The Do’s and Don’ts of Naming Your Business
You have a lot of big decisions to make when starting a new company and it seems like choosing a name should be one of the simple ones. However, picking a winner requires a delicate combination of business insight and raw inspiration. How can you make sure you’ll find a business name that works?
Coming up with a name for your business can become almost an afterthought when you’re hard at work drafting financial plans and finding suppliers. Even if a wonderful name springs to mind, there may be a good reason why you shouldn’t use it. It’s important to check your big idea out on many levels before you get it printed on all your promotional materials.
If you’re struggling for inspiration, try thinking about the story behind your business. If you can identify a detail that resonates with the service or product you’re planning to provide, it can make for a unique and meaningful name.
Once you’ve chosen a name, you can check that it isn’t already taken by using the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s online tool. You should also check the name’s availability as a social media handle and as a regular web address.
Our new infographic lists all the important elements to check when picking a business name, as well as some clues on how to come up with ideas.
Hopefully, you’re going to use your business name for a great many years to come. Make sure you do things right from the start, and you’re far more likely to achieve that long-term success.
Sources
Alter, A et.al. (2009). Uniting the Tribes of Fluency to Form a Metacognitive Nation. Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 13; 219
Giuliano, K. (2015). 19 famous companies that originally had different names. cnbc.com
Clarkson, N. (2016). Richard Branson’s tips for naming your business. virgin.com
Davis, P. (2011). Five SEO Strategies When Naming and Branding Your Company. tungstenbranding.com
German translation of ‘Poison’. Collins Online Dictionary
Turner, A. (2011). Amazon.com facts. Mashable.com
Clark, A. (2008). How Jerry’s guide to the world wide web became Yahoo. Theguardian.com
U.S. Small Business Administration (2017). Choose Your Business Name. sba.gov
whois.icann.org
namechk.com
Benna, S. (2015). How 17 famous companies got their quirky names. businessinsider.com
United States Patent and Trademark Office (2017). Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS). uspto.gov
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About Bonnie P
Bonnie is a Chicago transplant who's committed to seeing the world on a dime. As an avid news junkie with a fascination with finance, she loves to help others do more with less.
