Building a Brand That Lasts: Lessons from the Founding Partner Podcast
What does it take to build a business that lasts?
It is a question that applies to law firms, startups, family businesses, and growing brands alike. And it was at the heart of my recent conversation with Jonathan Hawkins on the Founding Partner Podcast.
The episode, “Building a Brand That Lasts with Erik Pelton,” gave me an opportunity to look back at more than 25 years of building Erik M. Pelton & Associates and to talk about some of the decisions, experiments, mistakes, and ideas that shaped the firm along the way.
Building Differently From the Beginning
When I launched the firm in 1999, I did not have a traditional law firm blueprint in mind.
I had previously worked as a trademark examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and I was interested in both entrepreneurship and technology. I also believed there was a better way to make trademark protection understandable and accessible to small businesses and entrepreneurs.
That meant questioning some traditional law firm practices.
For example, we embraced flat fees because clients deserve to understand what a legal service will cost before the work begins. We invested early in technology because good systems can make a firm more organized, responsive, and efficient. Over time, we even developed proprietary docketing software to help manage the thousands of trademark matters we have handled.
Those choices were not simply about running a law firm differently. They were part of building a distinctive brand.
A Brand Is Built Through Repeated Choices
A strong brand is not just a name or a logo.
It is the experience people associate with that name.
For our firm, that has meant consistently working to make trademark protection clearer, providing transparent pricing, sharing educational resources, and finding creative ways to communicate about a subject that can otherwise feel complicated.
That consistency matters for every business.
The strongest brands make choices about what they want to stand for, then reinforce those choices again and again through their services, customer experience, content, visuals, messaging, and reputation.
And, of course, once a business has invested in building that identity, protecting the trademarks at the center of it becomes critical.
Content Can Become Part of a Brand
Jonathan and I also discussed another important part of our firm’s growth: education and content.
Over the years, I have written articles and books, recorded videos and podcasts, spoken at events, and shared thousands of trademark tips and observations.
That content serves an important purpose. It helps business owners better understand trademarks and make more informed decisions about their brands.
But it does something else, too.
Consistently sharing useful information tells people what you know, what you care about, and how you approach your work. In other words, content itself can become part of a business’s brand experience.
For entrepreneurs, there is a valuable lesson here: expertise becomes more powerful when you share it.
Some of the Best Lessons Begin With Mistakes
No business grows for more than 25 years without mistakes.
The podcast conversation also gave me a chance to discuss why I believe some of my greatest successes grew out of things that initially went wrong.
Entrepreneurship requires experimentation. Sometimes an idea works. Sometimes it does not. Sometimes a mistake exposes a better system, a clearer message, or an opportunity that would otherwise have been missed.
The important part is paying attention.
A lasting business is not one that never changes. It is one that learns, adapts, and continues improving while remaining true to the values at its core.
Growing Also Means Letting Go
Another topic we explored was delegation.
For many founders, the early days of a business involve doing nearly everything yourself. But eventually, growth requires trusting other people, building processes, and recognizing that the founder’s role must evolve.
That can be difficult.
It is also essential.
Today, EMP&A is a five-person team that has helped obtain more than 5,000 trademark registrations. Reaching that point required not only trademark experience, but also systems, teamwork, technology, and a willingness to continually rethink how the firm operates.
Build Something Worth Protecting
The title of the episode, Building a Brand That Lasts, captures an idea that applies far beyond law firms.
Great brands are built deliberately. Choose a distinctive name. Create a customer experience people remember. Communicate consistently. Learn from mistakes. Adapt as the business grows. And protect the trademarks that represent all of that hard work.
A brand is one of the most valuable things a business can build. Make it bold. Make it distinctive. And build it to last.
Listen to or watch my full conversation with Jonathan Hawkins on the Founding Partner Podcast:
- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/building-a-brand-that-lasts-with-erik-pelton/id1721010764?i=1000784017456
- Spotify Podcasts: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3hqvw5RC2okkgvIxuAOqWG?si=WWI36mV6TrO1IAPQ4lqOKw
