

Also on the new search feature is a story search where you can see stories related to a certain location as well as a certain keyword. Now you have to get on those stories to be noticed, how do you do that?

Creating the stories is how you get on there, as well as using the right keywords. This is the last major feature of the recent update and it allows you to create public and private stories with friends or just through a location and keyword that you set.

For using the private group stories this is perfect for your business if you are sending many updates at once or if you are trying to only allow certain people in your audience to see the story. This can allow for more targeted, niche specific stories and that can build relationships and even sell better!

Next for the public stories, you can pick a location around you for your business and then post on it throughout the days so it shows up on anyone's story around you when they search or it shows up when someone searches your keyword so you get more attention and more Snapchat views!

Snapchat is an essential platform to be on as it gets attention ad build personal experinces like no other app. Get on it and use it if you are not already!

Have a great rest of the day,
​Taylor

So many kids are graduating from college over the next few weekends, some have heir lives panned out and some don't.

This post is for those people who are not just graduating bu in school and know there is more than just a 9-5 job out there. This is for the kids who are not on the normal path, speeches that can
help motivate you to go off the beaten path and strive for more.

This one is for us refusing to live an average life and striving for great. They pick speakers out of the ordinary for a reason, hey have great stories that can help inspire those who might be lost. From Will Farrell to Michael Bloomberg and even Pharrell they are inspiring you to look beyond just getting an average 9-5 job and go for more.

Write your story and go for the life you have always dreamed of living, it's possible, just have to go out and write your own story like these people did.

"Rise And Grind."

"You Grind While They Sleep."

"Wake Up Before 5 AM."

The classic quotes making us feel like we have to get up early and grind so the competition doesn't beat us. Well then there are quotes saying how we should be up all night hustling and working on our dreams..

Sow what's the real story here, when are we supposed to sleep and what are we actually supposed to be doing? Well here are our thoughts along with some from entrepreneurs such as Gary
Vaynerchuk and Andy Frisella about hustle and success.

The major flaw in these quotes is around when we are supposed to sleep.

These are implying that we don't need sleep on our journey to finding success, but we actually do. Not sleeping so you can hustle is actually bad for you as you are losing energy, probably not being super productive early in he morning or late at night and most likely just going to burn out as that is no way to live.

We need sleep for our bodies to stay healthy and functioning. Sleep helps to not only our minds and memory but it actually helps you live a longer and healthier life! When you get enough sleep, whatever works for you (6+ hours), you are more creative the next day, remember more and are more able to earn after being fully rested.

You are overall more effective when you get a full nights sleep the day before and you are more likely to remember information and lessons you learn. You will likely be more effective when you get enough sleep than you would be in the few hours you stay up at night and wake up earlier in the morning.

What we found and what many other entrepreneurs also found was that it worked best to first find the amount of sleep you NEED each night to be HEALTHY and not super tired. We found this to be around 6.5 hours of sleep for us each night and maybe a little more or less for you, just test it out!

After you figure out the amount f time you need to sleep start to figure out if you are more of a morning person or a night person as this is what really matters. This helps you figure out all about when to wake up and when to go to bed in order to be most effective day in and day out.

We found  that going to bed later was a better option for us because we were more effective at night than we would have been waking up early in the morning and being tired for the whole day. Now we have the best of both worlds, we are equally as effective during the day and don't usually wake up until 7am or so, as that is when we are most effective.

​We tried waking up earlier at around 4-5 am but found that we were not only tired in the morning and didn't get much done but we were tired throughout the day. This brings us to another point... even if people are waking up early or going to bed super late, you might not be effective.

Don't just wake up early to wake up early and go to bed late just to go to bed late... do what works for you when you are more effective. You could wake up early and fall back asleep or get no work done because you are tired. If that happens try something new or a different time, just figure out what works for you and do that,

You don't have to wake up at the same time as someone else who is say waking up super early. Everyone is on their own journey find what works for you, in all aspects of success, business and life!

Thanks for reading and we hope you enjoyed this short little blog post!
​-Taylor

Relationships, sales leads and collaborations.. all through the power of sales leads.

