07-22-2006, 02:55 AM
Every business is identified by their name. It's one of the most important part of your business next to your customer. Choosing a name is very fun and demands that you are creative. Because selecting a name is a one time thing you need to make sure you get it right the first time. Below is some helpful information you can use to help you while you are searching for your business name.
Try to look though magazine's. This will give you a good idea of the names your competitor's are using. Make sure your name is not going to conflict or remind your customers of any competitor's.
If you are going to do business online make sure you check to see if the business name domain is not already taken. Sometimes you can buy the domain name from the existing owner but this could be costly. If you don't care about having the .com extension domain you can also check for the .net and .biz domain extensions. This is a good resource to check for your domain name http://www.whois.net
Surf the web looking for names. You have information from around the world at your finger tips. Use it, there are a lot of creative people out there that you can draw inspiration from.
Ask your friends and family. Be careful they will say yes to anything but they can provide valuable input if you probe them with the right questions. Ask them if they would buy the product if it would cost them their last dollar. Questions like that should help get a good response for them.
One you think you have found a name that you like make sure that you are not stepping on anyone's trade mark. If you are doing business in the US this is a good resource to start with http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm For international business this is a good resource to start with http://www.inta.org/
You should register your business at your local clerks office. It's not very expensive and is good for your business to be legal. It also makes it clear when you are doing your taxes. Lastly you should determine what type of owner ship your name should have. DBA (Doing Business As), sole proprietorship, inc, etc.
I hope this gives you a good start for choosing your business name.
Johnny
Try to look though magazine's. This will give you a good idea of the names your competitor's are using. Make sure your name is not going to conflict or remind your customers of any competitor's.
If you are going to do business online make sure you check to see if the business name domain is not already taken. Sometimes you can buy the domain name from the existing owner but this could be costly. If you don't care about having the .com extension domain you can also check for the .net and .biz domain extensions. This is a good resource to check for your domain name http://www.whois.net
Surf the web looking for names. You have information from around the world at your finger tips. Use it, there are a lot of creative people out there that you can draw inspiration from.
Ask your friends and family. Be careful they will say yes to anything but they can provide valuable input if you probe them with the right questions. Ask them if they would buy the product if it would cost them their last dollar. Questions like that should help get a good response for them.
One you think you have found a name that you like make sure that you are not stepping on anyone's trade mark. If you are doing business in the US this is a good resource to start with http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm For international business this is a good resource to start with http://www.inta.org/
You should register your business at your local clerks office. It's not very expensive and is good for your business to be legal. It also makes it clear when you are doing your taxes. Lastly you should determine what type of owner ship your name should have. DBA (Doing Business As), sole proprietorship, inc, etc.
I hope this gives you a good start for choosing your business name.
Johnny