A business name can be a huge factor in the ultimate success
or failure of the entity. Unfortunately, many people fail to give a lot of
thought to it prior to moving forward. There are many factors to consider
including something memorable, a name related to your area of work and,
potentially, the availability of the domain name.
Married?
Picking a business name is like getting married. You are
going to have to stick with it till the bitter end. It is estimated a prospect
will need to see your advertisement and business name at least 22 times prior
to doing business with you. Once they associate your business with a certain
name, making a change will be disastrous. Once you pick something, stick with
it.
Naming Your Business
If you are going to be married to your business name, you
need to make sure the bride isn’t already married to another suitor. There are
four significant issues to consider.
Initially, you must determine whether the name is already
being used in your state. The Secretary of State controls the names of all
corporations, LLCs and partnerships. Most also have a web site where you can
conduct name searches. Even if you are a sole proprietor, you should check the
name against those already registered in the state database. If the name is being
used, you will need to consider an alternative.
Assuming the name passed must with the Secretary of State,
you should check it against existing trademarks file with the Patent and
Trademark Office. The “PTO” maintains an online database. As with the Secretary
of State, you can conduct an online search to make sure no other business is
using it.
In this day and age, many businesses incorporate a web site
as part of their business model. If you are in this boat, you need to check to
see if the business name is available as a domain. If it is, you should
register it immediately. If not, you can either change your business name again
or focus on a domain name incorporating your service or product instead of the
business name.
You business could be devastated if you do not take these
precautionary steps. Imagine the negative impact on your business if the name
has to be changed three years down the line. Take a breath before you select a
business name. Like a spouse, it can be either a good or bad choice.
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