Common Business Name Mistakes to Avoid?

One of the first steps to creating your own business is picking your name. You can change your name in the future, but almost every entrepreneur is set on getting it right the first time. Maintaining your business name can significantly help your brand consistency. Whether it’s your first business or one of many, you’ve probably spent a bit of time thinking of the perfect name, and have inevitably asked – what some common business name mistakes to avoid during this important choice?

1. Too Generic

You want your business name to stand out. Although a generic name may seem more appealing to the masses, it often cannot differentiate your product from your competitors. When a name is too generic, it can be confused with the product itself. The purpose of a business name is to label your company as a whole. To do this, you’re going to want to be as specific as possible.

2. Too Complicated

On the opposite side of the spectrum, entrepreneurs sometimes make their name too complicated, opting for names that are too long or too difficult to spell. You want to make sure your name can be written down and remembered easily. A long business name is hard to translate onto products and can lead to cluttered branding.

3. Limits Growth

Although you may only offer one particular product or service at the moment, you want to make sure your business name does not limit your capabilities. If you were to name your business after your first product, you may have to go through a complete re-brand when the next product comes along. In general, you want your business name to be distant enough from your products to allow expansion to new products or even different sectors.

4. Too Cliché

Even though you will want a business name that is somewhat distanced from your product, you don’t want to have a name that is completely cliché. Often times, entrepreneurs opt for a metaphor as their business name, in an attempt to be creative. The problem with using a metaphor as a name is that it does not translate well to consumers. Either the customer will not make the connection, or they will make the connection so easily that the metaphor will come across as unprofessional.

5. Failing to Check Name Availability

It all starts with a simple Google search. Some may deem this an step obvious, but many people forget to check if the name is available at all. After you filter your name suggestions out with Google, you then want to make sure the name is not used by any business whatsoever. At MyCorporation, we can do name searches for free. The last step is to make sure your business name is available to trademark. Trademarking ensures protection of your business name in the eyes of the law. At MyCorporation, we can help you with all the necessary paperwork for a trademark filing.

Are you in the process of naming your business? Want to make sure your top choice isn’t already being used? Click here to perform a free name search, or give us a call at 1-877-692-6772!