Advice on choosing a business name

I’ve had many people ask me this question, so here’s some advice that I would like to share with you, so you don’t make some of the mistakes I’ve made in the past.

 

1. Thinking of a business name

Firstly, I recommend thinking really far ahead. Ask yourself “is this a business that I could make some serious money ?”

If the answer is yes, then start thinking of names that would be appealing to potential buyers/investors in the future.

For example: If you run a building and maintenance company and you call your company ‘Barry’s Building’ then the potential to sell the business when you go to retire will be less.

Who is going to want to buy a company with someone’s personal name in it?

If your business is making millions then someone may come in with a name change in mind for the future, but that then means there’s additional rebranding costs.

However, if your thinking you just want to make a living and you have a good local reputation then ‘Barry’s Building’ may work for you. With a good local following this could be a

good way of winning trust.

 

So what I am saying here is just think ahead a bit, having a personal business name can work in some industries. If I could go back in time and change my driving school name to something else, I would.

If I don’t have any children or my children don’t want to take over the business when I decide to retire then the next option is to sell. At the moment driveJohnson’s is

Probably only worth 200k if I sold it tomorrow. Would my competitors be keen on buying? I’m not sure as they would struggle to make it their own.

In 2014 you will hopefully see a new company I own emerge ‘PureDriving.co.uk‘ . Would this be an easier name to sell ? Of course, anyone can come in and in a years time take

all the credit.

The problem with humans is we are too proud. If you look at the top business men out there they don’t give a monkeys on the name as long as it has appeal and it makes money.

So my advice to anyone starting out, if you reckon you want to go all the way, think of something that’s short and sweet and keep your name out of it.

 

2. Is the URL name available ?

 

 

Once you have thought of a winning name, then you need to check if the URL name is available. I’ve started and helped many others start their own business, you wouldn’t believe the frustration we have had trying to think of a business name with the Domain name available too.

 

In an ideal world I would have chosen AnthonyJohnson.co.uk for this site, check out the owners of that site and see what they are doing with it – such a disappointment.

So you will probably experience some frustration here and if your thinking you don’t need a website for business today, then your wrong. Everyone needs a website it may just be for

Reference when you hand a business card out or it may be because you want to be seen at the top of google for the keywords related to your business.

To search for domain names you can use most hosting companies like fasthosts or heart internet and usually they will have a domain search on their first page.

If you really want a particular domain name but it’s not available, you can also use the Nominet tool: WHOIS

This site will often tell you the registered owner and when the domain name expires. Unless the person who owns the site has changed the privacy settings, you can usually find a contact email, which if your serious about a particular domain name, it might be worth getting in touch.

If you can see the site in question is terrible or isn’t live at all, it may just be a case of waiting for the domain name to expire. You can take note of this using the WHOIS

If you can already see clearly the domain is being used, then you may want to get in touch with the business and make them an offer for the domain name.

 

3. Thinking of a logo for your business

Okay, so you have thought of a brilliant name and you know the domain name is available.

Now you need to think of a logo.

I’ve done number 1 and 2 many times but then I can’t get a logo to work with the name.

Your business logo is really important, once you have this, you can then build around it.

Things you need to consider:

Will your logo fit on a website, business cards, flyers, brochures and more. I think if it works on a website and business cards then the rest is safe.

A logo in my opinion should be nice and simple.

Remember if your thinking big, this could end up on staff uniform, bill boards and more. So bare that in mind.

I recommend you come up with a few drafts including the colours you would like to use. Look at your competitors too, see what they are doing and think of something that exceeds what they are doing. Once you have a few ideas in mind it’s definitely worth sitting down with a graphic designer.

The more information you relay on to your graphic designer the sooner and closer they should come up with what you are after.

 

At my digital marketing business ‘Gud Ideas’ we offer a 1.5 hour consultation with one of our graphic designers for just £50. As long as you come to the consultation with some idea of what you are after, we can often come up with money maker logo by the end of the consultation.

Once you have your business name, domain name and logo you are then in a good position to think about a website and web design. You will notice the theme of the web design will sync with your logo, so if your logo is red and grey it would normally make sense to have a white background website with hints of red and greys. The red will normally remain the same, however, you can often play with the shades of grey. So hopefully you can see the importance of establishing the logo design first.

Next week I’ll be writing about: Using a website to promote your business .

If you have any further questions, please feel free to comment below or get in touch.