How To Choose A Great Business Name

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There are actually two business names that your business can have. There is the name that you use when you register the business with the state. That is used for legal purposes. And there is another business name you can use which is your general brand. For example, my mobile apps and website are branded under the Problemio name. But that is not the name of the business which I registered with the state.

The important name that you must put thought into is your brand name that your customers will see. You must make sure that this name represents your business as you want your clients to perceive you. Many of the principles we will go over in this sections also apply to how you should choose your website domain name, which is something we will focus on in the next section of this book.

First, make sure that your business name is not taken by another company. Before you decide on a particular name for your business, research the trademarks that are currently out there. Is the business name you want to choose already trademarked? If not, you may want to trademark your business name if you do decide to use it. There are two benefits to trademarking your name. The first is that you can prevent other companies from using your business name. And the second benefit of trademarking your business name is that no new business can ever trademark that name and then be legally allowed to get you to stop using your name.

Here are some more quick tips to keep in mind as you brainstorm potential business names.

– The business name must not be too long. One or two words is the max.

– The business name should be easy to remember.

– The business name should be easy to spell.

– The web address for the business name should not be taken.

– The business name should be easy to pronounce (you will be pronouncing it a lot!) and should have a ring to it

– The business name should not be too specific because your business strategy may change over time, but it should also give some hint of your overall brand.

When you sit down to brainstorm your business name, try to do it with one or two other people so that you can bounce ideas off each other. Make a list of 50-100 potential names and if you can, put them on a whiteboard so that all of them are visible. As you brainstorm, consistently check whether the domain name for this business has been taken or not. It is really important to have your brand name and your website name be the same. Don’t put pressure on yourself to come up with a business name on your first day of brainstorming. Give yourself time. This decision will have long-term consequences.

Further Business Resources

For more business-starting resources, please take a look at our business planning mobile apps. Here is the iOS business plan app and here is the Android business plan app.  Additionally, here is the iOS marketing app. And here is the Android marketing app. And here are our business apps on the Kindle. And here is an article where I give the argument that our Android apps are the best business apps on Android.

And please check out and subscribe to my YouTube channel where we cover many marketing topics.

Author: Alex Genadinik

 

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