Sometimes, the last thing an entrepreneur thinks about is the name of their business. Why would they since it’s only a name? It’s what the new company would bring to the table that matters, right?

No!

In fact, the name of your business should be on the top of the list of what is important about starting your new entrepreneurship adventure. There are specialized experts for naming businesses, and such a market wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t important.

So, here are 9 tips on how to name your business.

1. Your Business Name Should Be Original

It’s pretty obvious that if your name is similar to someone else’s name, it’s a lost battle. Not only is it possible that you may have to go to court for the naming rights aka Trademark, but you will also lose a lot of customers due to the similarities between the names. You are losing money in all scenarios. Therefore, coming up with an original name for your business is important.

2. Don’t Pick a Name That’s Limiting

When you are first starting out, it’s understandable that you decide to target your local market. That’s you may want to include your city in your name. However, once you decide that your business has outgrown your local customers, you will find it harder to gain trust. After all, what is “Los Angelos’ Pizza Bros” doing in a New York traditional cooking festival?

3. It Should Have a Deep Meaning

At some point in your successful business career, someone in the back of the room will ask you what your business’ name means and represents to you. If your answer and the name don’t go together, consider changing one of them. How you name your business has to summarize everything your business stands for in one or two words. It may be hard, but it’s worth it.

4. Be Memorable

Let’s be honest, if the name of a brand sticks in our minds, we become loyal customers. For your business to have such potential success, you need it to resonate with your target buyer. The less complicated the name is, the better its chances in being remembered. After all, you want everyone to feel at ease while pronouncing your business name. Which brings us to the next point.

5. Be Simple to Say Out Loud

Your business name can be memorable, but for the wrong reasons, such as being hard to pronounce. You don’t want to be referred to as “that business which name I can’t pronounce”. It shouldn’t require special linguistic skills for anyone to say your business name out loud. You want your name promoted on all forms of media which include radio and video promotions. Plus, if your customers can’t recommend your business just because they feel embarrassed saying your name, it’s not a good sign.

6. Search for Your Business Name Online

Whether you like it or not, you would need an online presence. You will have to launch a blog and do a lot of content writing and marketing. That’s why your business name needs to be available to register as a domain name. Not only that but make sure that no other blogs use something similar to your name. It may not be a trademark problem but a search engine visibility issue for sure.

7. Brainstorm And Ask for Feedback

There are a lot of online tools that can help you find your business name. However, they are automated tools, and their suggestions aren’t always that good. To be honest, the first names that come to your mind won’t be that good either. That’s why it is best to pick a list of possible names and have some friends and colleagues rate them for you. Make sure they can spell the name right on the first try and say it out loud with no difficulty.

8. Make Sure You Like The Name

While you are brainstorming and asking for others to suggest names, some of them you won’t feel comfortable with. They will fit all the right criteria, except that you still won’t like them. If that happens, try to find another name. There is no point in sticking with something you aren’t a fan of personally. It’ll be hard to sell your customer a name that you, personally, won’t buy.

9. Aim for Perfection and Settle for Good

It is a common mistake that we all make at some point in our lives. As we try to achieve perfection, we just ignore that what we have is good enough. At the end of the day, we end up exhausted and make the wrong choices. However, when you keep in mind that settling for what’s good is better than chasing the perfect, how you will name your business will become less complicated.

Conclusion

The most important part of naming your business is being happy with the name you choose. You will be far more successful selling to your customers what you have a personal connection with and would buy for yourself.

Do you know of any other tips for how to name your business? Let us know in the comments.