Q: How important is
name of a business? Should name of a business reflect what business does or is it better to come up with something catchy and easy to remember? -- Randy P.A: What's in a name? When it comes to your business, Randy, a lot more than you might think. In fact, deciding on a business name is one of most important decisions you will ever make. The right business name can help you rise above crowd while wrong business name can leave you trampled in rush.
With economy in a slump and competition on rise, now more than ever it is important that you put considerable thought into coming up with perfect name for your business.
Unfortunately, this is a task that is easier said than done. It seems like all good business names are either married or… no wait, that's a different subject, but analogy holds true.
We live in an age when a business called "The Body Shop" might repair wrecked cars or sell skintight jeans to teenagers, so before you send your letterhead to printer, consider following points to help you select business name that's right for you.
The first thing you should do is conduct a little research to determine if name is already in use by someone else. You would be surprised at how many entrepreneurs forget to research this point and open a business with a name that is already in use. Check with county clerk and secretary of state to make sure name isn't already licensed for use or incorporated with state. Also check with U.S. Patent and Trademark office to see if name is already trademarked, i.e., owned, by someone else. Using another company's trademarked name exposes you to legal action by trademark owner. Even if your name is just similar to trademarked name, you may find yourself in court defending your right to use name. And odds are it's a battle you will lose.
If name you choose is not in use, you should immediately reserve name with secretary of state (if you plan on incorporating) and apply for a trademark to ensure your legal ownership. If you do not trademark name someone can come along later and attempt to steal name out from under you. Imagine spending years building up your business only to have some upstart trademark name and engage you in a legal battle over rightful ownership. This is one fight you don't need, especially when hassle could have been easily avoided with a few bucks and a few forms.
Another important thing to consider is domain name for your business. The domain name is website address a customer will use to find you on Web. Is domain name for your business name available? If not, is there a domain similar to business name you're considering?
You will undoubtedly discover that securing a suitable domain name is actually harder than choosing a business name. Most logical domain names are already reserved, but you might get lucky. Keep in mind that domain names should be short and descriptive, and preferably have .com or .net extension. You can use other extensions (I've even used ".to" extension on occasion) if necessary, just keep in mind that you will need to put forth a little extra marketing effort to promote website address as people typically assume a .com extension as norm. Whatever you do, don't use a domain name that is a confusing amalgam of letters and numbers that is hard to remember and even harder for your customer to type in.
