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Greetings Steve from rural Australia,

I don't personally use Instagram to connect with customers. But I do know someone who does. And who does it very well.

Coryanne Ettiene is an American food and kitchen lifestyle expert. Who has a following on Facebook. AOL. The Food Network. And on Instagram.

She recently opened Ettiene Market. Her own kitchen lifestyle store in McKinney Texas. And uses Instagram daily to showcase her shop that has loads of quirky small batch and heritage kitchen products.

She also intertwines photos of her children and husband into this scenario. As well as the family dog who becomes 'Spinny The Shop Dog'. To ensure the overall image is reminiscent of an old fashioned family store.

She also tells heart warming stories about why she chose her products to be in her shop.

Photos of customers. And babies patting 'Spinny The Shop Dog' are a nice touch. Especially the photos of customers who bring in baked goodies using items from her shop.

For me, it's always an interesting destination in cyberspace.

This is her personal Instagram page. https://www.instagram.com/coryanneettiene/

And this is the Instagram page for Ettiene Market https://www.instagram.com/EttieneMarket/

In May 2016, when she opened Ettiene Market, she had no followers on Instagram. Now she has 319. Many of them devoted to her shop. Reading between the lines, she's also priming her visitors to be ready to act when she establishes an online store as well.

Best wishes,

~Carol Jones, Ironing Diva❦

Purveyor of The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover And Other Goodies

350,000 customers. In 29 countries.

I'd firstly like to clarify that you don't have to use a trademark lawyer in relation to your trademark matters; you can "DIY" (although not always recommended) or a specialist/consultant.

The first step I encourage clients take is having a trademark search conducted. This can rule out and/or advise on possible problems early on. (The registration process is lengthy so this can help avoid wasting time...) Some companies, including my own, will offer a basic search at no cost. Alternatively, more comprehensive searches are available for a fee.

If the search is clear, an application is filed with the trademarks office in Australia. At this time you must nominate goods/services of interest to you that your trademark will be used to identify. The filing of an application is your way of telling the government that you believe you are within your right to apply, and that you have an honest intent to use your trademark.

The government department must then examine the application and issue their results. A standard application will take around 4 months to be examined. If no problems are found the mark is accepted for registration. If problems are found a report is issued providing you a chance to address those issues.

After acceptance, the mark goes through a 3-month opposition period, where other people may object to the registration. Assuming no objections are filed in this time then the mark can be registered upon receipt of final fees.

Registration is valid for 10 years in Australia and can be renewed each 10 years.

From personal experience Rosella, be careful - while Bankwest do offer a "fee free" account, you will get hit with fees for almost everything else. Not to mention that they take a LONG time to get an account opened - they took just over 6 weeks for me.
I have used it for one of my companies and I really regret doing so.

CBA have a better offering... even though you pay $10 a month for the account, it ends up being cheaper in a lot of cases, particularly if you are transferring money overseas (via paypal for example) plus you get an automatic $500 overdraft... quite handy when you are starting out.

As for Credit cards, direct debit and BPay - these are not managed by your bank account directly, these are from a Merchant facility.

It also depends on whether you intend to have a physical shopfront or an online only one...

Hope that helps...