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Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Choosing a Powerful Name for Your Company

It has been said that one of the most agonizing decisions for many entrepreneurs is coming up with a name for their new business. Often, those drawn to the business world are not as strong minded when it comes to such seemingly creative tasks as giving a catchy name to their company. You might be interested to learn, however, that the best names have very little to do with creativity and imagination, and everything to do with business acumen and a thorough research of the marketplace. This should put some of you at ease, who feel as though they missed out by skipping that creative writing course in college and are now at the mercy of choosing a boring, unmemorable name you will hate before the paint is dry on your sign. Here are some things you can do to choose a powerful name for your company.

First of all, you’ll need to think about what you want to get across to people. What types of words or phrases could you associate with your business? You’re at the molecular level at this point, so just remember to take it one step at a time. Think about your business and the functions, products, and services it will provide. Think about your target audience and a few of the things they are likely to enjoy, other than your products. Think about some of your favorite business names and see if you can find a through-line that connects any or many of those names. Do they have a common theme? Think about not only your favorite names, but the names of those companies that are most successful. Consider Coca-Cola, Nike, and McDonald’s, for instance. Do you notice anything similar about these names?

Once you’ve thought about these things, take a while to simply brainstorm some name possibilities. Think of at least ten, and try to make them all fit in with the considerations above. If you’ve found a common element to those names you came up with, see if you can’t follow in kind with some of your own names. Don’t try to sit down and do this all at one time. Keep a notepad by your bed or on your desk and return to it anytime you happen to think of a good name to add to the list. Don’t stretch the task over the next year by any means, but it will be good to let your mind free to think about names and associate your task with different things.

After you’ve completed your list, it’s time to start crossing off the ones that won’t work and coming up with a final list of two or three from which to choose. One criterion for keeping or discarding is whether or not the name is too specific. For instance, if your business will be selling printer ink, you may not want to name your company Ink, inc., even though it is creative and catchy (and incorporates the hard K sound found in those businesses we brought up before). If a few years, you want to start selling a hundred other office products the name could be a limiter, don’t let it.

After you’ve narrowed the list, go with your gut. Choose the name you personally like the best and go with it, no matter what anyone else says. After all, in the end it’s your business, not your friends or family’s. If you like it, live with it. It’s your new business name.

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