But there is no search feature so how exactly can you grow on Snapchat? 

Well there is multiple ways we can go over with you, especially the tools that can help you be found as well! We are going to help you start growing on Snapchat one friend at a time, so lets get started!

Thought we should cover the importance of Snapchat in business as it is not as obvious as the other social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, since there is no search feature or a place to link out to your website. Even though it is not obvious, this is a very important social media platform for your business!

Snapchat kind of works at the larger picture level that many people don't see because the returns are not seen right away but rather over time and many people just don't look at business from the bigger picture. 

Snapchat works in the relationship field--creating relationships that build trust, helping your customers 1 on 1,  answering questions and ultimately just doing things that eventually can lead to more leads and sales for your business.

It is super easy to connect with your audience and build relationships on Snaphat as they allow you to quickly respond to any questions your customers may have or even just talk with them to build a relationship.

These tasks help to build trust and people buy from who they trust.. so start building those relationships because trust is earned. Can't expect to put out a random ad and have people buy when they have no idea who you are or have no reason to trust you. 

​Snapchat can change that.

Alright the great question now, how exactly do we grow and get found without the search feature on Snapchat? We will start with the most simple and straight forward way and hen move on from there!

First, since Snapchat has no search feature on the app we will have o look outside the app. The first way we have found that work is to promote your Snapchat username and Snapcode with your following s on other social media platforms, especially on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. This allows you to really expand your reach with Snapchat as you are able to reach your audience on every platform and get great impressions for your Snapcode.

If you don't know where to find your Snapcode, it is the yellow square you can see and download when you swipe down! Making it easier than even for others to add you since all they have to do is screenshot the code and then click on add friend by Snapcode!

The top ways we found to promote on these platforms is on Instagram stories, Facebook Pages and even Twitter posts. These are where the most views and impressions are and they also make it easy to screenshot or save the picture of your Snapcode so others can add you.

The next way is actually our favorite way which is through an app called Ghost Codes. This is like the search feature that Snapchat has never incorporated as it is a collection of thousands of Snapcodes that you can download and add as a friend to start talking to them. Plus it is organized by hobbies, interests, etc so you now the type of person you are adding, to say see if they fit your target market, if you are running a business.

Ghost Codes is free to download and a priceless app. It has allowed us to create countless relationships with customers and generate many leads through the friends we have added! This is a necessary tool to have if you have a Snapchat account, especially a business Snapchat account.

The final way we are going to show you have to grow on Snapchat is through just general collaborations. After adding friends with similar interests through Ghost Codes, we find the ones we have the most in common with and have built a solid relationship with and collaborate with them to do a shout out on their story and a shout out on our story for them. This helps us get seen by their snap viewers and then they can get seen by ours... pretty self explanatory.

Endless leads. Relationships that bring opportunities and a loyal following... What more culd you want from social media?

Well we have been implementing a new strategy on our social media over the past few months and would love to share it with you guys.

It revolves around three major platforms called Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat if you have every heard of them :)

So lets get started so you can start implementing this great strategy we have found!

The idea behind this strategy was to start building personal relationships in social media and just in business in general to build a more loyal following and get more leads to our business.

After implementing this strategy, we can gladly say we have seen increased results in both loyalty, by losing less followers and increasing leads over the month.

By crafting these relationships with others in our niche it has opened up massive amounts of opportunities as well as growth for our social media and business! Relationships are the key and this is the strategy to help us craft those relationships across some of the best platforms out there.

From relationships you can collaborate with other accounts to help grow both of your accounts, gets you more leads and allows you to create a better experience for your customers. When they have he best experience with you, that is when you start to get referrals as they tell their friends and help you grow through word of mouth. 

​So you are probably wondering what this strategy we have been trying is..

Yes you heard that right, the new strategy we were talking about is leveraging the power of the direct message on these platforms. No matter what its called on the platform-- direct message, reply, snap, etc.

Let's break it down by platform how we found the best ways to craft these relationships and more..

First off, our all time favorite and one of the biggest and most effective platforms out there for business-- Instagram. Instagram has the best direct message tool in our opinion as it is easy and straight forward to use as well as to manage.

