What’s in a (company) name? Well, for any new business, quite a lot…..

What’s in a name? Ill-fated Juliet Capulet didn’t think that Romeo’s surname mattered a jot when she uttered those fateful words in Romeo and Juliet. For star-crossed lovers, that may be the case, but for solopreneurs, techpreneurs and startups, it can mean the difference between being memorable or remaining undiscovered by your target market.

First, your choice of company name says something about you. Why not exploit this aspect rather than ignore it? I gave my company name a good deal of thought back in 2011 when I first set up my coaching and consultancy business. Coaching Technology brought together two topics about which I care a great deal – coaching (natch!) and interactive technologies. It was as if I was putting a stake in the ground and saying to the world (and to my clients) – “This is me!” The name really fitted me and my business. Choosing Plonkitiplonk Services Inc as my company name (with apologies to anyone who may be the legitimate owner of said name) wouldn’t have quite had the same impact or effect.

Second, a memorable company name can make you stand out in the marketplace. Make you appear novel. And fresh. Build on the distinctiveness of your company name by deliberately incorporating it into your brand marketing as a playful feature. Think Apple. Think Innocent. Don’t just confine it to company invoices.

Third, for some solopreneurs, the natural choice of company name may be just that – your personal name. If you already have a strong personal profile with your chosen tribe for delivering a particular service, it makes sense to consider adopting it for your business as well. Probably counter-productive to introduce a new and unknown name at this stage. However, a word of caution about using your own name as your company name: if at any stage in the future, you decide to throw in the towel and abandon your business for another one, it may not be entirely straightforward to transfer your (personal) company name across. Plus the taxman doesn’t tend to like it when you chop and change the nature of a previous business in this way. And we all want to stay on good terms with the taxman, don’t we….?

Finally, your company name can really assist potential clients to find you. Or not, as the case may be. When people fitting your ideal client profile do a keyword search on Google, will they find you? If you produce really inventive and amusing animated gifs for tarting up websites, you might want to call your business Animated Gifs Ltd. Or similar. Sometimes there is a lot to be said for the naturally intuitive name. It does what it says on the tin.

What made you choose your own company name? Love to hear your story!

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