But Rome wasn’t built in a day. And neither was Apple or Comcast for that matter. Succeeding at your dream of building your own restaurant or hospitality business starts by planting the seeds of good leadership and sound business infrastructure. As an owner in control of your business, you quickly come to know that everyday decisions aren’t made on guts alone. They are founded on sound decision making in order to avoid financial and legal pitfalls.

Here are a few good tips you’ll want to consider to when building your winery, wine or hospitality business that will help you avoid these pitfalls:

Prepare Your Business Plan For Your Winery Or Hospitality Business:
Rather than planning as you go, execute. Create a Business Plan that details your
business strategy to determine where your business is headed in the future. Identify
measurable goals and business tactics that will guide you.

Establish Early On The Ownership Structure Of Your Winery Or Hospitality Business:
Choose the business structure that is right for your business. Whether you’re a
Sole Proprietorship, Limited Liability Company, or Corporation, choosing the right
business structure that’s a fit for your business is key. In doing so, seek legal counsel
when necessary to assist you in making the right business choices.

Read Your Contracts:
Do not sign agreements you do not read. You may be presented with contract
agreements from your suppliers, vendors and speciality suppliers for products that
make your business unique. Consult with legal counsel to read your contracts and
advise you of the risks associated with various contractual provisions.

Maintain Good Record-Keeping:
Good record-keeping shows the quality of your company to future investors. Due
diligence is necessary to maintain good corporate formalities. Maintain policies
outlining your internal practices on check signing, accounts payable and financial
reporting.

Seek Legal Guidance When Franchising:
Many aspiring restauranteurs often look to buy a franchise when breaking into the
food and wine business. Franchising is not a guarantee of financial success. While
instant branding comes with franchising, there are also numerous costs associated
with franchising that you may not have contemplated. The U.S. Small Business
Administration provides guidance on answering common questions about franchising.
Before entering a franchise relationship, you will need to consider what opportunities
best suit your needs and interests.

Is there a winery, wine or hospitality business in your future? If so, join the new wealth economy, get your business on and watch your step!

Check out this new virtual sommelier aka Enomatic Wine Dispensing System. This high tech sommelier gone wild can be found at the CLO Wine Bar in New York, New York. CLO Bar has the right mix of edge and attitude to attract today’s generation of young drinkers. Its a visionary concept that may appeal to the future urban winery or trendy hot spot for the next budding restauranteur.

So just for today, I have momentarily veered away from a more serious post and have included a link for your viewing pleasure. Just between you and I…this spot has been added to my list of favorite places to visit. Perhaps I’ll see you there!

Based on the success of a recent trial run of two test kiosks, the PLCB has just announced it will be adding over 100 kiosks in grocery stores all over the Commonwealth.

A big question still outstanding is whether Pennsylvania produced wines will make it into the wine kiosks for consumer purchase. After all, if its good for Pennsylvanians to “eat local”, then why not “drink local”?

What say you?

But once you’ve come up with that one memorable business name that perfectly reflects your brand, you should now give consideration to taking those steps necessary to protect your business identity. Register your new business name as a trademark.

A trademark is a distinctive word, slogan, phrase, logo, graphic, symbol or other mechanism used to identify the product source and to distinguish your product from everyone else. If you’re starting out as a new winery, restaurant, or hospitality based business, having the exclusive right to use your selected name without interference and confusion by use of others can be greatly beneficial.

A good example is Black Boxed Wine. Its a wine that is sold in a square black box. Its very hard not to miss the identity and source of that wine and its brand. Its a product that is well distinguished from other wine brands. Just like Black Boxed Wines, if you’re the first to use and register your trademarked name you can prevent other businesses from using the same or similar marks.

How can you can achieve comprehensive protection of your brand’s identity? You can accomplish this by registering your mark under state, county and federal trademark laws.

To do so, you’ll need to conduct a full search to ensure no one else is utilizing the name or mark you have in mind. You can conduct your search by checking with both your Secretary of State’s trademark registers and the Federal trademark register at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. These are ways you can determine if the name you have selected is available for your business.

You may also consider the use of a professional trademark search service. While the latter can be quite expensive, such services have a high degree of reliability. A well conducted search will help you to avoid the possibility of paying damages to a first user in a trademark infringement suit who has challenged your use of their name.

Once you have checked the availability of your new business name, register your name with the Secretary of State in your jurisdiction and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. By doing so, you will have established the legal presumption that you are the trademark owner of your business name. You can more likely substantiate ownership if a dispute over your mark ends up challenged in a court of law or whether other marks exists that conflict with your own. If someone infringes your mark, you can hire legal counsel to pursue and protect your interests.

Does your Pennsylvania wine, winery, restaurant or hospitality business have a winning name? If so, protect your brand. Trademark your name.

Sixty-two wineries state wide are participating in the Great Pennsylvania Wine Toast. Pennsylvanian’s are setting out to achieve a Guinness World Record for the largest number of people raising a toast on August 14 at various wineries simultaneously. Do get your pen, paper and wine out and join The Great Pennsylvania Wine Toast celebration.

For more information on the competition and how to apply read here: Pennsylvania Wine Association

H.R. 5034 negatively affecting direct shipping of wine to consumers is gaining steam in Congress. An investigation by Wine Spectator reveals the campaign contributions from wholesalers fueling this battle. For more information read Wine Spectator’s: Support for Direct Shipping Restrictions Builds in Congress.

Lehigh Valley Wine Trail Association.

We used our time together having a very healthy exchange discussing Pennsylvania’s Dram Shop Law. We discussed issues of premise liability and its impact on winery and vineyard owners. In Pennsylvania, the laws that govern servers of alcohol, if violated can result in very costly lawsuits. Thus, the manner in which each winery owner can best protect themselves in various environments including the tasting room, wine festivals, wine events, tour group events and commercial carriers can be very complex waters to navigate. Too, we considered how managing potential risks and hazards can be minimized with proper training and knowledge in order to avoid unlawful acts of alcohol service to “minors” or “any person visibly intoxicated”.

The Lehigh Valley Wine Trail Association is home to nine family owned vineyards and wineries located in eastern Pennsylvania. Designated an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in 2008, Lehigh Valley is Pennsylvania’s fasting growing wine region in the state.

The Lehigh Valley Winemakers include:

Amore Vineyards & Winery
Franklin Hills Vineyard
Sorrenti’s Cherry Valley Vineyards
Big Creek Vineyard and Winery
Galen Glen Vineyard and Winery
Blue Mountain Vineyards & Cellars, Ltd.
Pinnacle Ridge
Clover Hills Vineyards & Winery
Vynecrest Vineyards & Winery

I found the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail Association membership to be very proactive in their efforts to keep abreast of new trends and changes in the law so as to conduct their winery and vineyard operations as responsible licensees in their community.

Pennsylvania is home to 11 wine trails throughout the state. This year, as your wine trail association gathers to meet and exchange ideas, you too may want to start your year anew considering how best to protect your winery operations as responsible licensees in your community.

As you usher in your new year and embark upon your Pennsylvania wine country travels, perhaps you’ll head out to eastern Pennsylvania and check out the wineries on the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail. I’m certain you’ll have a wonderful wine experience.

Thank you again Lehigh Valley Wine Trail Association for the opportunity to meet and speak with you.

Happy New Year to you all!