IP Strategy for SMEs

This companion document captures the key insights, frameworks, and action prompts from the THINK IP IP Strategy for SMEs webinar. Use it alongside the replay to reinforce the session's core ideas, or as a standalone reference if you are reviewing the material after the live event. The questions at the end of each section are the ones Dr M recommends you answer before your next working week begins.

Session Overview

Part 1 — The $160,000 Gap (0:00 – 12:30)

Dr M opens with the Cheeky Chooks and Chooky Chicks story. Two businesses on the same street. Same product. Same customer base. Same annual revenue. When both came to market, one received $160,000 more at acquisition. The buyer's reasoning was simple: one business had structured, documented, protectable IP embedded throughout its operations. The other had a capable owner who knew how to run it. Buyers pay for what the business owns, not just what it earns.

Key Insight from this section

The gap between Cheeky Chooks and Chooky Chicks was not made at exit. It was made in the first 90 days of each business — in the decisions about whether to document, systematise, and protect, or to simply get on with the work. Every day you operate without structured IP, the gap is either growing or shrinking. It is never standing still.

Reflection question: Which business are you currently building — Cheeky Chooks or Chooky Chicks? What is one decision from this week that answers that question?

Part 2 — What IP Actually Is (12:30 – 26:00)

Dr M dismantles the assumption that IP means patents and trademarks. In practice, the most valuable intellectual property in most SME businesses falls into four categories that most owners have never formally named: process and system IP, brand IP beyond the logo, relational and knowledge IP, and innovation and product IP. The webinar walks through each category with real business examples.

Key Insight from this section

The most commonly overlooked IP is process IP. Every repeatable process in your business that produces a consistent outcome is a potential asset. The moment it is documented and teachable — the moment someone else can follow it and produce the same result — it stops being a personal skill and starts being a business asset. That transition is the most important structural shift a growing business can make.

Reflection question: Name three processes in your business that you or your team perform regularly and consistently. Are any of them documented in enough detail for a new person to follow without asking you how?

Part 3 — The THINK IP Framework (26:00 – 42:00)

The THINK IP framework is introduced across its seven elements: Identify, Create, Build, Protect, Value, Commercialise, and Manage. Dr M works through each element with a practical question that helps participants apply it to their own business in real time. The framework is not sequential — it is a diagnostic lens that can be applied at any stage of business development.

The Seven Elements — Quick Reference

• Identify: What IP already exists inside your business that competitors cannot easily replicate?
• Create: What new IP could you deliberately develop from your knowledge, methods, and market insights?
• Build: How do you strengthen identified IP — moving it from concept to documented, embedded system?
• Protect: How do you secure what you have built through trademarks, copyright, contracts, and confidentiality?
• Value: What is your IP worth? How do you quantify intangible assets for negotiation and exit purposes?
• Commercialise: How do you generate revenue from IP beyond its current use — through licensing, franchising, or digital products?
• Manage: How do you maintain and govern IP over time so it does not lose protection, relevance, or value?

Reflection question: Of the seven elements, which one is most underdeveloped in your business right now? What would it look like if it were fully activated?

Part 4 — Where to Start (42:00 – 58:00)

The final section of the webinar addresses the most common paralysis point: knowing that IP matters but not knowing where to begin. Dr M's answer is always the same: start with Identify. Spend one hour this week writing down every process, system, brand element, customer relationship, and piece of knowledge in your business that a competitor would find difficult to replicate. That list is your first IP audit. It is imperfect, but it is the beginning of something real.

The 30-Day Starter Plan

1. Week 1: Complete the Hidden IP Assets Guide self-assessment. Identify your top five IP assets.
2. Week 2: Start your IP Asset Register. Document the top five assets in detail.
3. Week 3: Check trademark registration for your brand name. If unregistered, begin the application process.
4. Week 4: Identify one IP asset that could potentially be commercialised beyond its current use. What form would that take?

Q&A Highlights (58:00 – 62:00)

Q: My business is too small for IP to matter yet, isn't it? There is no revenue threshold below which IP building is premature. The businesses that build correctly from the beginning do not have to rebuild later. The $10K Startup Playbook was written specifically for founders at the earliest stage of this journey.

Q: How do I know if my IP is actually protectable? Protectability depends on the type of IP. Brand IP is protectable through trademark registration. Process IP is protectable as a trade secret through documented confidentiality protocols. Content is automatically protected by copyright. The THINK IP Business Diagnostic is designed to answer this question for your specific situation.