The best way that we found to use Instagram is in a few different ways... First, just to message your followers (genuine messages, not scams and selling them all the time) just to say thank you to them for being a loyal follower and ask them to let you know if you can help them in any way!

Next off, we use the search feature on Instagram to search a relevant hashtag to our page, or
business, and just message the accounts you like just seeing if they want to collaborate or just
to say how much you enjoy their account and just strike up conversations. These conversations can open up so many opportunities for you and just help build relationships with your customers. This is how you build that loyal customer base and give the customers the experience that forces them to tell their friends.

​Finally, on the Instagram DM you are able to get amazing leads. How do we do this you ask?

Well, the technique we found work the best is to simply use the search feature to find accounts that fit your target market as a brand or a business. Then message them starting with how you enjoy their content and lead that into how you can benefit them/ what you offer if they are interested!

Key here is to not sound like you are spamming them, rather be genuine and show them how your services or products can benefit them!

The other platforms we mentioned such as Snapchat and Twitter are used in the same ways, through just starting conversations, collaborating with others or even getting sales leads... just with their own twist to them!

On Snapchat the key is to keep your friends updated on what is going on whether that be through snapping them about something cool you found that they might like, or even a new product you launched. Again, focus on helping them and not sounding like you are spamming them.

Snapchat works great because it is easy to reply and keep conversations in line, not getting them confused with other conversations. Snapchat only allows you to send links that are clickable to your friends so make sure whoever you are sending links to, if you are, has added you back on Snapchat!

Twitter, again, works in a similar way expect for they give us the option to reply and start a conversation that our followers can see as well, or to direct message the person. Generally we recommend doing most of the connecting on the direct message but found that connecting and engaging by replying to them on their tweets can actually get more attention as not everyone 
checks the direct messages!

Hop you are getting the takeaway from his post! Direct messaging is a game changer. Even though it takes up a good amount of time, it can be leveraged to effectively grow relationships that can open many doors in the future!

Jamming to that new Logic Album "Everybody" that just dropped yesterday called Everybody? Worth every penny if you are not.

One of the best albums dropped as of lately, along with Kendrick's album as well as Russ' who also dropped yesterday!

There is one area that sets Logic's album apart though, and even Kendrick's album has a lot of similar aspects in it that we can learn from and relate our business to.

Have you actually listened to the lyrics of rap and taken them in? HUGE business lessons here that other music doesn't fully encompass and we would love to share these with you!

So here it is, well worth the read and all the albums are worth the purchase as well:)

They tell a story it is that simple. 

A story that people can relate to.

Everybody, as well as his other albums such as "The Incredible True Story" (fitting title right?) tell a story that people can relate to.

Whether rapping from the perspectives of others or just sharing a back story that others can relate to... here is context to the album and that is what people crave. They want something they can relate their own life to, it makes the story, the product and the song hit a little closer to home.

That is what we strive to do in business... create a story that hits home, that people can relate to and be inspired.. to help them create a life they dream of having through your services. 

They need something more than just a list of features and a price that is lower than elsewhere. They want to have a brand that solves their problems and relates to them at the same time!

That is exactly what "Everybody" by Logic does.

Logic raps from the perspectives of Blacks being discriminate agaist, from anxiety taking over his life, from depression and much more.

This gives people something to relate to in all walks of life and backgrounds... that is how the large following that has amassed who support this album has came about! Even though many aren't able to relate, that is just like business.. not everyone will relate to your story or brand but that is okay... focus on creating the best experience for those who do!!

The final business lesson that Logic's new album "Everybody" as well as his older albums such as
"The Incredible True Story" can teach us is how to stand out in life and business!

If you listen to his albums from start to finish you will notice something unique...

He doesn't just put out a normal album with songs and call it good, he explains after every song the story line and what the song represents so that the album makes sense.. The songs are placed in a specific order to tell that story and that is exactly what they do.

This is like in business, do everything with a purpose and have everything follow your story. Our story is to Rise Above an Average life and never settle for average in any aspect of life. We try and focus all services and content around this story.

