Sign in to your account, click on Profile in the User Center and follow the Start Guide to create business profile.

You must create a Business Profile first in order to use all other features in the User Center. For example, to add and register Products, Events and Certifications, or to register Business References and Marketing Channels, or to use GOLD's Affiliate Program to create Offers.

The form of your business entity. Also known as the business structure, it is about how your business is formed and administered. The most common forms of business in the US are:

•    Sole Proprietorship
•    Partnership
•    Corporation
•    S Corporation
•    C Corporation
•    Limited Liability Company (LLC)

For other types of business entities not defined here, please choose Other.

The type of your business depending on whether your business is selling products or providing services to customers.

Products are usually tangible items, although there could be intangible products (for example, computer software). A service is defined as less concrete or intangible and is the result of the application of skills and expertise towards an identified object for example, consulting.

GOLD categorizes and groups products according to industry sectors.

To make product searches meaningful and effective, you are encouraged to choose the right types and sub-types for your product or products.

A business chain is the connection between businesses in an industry. GOLD maps these connections to enable businesses to better understand the vertical business market structure.

The business chain, as used in GOLD and its affiliate websites, is a business model defining how a product moves from manufacturer to retailer. These business roles are displayed vertically: Manufacturer > Distributor > Wholesaler > Retailer.

The external business role is the function the business performs in relation to a product, as a manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler or as a retailer.

Manufacturer

A manufacturer is a business that manufactures or produces products, with the use of either labor or machines or other forms. Manufacturers may sell their products to other manufacturers. They normally do not sell directly to consumers and instead develop wholesale or distribution channels to take the products to market.

They are also called producers. Sometimes these two terms are used interchangeably. Some of these manufacturers are brand or product owners. Some of the brand or product owners may not manufacture or produce products themselves granting the license to the manufacturing company to produce the branded products.

Distributor

Distributors sometimes have a business relationship with manufacturers they represent and are granted the exclusive rights to sell and distribute the products in specified or designated areas. There are national distributors as well as state or provincial distributors. They distribute products in large quantities to other re-sellers, wholesalers or retailers. They do not normally sell directly to customers.

Wholesaler

A wholesaler usually buys large quantities of products from distributors or suppliers and resells them to other re-sellers, retailers or other wholesalers, at wholesale prices. Wholesalers normally operate from warehouses where they store their goods.

Retailer

A retailer buys a wide variety of products from a distributor or a wholesaler and resells them directly to customers through a local store or a website. Some common types of retailers are:

•    Department store
•    Supermarket
•    Warehouse retailer
•    Speciality retailer
•    E-tailer
•    Convenience retailer
•    Discount retailer
•    Body shop
•    Franchisee

If your business fits in a lot of categories in the Business Role section, you should choose the highest category in the External Business Role section that best describes and fits your business.

The vertical business chains of an industry or any industry, manifested in GOLD and its community, are: Manufacturer/Brand Owner > Distributor > Wholesaler > Retailer. For example, if your business is a manufacturer as well as a wholesaler, remember manufacturer is always on the top of business chains of an industry, so you can define your business’ business role as a manufacturer.

The Internal Business Role refers to the business function within the company. Headquarters normally does all the policy/decision makings while branches are directed to run the daily business activities. The same holds true for franchisors and franchise stores. Branches or franchise stores usually establish their physical presence in locations, different from those of the headquarters and often far removed from the headquarters.

Sign in to your account. Once in the User Center, click the Profile on the left, edit or update your business profile. Click Save when done.

In the User Center, click on the Profile tab. Click on the Browse button right next to Logo section, navigate to the folder on your computer that contains your company logo, select the image and click OK or Open. Your company logo is uploaded.

Please remember the suggested logo size is 150px x 150px. If you uploaded a larger size image, you can resize to fit. The supported file formats are JPG, JPEG and PNG and maximum file size allowed is 200KB.

To edit or update business logo, click on Profile and then the Logo, the Browse box opens. Follow the instructions to make any necessary changes.