TES 027 - Getting Your Business Name Right

In this episode #1 Bestselling Author and Highly Acclaimed business & Entrepreneur Expert, Mel Abraham reveals the considerations for getting your business name.

Today I answer a frequent question—"Is the name of your business really that important?"

The short answer is YES. Your name is the first piece of branding that you are going to do. It is your first message to the world.

Here' are the 5 things that come about from your name:

• Precept: It creates a legal identity and introduces the company to the marketplace.
• Position: The business name can portray your position in an industry or marketplace. It creates a visual impression.
• Personality: Your name can signify the kind of personality traits or reputation the business portrays.
• Product: Your name can also be something that you offer as a product. Be careful and think broader to have a name that will not limit you down the road.
• Preferences: The name can be driven from the market that you are specifically focusing on. It can be influenced by the past or who you are planning on serving.

If you engineer it carefully, the name you come up with will deal with all five of these. Think about your identity, position, personality, offering and preferences before throwing a name out there.

The 4 steps to go through to build on your name:

1. Priming: Prepare by collecting data and resources. Set the criteria of what you want your name to denote.
2. Propagate: Get the list together and brainstorm. Take everything you have come up with and find a common theme.
3. Process: Reduce the list according to the criteria. Grade, filter and prioritize it.
4. Protect: Search and see whether you have created a name that is similar to someone else's trademark. Also look for its availability on the web.

Do's and don'ts for business names

What shouldn't you do?

• Choose an irrelevant business name.
• Geographically limit yourself.
• Limit your product or service.
• Have confusing long names.
• Borrow from other similar brands.

What should you do?

• Make sure that the name is relatable to you