You should start doing the same, it can really change the course of your business and success, give it a try, take the risks, you never know what could happen!

Hope you enjoyed the blog today guys! (grab your copy of both of Logic's albums through the links below if you haven't heard them yet... they are fire!)
-Taylor

College graduation month is here and guess what, many people have no fucking idea what they are going to do after the get that diploma in their hands.

Worked so hard for four, or often more, years to get a piece of paper that has little control of your future!

Guess what does have control over your future? YOU and the Actions you take... so go out and Rise Above An Average Life by taking risks while you are young.

We are young and with little overhead such as family expenses that have to get paid monthly.. We have the freedom. It is up to us to make the choice to never settle for average and do what they won't, take the risks that they won't so we can live like they can't!

Going off of this topic, Gary Vaynerchuk has just dropped a new podcasts to help all of the recent college graduates learn what to do after college and how to find success after you graduate college. 

This is part 2 of his original college rant, from Gary Vaynerchuk on how to live and take risks after you graduate college.

There is nothing more important for anyone graduating college to hear than this... so put down everything and start listening through his link below!!

Take risks, sacrifice and go after those dreams.. its not required that you enter the job world right away, or even at all if you learn how to rise above average in life and lie how your fellow graduates can't!

Gary helps o lay out that after college plan and gives the motivation you need to take the first steps to not just fall into the rat race but rather take control of your life and start living on your own terms!

Just a short blog today guys to give you a heads up on the new Gary Vaynerchuk podcast that is an essential listen for all college kids, don't worry we know it's finals week but it is only a short 5 minute podcasts so it is very doable :)

Let us know what you think of it and hopefully it inspires some of you guys to Rise Above Average in life and never settle for an average life!

Have a great day,
Taylor

Long nights planning your dream life? 

Thinking about how you will get there?

Having a business idea that has potential but have so much to do before you start?

Sound Familiar? Just the normal stories of us dreamers with a ton of potnetial and one choice... that is so easy you can make it right now. That is the choice to never accept an average life and always live up to our potential... which is limitless.

Make that choice with us and never look back, Rise Above An Average life in everything you do and find you passions to go all in on.

This is our vision and our WHY, we just wanted to share with you the rest of what we do and how we can help you on this journey so you never have to settle in life and can stay focused on growing, something we should all be focused on 100% of the time...

Here at Profiting Tools, we are helping businesses, entrepreneurs and just people in general get more out of life by connecting them with the tools and strategies to get ahead. These are the tools and guidance to help live anything but an average life because honestly who wants to live like everyone else is.

We are a company on the journey to success along with you guys, here to connect you with the resources, ideas ad strategies that have been working for us and other clients so that we can all refuse to live average lives.. hell we could even vacation together if that is one your vision board too :)

WE are helping countless entrepreneurs, brand and business grow each and everyday so that they don't have to live an average life. From bouncing ideas off of them to get started o their journey to helping them overcome their problems... even just growing their brand and getting their name out there to start gaining an influence for their future success!

Hell, we are even helping those people who just want to be great writers or brand themselves get their name out there so that they can successfully live a life that is above average even if they don't own a business. Just have the entrepreneurial mindset and the refusal to accept the life everyone else is living and we would love to help!

So how is it we should start thinking to be able to rise above an average life? Here are some great personality traits and characteristics that we have found throughout our community and that showed up most often in our clients!

• The desire to do whatever it takes to step outside of the average mindset and chase your dreams
• The ability to look past what happened in your life and take full control of the situation that you are in and how to grow from there.
• They give themselves no other options than to succeed and live nothing like an average life
• Their mindset forces them to stand out in more than just business but in everything that they do
• The take action on their ideas and never stop until hey get what they want.
• Finally, we think bigger and see the bigger picture for our lives when many others don't see it.

Don't fit any of these characteristics? We would love to help you as well, so don't let that hold you back!

We want to help you be able to say you chose your life and it didn't just happen to you... Check out some of the resources on our website or contact us to start getting the answers you need to start taking to get to the dream life.

Have a great week guys, take the actions needed to Rise Above An Average Life!

​-Taylor