Choosing a Name for Your Business
No matter what sort of business you’re in, at some point you have to “name the baby,” and unless you’re dead set at naming it after yourself (“Bob Jones & Sons”), you’re probably going to want to give this important decision some significant thought. After all, if the business is successful, as you certainly are planning for it to be, you could be “stuck” with the name you choose for a very long time.
Interestingly, however, many entrepreneurs spend very little time deciding what to name their business. They add “& Associates” to their name and call it a consulting firm. Or worse yet, they make up a word that means something to them but no one else.
Some business owners give a wacky spelling to common words, “Krazy Kar Auto Kare,” without realizing what a turn-off that can be to customers who might not want their Lexus repaired by someone who can’t spell (or someone who is “Krazy”).
The bottom line is that, in reality, naming your business is one of the most important things you’ll do. So to make sure you take advantage of this important opportunity, you need to spend some time and go through a business naming “process.” This will help ensure that you think things through clearly before committing to a name for the long haul.
Steps to Choosing a Good Business Name
There are creative firms that do nothing but help businesses choose names. If you have the budget to hire a professional firm, do it. The downside is that professional naming firms charge plenty for the service – anywhere from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars.
Since you get what you pay for, unless you have a big budget, you might want to take the time to try to do it yourself. It’s easier if you follow the same sort of process that the professionals might use.
The first thing you need to do is make a list of the names that are top of mind for you. Most business people have an idea of what they’d like to name their business. Make a list of those names, as well as the suggested names of family members or close associates. (Getting input early avoids the inevitable suggestions later on, not to mention that you might just get some good ideas.)
Once you have your list of names, get online and use a search engine to look up each name or phrase. When you get the findings, analyze what’s there and see if there’s anything that may cause confusion with the business you’re planning to start.
If there are already sixteen real estate companies called “Quest,” and you were planning to name your company Quest Real Estate, cross it off the list and move on. Of course you could keep the word Quest and consider using it in a different way. Come up with alternatives like “Realty Quest” or “Quest Home Advisors.” You don’t necessarily have to abandon a name you like, just do your best to avoid duplicating someone else’s business name.
As you change your ideas and come up with alternative names, do a search online and see what you find. Going through this exercise should help you narrow your original ideas list down considerably. Professional naming firms often start with as many as 1000 potential names.
Once you have narrowed your original list down to the names that are not being used in your market or industry, it’s time to think ahead and find out if the URL (or web address) for the names on your short list are available.
There are several different approaches you can use to find out if a web address is available. The best way is to work through a domain registration company, but it’s also easy to put the address into your browser and see what comes up.
If you’ve chosen the name “Boomerang Financial,” for example, check www.boomerangfinancial.com and see what you get.
In this case (as of this writing, at least) there is no website for that address. That would mean that the name is not currently being used as a website, so on first pass, the name passes this simple test.
Once you’ve narrowed down your list of names to names that are not duplicates of like-type businesses and names that have available URLs, you’re starting to get somewhere.
But just because the name is not taken and the URL is available doesn’t mean it’s a good name for a particular business.
Take our example above: Boomerang Financial. If this was a business charged with managing money, does the name communicate the type of things people want from a financial advisor? Does “Boomerang” offer safety, security, risk management, knowledge, or the type of things we think about when we look for a financial planner? Probably not. In this example, you’d probably be best to cross Boomerang Financial off your list.
When you evaluate the names on your short list, look at them from the perspective of your potential customers or clients, not from your own emotional point of view.
Think of the benefits you are providing: security (in the case of a financial planning firm), reliable repairs (in the case of the automotive repair firm), or knowledgeable sales help (in the case of a real estate company). Going through this process will help you add names to your list that you can run through your web and URL search tests.
Some professionals believe that the best way to avoid confusion with other existing businesses is to make up a word and make it your name. Large naming firms do this regularly, creating words like “Verizon” or “Acura,” which have no pre-existing meaning and therefore no negative (or positive) connotations.
On the other hand, there is value to be had in giving your business a name that already has considerable cache. Franklin Optical, for example, gains value from the positive name recognition that comes from Benjamin Franklin and his specs. “Superior Home Services” tells you where this company sees itself positioned – as superior.
Since there are as many opinions on how to choose a name as there are names to be chosen, it’s important that you take the time to analyze all of your options before committing to a long-term decision.
In our next article, we’ll discuss the legal ramifications of choosing a name and the steps you need to take to protect your business name once it’s been selected.
