What’s in a name? Much! Your business name is your identity; it is the cornerstone of the foundation. It is the key element of your brand. Pick the right name and it can do well for your business. Pick the wrong one, and it can hamper your prospects big time.
There are no rules when it comes to choosing a business name. Different things work in different circumstances and for different businesses. You need to know what works for your business. How do you do it? It’s not as difficult as it seems.
If yours is a home-based freelance endeavor, you may go to business with just your name. However, if you want to do something big with your startup in the future, you need to think differently.
Check the audio and visual impact of the name. How does it look on signage? How does it sound? What does it remind of? What connections does it have? Morphemes, the smallest unit of words, can be great to work out your business name.
How do you choose the right name for your startup? Here are a few things to focus on.
Make it unique
You need to think up a name that works for you now and that would work for your business after 10 years. This is why it isn’t a good idea to include a location in it. What would you do if expand to other areas? It’s best to think global.
A descriptive name is often an obvious choice for a business. It makes it easier to convey who you are and what you do. However, make sure it isn’t too obvious and uninteresting. Otherwise, it wouldn’t stand out in the crowd.
A creative business name with made-up words worked for many businesses such as Yahoo. However, marketing the name and your business would eat up your startup funds if you choose this option. It isn’t a good idea if you have limited money.
A pun may work; Gap referred to the generation gap and worked its way to become hot favorite among the youth. But be careful. If the pun isn’t easily understandable, it may have a negative impact on your business.
You need to keep in mind the image you want to convey by the name. Frying Nemo Fish & Chips isn’t the best way to attract customers to your diner, especially when you are based in Australia.
Make it Web-Friendly
In today’s competitive market, it is especially important that your business has an online presence. That means creating a website, making a Facebook page, preparing a Twitter account and so on.
Before you decide on a business name, conduct a domain search. If the same domain name is available, you need to get it immediately. You can visit Shopify to check if the domain name you want is available. Opting for an abbreviated version or a hyphenated name isn’t the best idea.
Next, check whether the name you have decided to use for your small business is anywhere on the social media platforms. Make sure there’s nothing similar. If there is, and it has a huge fan following, your social media profile would look phony.
Also, before you set up your business email, make sure that the name is easy to remember and pronounce. Decide how your employees would create email identities once you start using the business email.
Make it Legal
Before you print your business cards or design your website, you need to make sure that the name you choose can be legally used by you. If another business has already claimed a trademark with it, this may not be possible.
How do you find it out? You can find a list of registered trademarks at the US Patents and Trademarks Office database. If it isn’t there, you need to check online databases to make sure it isn’t an unregistered trademark.
Next, you need to get in touch with a trademark lawyer to make sure no other businesses have claimed it. Your lawyer would also help you register it at a state or federal level, depending on the state or states you want to do business in.
You also need to get your business name registered with your local government. Otherwise, you may not be able to do business with it. Get your ‘Do Business As’ permit before you start using a name other than yours.
It isn’t easy to follow so many dos and don’ts to come up with a name. However, if you want to carve out an identity for your small business and build it into a popular brand, you cannot make a mistake at this step.
About the Author: Evans is a blogger and content marketer currently associated with GasStorageDepot which is a leading supplier of Gas Cages in the UK.
Photo credit: Terry Johnston
