How to Choose a Name For Your Business

Choosing a name for your business can be such an exciting way to kick off the start of a new business. But often times it can turn into a daunting task 😳 that may lead you to feeling confused about choosing the right name for your business.

I’m going to walk you through how to carefully choose a name for your business – one that you won’t wind up regretting later on. Also, you’ll learn about some important things to consider before committing to a name. Plus, I’ll tell you the back story on my own business name. 😉

Why Do I Need To Name My Business?

You could be wondering, why does my business even need a name at all? It’s important that your business stands out among the competition. It’s also important that your business has a name so that people can find you and know how to identify you.

Here’s an example:
If you’re selling homemade candles, you don’t want your business name to just be your own personal handle since there could be other people with the same name selling products that are similar to yours.

Naming your business will protect and preserve your business identity. 🔒

How To Find Ideas For Your Business Name

The idea of naming your business can seem overwhelming. Whether there’s a million ideas running through your mind, or if you’re drawing a complete blank ____, start with this simple method for coming up with a business name:

Create a list of words you like and words that may describe your business

Here’s an example:
You can create a side by side list of words that you like. Starting in the left column, list out words that you like the sound of such as: joyful, simply, simple, enchanting, elegant, vibrant, chic, natural, sweet, blissful, etc…

On the other side of the list are words that describe your business: content creator, stylist, personality, home, living, trend setter, home, creator, maker, photography, consultant, etc…

After your list is done (this may take a little while to think of words) look over your list and see if any of the words from either side can be paired together.

Try to come up with 4-6 different business names using the combinations from your two-column list and then start researching the names.

Check If Your Business Name Options Are Available

Before you commit to a name for your business, you’ll first want to check that there aren’t any other businesses similar to yours using the same name (that would be a big oops!)

Do a Google search of the business names you are considering and analyze the results. If there’s a business with the same name but they are entirely different from what your business is about, don’t be discouraged and keep the name on your list.

Eliminate any names that are already in use and are a similar business to yours or if they are trademarked. You can do a Trademark search using the United States Patent and Trademark Office database.

Check If Your Business Domain Name Is Available

Part of choosing the right business name, is making sure that the URL for that name is available.

For example, if you’re thinking about Cricket & Moss Photography as your business name, check to see if the URL cricketmossphoto.com is available. If it’s not, you can still find a variation by changing photo to photography in the url. You can research available domains using GoDaddy.

There’s a high chance that the URL for the business name you want to use has already has been taken, so try to be cautious about how much you have to alter the domain name in order to match the business name.

If there isn’t another good option for a domain name, just move on to one of the other name options from your original list.

Pro tip: If you’re just starting out in business and you find that the domain name you want for sale, don’t buy it. Domain harvesters buy domains in bulk and try to resell them for thousands of dollars. There’s no reason to invest that much money in a domain when you’re just starting out.

Ask Your Friends

Try gathering a beta test group of friends you trust and ask their opinion of your business name ideas. Be prepared to possibly hear feedback you may not be expecting such as “I really don’t like this one” (yikes, when it was the one you had your heart most set on). Gather all of their feedback and you may be surprised with the results.

Remember not to take it too personally, not everyone is going to love your business name options. This part is really important since you want people to respond to your business in a positive way. In the end you’ll know which name is the right choice.

If you don’t have any friends you trust enough to ask, reach out in a Facebook business group for some professional opinions.

Give It Some Extra Thought, But Not TOO Much Thought

Once you are pretty much set on a name, give yourself and extra few days or a week to think it through. You may realize after some time has gone by that you need to think some more before you commit to a name for your business. If you’ve followed all of the steps above, I have a pretty good feeling that you’re on the right path and have chosen a good name for your business!

Try not to overthink it (professional over-thinker right here 🙋🏼‍♀️) since that will only stress you out more and hold you up from starting your business.

Conclusion

Choosing the right business name takes a little extra time and consideration if you do it the right way. The best thing you can do is to choose something that you’ve thought about for a while and tested among a small group. The important thing is to get moving on your business before too much time goes by so choose a name you like the most, even if you don’t feel 100% set on it.

Pro tip: Done is better than perfect. You’ll face a lot of tough decisions as a business owner, so you need to get used to feeling comfortable with your choices and moving on.

How I Chose My Business Name (Sugar Studios)

Want to guess how I chose the name for my business? It’s not complicated actually, I pretty much followed all of the steps above. When I started Sugar Studios in 2011, I really just wanted to start a clip art shop on Etsy and at the time food blogs were becoming a big deal – so I wanted to get involved in creating branding, websites and designs for food bloggers.

I went with a name that was short and sweet (ha, get it!?) and thankfully the domain name I wanted was available.

While I don’t have any regrets about my business name, if I were to start over today I may have taken a little more time to consider the name I chose. So many people have reached out to me thinking that I make some type of baked goods or candy.