ABOU NAJA Talks Entrepreneurship and Fitness with Maya Nassar
Entrepreneurship and creativity are two sides of the same coin that can never be separated. For entrepreneurs to be successful they require creativity. This is because creativity enables entrepreneurs to offer a value proposition that differentiates their products from competitors. For this reason, entrepreneurs must be able to protect and monetize their ideas. To learn more about the importance of intellectual property protection in entrepreneurship we had a conversation with fitness expert and entrepreneur Maya Nassar.
Maya Nassar is a Lebanon-based fitness expert, entrepreneur, and model with a global reach. Beyond that, Maya wears many caps including being a TV host, brand ambassador, wife, and mother. With a full and busy schedule Maya understand the value of her time and is especially intentional about everything she does. As such, the fitness guru not only puts a lot of effort into building her fitness empire. Also, Maya has expended a lot of effort towards intellectual property protection, trademarking, and copyrighting.
As many budding business owners will attest, the lines between business and personal branding can blur, as in Maya's case.
It is extremely important to protect your intellectual property so nobody else steals your … identity
Specifically, Maya stumbled on her passion for fitness by "accident". In fact, she embarked on her fitness journey after battling against weight problems of her own. After managing to shed the excess weight and launch a healthier lifestyle, Maya wanted to help others to revamp their lives. Thus, her fitness empire was born, with 2 gyms in Lebanon and another gym is launching soon.
In addition, Maya recently launched a fitness website and program for pregnant women in collaboration with a doctor. The program is notably the first of its kind in the Middle East and took Maya over a year to build. As part of this venture and all of Maya's other ventures, credibility was a key focal point. As such, launching this website did not only require time but other expenses.
Experience with Intellectual Property
It is, for this reason, IP protection in entrepreneurship is so important. Even good ideas require time, money, and effort to bring to life. As such, entrepreneurs need the assurance that their effort will not only be realized but also that they will not be stolen or easily replicated. According to Maya, “There can be very unethical people, and if we do not take care of our brands, they can use our content for their benefit.”
An unfortunate situation Maya has had to deal with on several occasions in her career. Specifically, the fitness model recounted how several brands illegally used some of her images to advertise their products and services. To overcome this copyright infringement, Maya took a stern approach that thankfully worked. Maya contacted the business in question and requested them to remove her images or face legal action. With the rise of social media, the unauthorised use of images and other content assets has been on the rise. However, in most cases, it is fairly easy to enforce a copyright claim, especially in cases like Maya's where her images were used.
On the other hand, in cases where content like photographs or other branding assets, like logos, are used, it might not be as simple. This is why it is important for entrepreneurs to register their trademarks. A registered trademark makes it easier to enforce a copyright claim. However, in severe cases, it might be necessary to consult an intellectual property expert.
Tips for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
When asked how she is able to successfully juggle all her roles Maya offered a few key pointers. Firstly, it is important to manage your time wisely. Anything that is of value should be scheduled otherwise it can be easily overlooked. This includes family time. Secondly, Maya highly recommends the value of having a mentor. To have a mentor does not mean imitating what that person does, in fact, in the world of copyrighting imitation is an infringement, not flattery. A mentor, however, can help shorten the learning curve because there is no need to pave a new way if others have gone before you.
Finally, Maya encourages budding entrepreneurs to never give up saying, “Our entrepreneurial journey will never be linear.” A worthy reminder for anyone wishing to embark on their own entrepreneurial journey. To learn more about Maya Nassar and the fitness programs you can follow her on Instagram.
To learn more about your intellectual property rights as an entrepreneur, you can contact us at connect@abounaja.com for more information.
