"But I Could Do It Myself…” – A Little Reminder About the Value of Your Time

I witnessed something recently that really stayed with me.

One small business owner was explaining her service when another business owner rather publicly dismissed her with something along the lines of:

“That’s too expensive. I could just do it myself for free.”

Well…

Technically, she was absolutely right. 😄

We could probably do most things ourselves for free.

I could clean my own house instead of paying a cleaner.

I could learn website design.

I could manually manage every appointment instead of paying for Calendly.

I could create every graphic, manage every social platform, edit every video, learn every piece of software, research every subject and spend countless evenings figuring everything out myself.

I could also skip the occasional takeaway and cook dinner from scratch every night. 😂

But there is one little problem:

My time has value too.

Sometimes paying somebody isn’t about whether you are physically capable of doing something yourself.

You’re paying for their knowledge, experience, efficiency and the hours – sometimes years – they have already spent learning what you would otherwise have to learn from scratch.

And what bothered me most about that conversation wasn’t actually the comment about the price.

It was seeing somebody who was just beginning to build their business have their confidence knocked.

So, if you need this reminder today:

Your work has value.

Not everybody will see it.

Not everybody will want to invest in it.

And that is perfectly okay.

They simply might not be your customer.

Please don’t allow somebody else’s opinion to make you shrink your little dream before you’ve even had the chance to grow it. 💛

And yes… trade marking is exactly the same

People absolutely can submit their own UK trade mark application.

The actual form isn’t particularly frightening.

The tricky part is knowing what needs to go into it.

One of the most common areas people struggle with is choosing the correct trade mark classes and understanding exactly which goods and services should be included.

If you’re planning a DIY application, I’ve created a free Trade Mark Classes resource to give you some initial prompts and help you understand where to start.

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE TRADE MARK CLASSES RESOURCE HERE

And one thing I’ve found incredibly valuable for DIY applicants is having somebody look over things before they press Submit.

A 30-minute consultation costs £57 and gives us time to look at things such as your proposed mark, distinctiveness, your classes and areas that could potentially create problems later.

That small check has already helped business owners avoid mistakes that could cost considerably more further down the road.

BOOK A 30-MINUTE TRADE MARK CONSULTATION HERE

Sometimes DIY simply isn’t worth the overwhelm

One client came to me after trying to register their trade mark themselves.

Not once.

Twice.

Unfortunately, both applications had been rejected.

I can’t tell them off too much – they didn’t know me then. 😂

But by trying to save a little money, they had already lost considerably more in application fees – as well as something every small business owner has very little of:

Time and energy.

That’s one of the reasons some people simply hand the whole application over to me.

While nobody – including me – can guarantee that the UK Intellectual Property Office will accept an application, I will not knowingly submit somebody’s trade mark until I’m satisfied that we’ve done what we reasonably can to reduce the risk of problems.

Someone once asked me:

“Why should people use you?”

My answer was actually very simple.

They don’t have to.

But I have been trained directly by the UK Intellectual Property Office – the organisation examining UK trade mark applications – so I have learned first-hand what they are looking for.

And I’m very proud that, to date, clients who have used my consultancy support alongside our resources, or who have used our Done For You service, have not had an application rejected.

That doesn’t mean rejection can never happen.

It simply means I take getting things right before submission very seriously.

You don’t have to do everything yourself

Whether you’re building a trade mark, a project, a social enterprise, a business or simply trying to keep everything moving, remember this:

You don’t have to do everything yourself just because technically you could.

Your time matters too.

And please don’t allow somebody who isn’t your customer to decide what your work is worth.

There is room in business to support, recommend, encourage and celebrate one another.

And I think business is much nicer when we do. 💛

Marta, The TrademarQueen®
Delivering Meaningful Growth Ltd

Need a little support before submitting your trade mark?

Book a 30-minute Trade Mark Consultation and let’s look over things before you press Submit.

BOOK YOUR CONSULTATION HERE

Prefer to take the whole application off your shoulders?

I can research, prepare and submit your UK trade mark application with you through our Done For You Trade Mark Registration Service - More information HERE