Lesson 4: Naming Your Business

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United States Patent and Trademark Office Website - https://www.uspto.gov/

"'This Checklist Will Stop You From Choosing a Terrible Business Name” Gusto Blog - https://gusto.com/resources/articles/start-business/choose-business-name

00:01 Okay, next section. Deciding on a business name. If you already have a business name, you can skip over this one. If you are thinking about a rebrand, if you don't have a business name yet, great section to continue on with.

00:14 First thing I have to talk about is legal considerations of a business. None of these are fun. There's also a disclaimer at the bottom that this is not legal advice.

00:21 I am not a lawyer, uhm, this is just something that I've experienced or I've seen my clients experience, things for you to be aware of.

00:29 Depending on the type of services you're using. If you offer in some States, you may need to include your name in your business name.

00:35 So my name's Kristen Corey. I made, if I offered like, I think it's like advisory services in Illinois, I think that's one of them.

00:41 I would need to have like Corey advisory services as my business name. Um, if you are a CPA, if CPA is in your business name, some state boards require that you get it approved within a their state board with that state board.

00:55 Um, also in some states, if you are an accountant, you are only an accountant, if you have a CPA license, Texas is one of them.

01:02 You cannot call yourself an accountant in Texas. If you do not have a CPA license. Yeah. Um, not fun story.

01:09 Okay. Um, so that's what was talking about with the state board and Department. I think that's a, that's a, that's a thing with states like Texas where it's like, see people that look like and they trust you like you and they you, but they do trust you. that's a common thing that people and they have

01:25 Johnson. You're probably going to have a lot of other businesses with the same name as you. Um, and I wish there was a workaround.

01:32 Um, if anyone knows of one, please send me an email at hello@mediabooksagency.com. Um, but these are just some legal and sick.

01:41 Considerations that you should be aware of, that you should be researching before you buy or register any sort of business name.

01:48 So disclaimer, again, I'm not a lawyer, just something to be aware of. Okay, so let's get back to the actual fun stuff.

01:58 Pick a name that you can quickly explain. MediaBooks. We do MediaBooks. It's a reference off QuickBooks and FreshBooks.

02:06 The fact that we serve specifically accounting firms. Have your business- This name requires like more than a 15 second elevator pitch.

02:16 It is too long. Do not confuse people when they see your business name. Um, if there's something that's really meaningful to you, like a raven or a color.

02:26 Um, a location that is fine. It could be part of your business. But don't, the idea here is with your business name.

02:35 It's, it's like your name. It's like picking a name of a child. You want it to be something that people can remember and not something super, hmm.

02:42 It's stranger abstract that they have to live with their entire life and explain it constantly. I feel like they have to justify.

02:48 Be able to explain your business name quickly and efficiently. Second, you want your business name to be, memorable. Uhm, if you're thinking about, like, you meeting someone again in an elevator, you say your name, you want people to be able to remember it.

03:02 Uhm, so this goes like, uhh, I wouldn't say maybe two ways. If it's too crazy, people definitely would remember it, but that has some other issues.

03:10 And if it's too generic, though, umm, then yeah, people may forget it. So for your example, if you just have, like, ABC bookkeeping, it's not super memorable.

03:21 Uhm, it's not super forgetful either. Uhm, but if you just, I don't know, general, business bookkeeping, umm, you know, it's easy to forget.

03:31 So we want to have something that's maybe a little bit unique, um, stands out a little bit, speaks to what you want to be an expert in, whether that's your niche or your industry.

03:40 Uhm, it's a great way to kind of, tie in and really emphasize who you work with. You also want to make sure that your business name is not too long.

03:49 Uhm, a good rule of, The film is like three words. After three words. It starts getting a little bit dicey.

03:55 Uhm, just it's more words for people to remember. It's not as concise. Uhm, not like that, but when you're on podcast or, I don't know, you're talking at events. Uhm, saying, I own, you know, ABC Bookkeeping, Tax, Advisory, and Payroll Service Organization, LLC. Uhm, that's too much.

04:17 People don't, people are gonna be like, uhh, laughing before you get to the end of your name. Try to keep it a little bit concise.

04:22 Three words is a, is a good max, I would say. And also make sure it can grow with your business.

04:28 So the pro of accounting services is a lot of them work hand-in-hand together. So it's, If you offer bookkeeping services and you call yourself, you know, ABC bookkeeping, um, offering, also offering payroll services, isn't necessarily, like, whiplash.

04:43 Like, what are you talking about? You're offering payroll services? If you were, like, also selling, keychains, then yes, that would be very strange.

04:49 That ABC bookkeeping sells, I don't know, like, rabbit foot keychains that have nothing to do with accounting. Um, you wanted to kind of just be in a similar realm.

05:00 Generally, people don't have an issue with that in the accounting industry. Umm, but it's just something to kind of consider.

05:06 You want to make sure that you pick a name that is short and easy to spell. So, a great example that I have for- This section is actually my maiden name.

05:17 My name is Kristin Corey. My maiden name is Giovinazzo. Yeah, try to spell that. The only people that I bet here can spell that are, like, southern Italian natives.

05:28 Um, it is a very, very long- Italian name, and it is very difficult to spell. There are two Z's in it.

05:35 I would not use my last name - I'm glad I got. I started my business when I did. Think about the name that you're choosing.

05:44 Think about if someone hears the name. Are they going to be able to easily go to Google, to any social media network, type it in, and find your business.

05:53 That is what we're thinking about. That is the goal. Is your business name prone to spelling errors? So I don't want to say the business name, but I met with a business owner about a year ago, and we were on, like, Zoom Chat, and they were telling me about their website, and I was like, oh, okay

06:11 , and I, like, typed it in. And their business name had a number in it. So it was like, I don't know, just work with me.

06:18 It was like, eight bookkeeping, like the number eight bookkeeping. And I was like, okay. So I type in 8 bookkeeping.

06:25 I'm like, I can't find it. And they're like, what do you mean you can't? I'm like, how do you spell it?

06:29 And they're like, eight bookkeeping. I'm like, I'm spelling it. I know how to spell. The issue was, is that they typed out E-I-G-H-T, where I just hit the number 8 bookkeeping.

06:41 Um, and they're like, oh my gosh. Like, I didn't even think that people would be going to my website and typing in, or anything other than.

06:49 E-I-G-H-T Yea. I was like, well, yeah, so, you know, that's just one example of whatever your business name is. Check around with a few people.

06:58 How would they spell it? Is there any possible way it could be spelled any other way? Again this is not to say that you have to not pick that name.

07:06 It is something to be aware of. And when you go and you purchase your domain, or when you, uh, set up all your social media accounts, you may need to buy or save the domain's 8 Bookkeeping and Eight Bookkeeping.

07:21 Umm, it's just a challenge that you're gonna have to work with. Not impossible, not a crazy thing, but it is something that you should- be aware of when you're setting up all your accounts.

07:30 Uhh, it's- Okay, then lastly is the name easy to pronounce. Umm, here's the thing. There is nothing wrong with thinking of a creative word.

07:44 I'm um, businesses do it all the time and actually it's a great strategy because people, it's memorable. People think of it.

07:50 Um, if you think of Yelp, Uber, Google, um, Tesla, I mean, there's, there's a The tons of brand names out.

08:00 There that are words that we've never heard of before, but we easily can like look at it and kind of know how to pronounce it.

08:05 Now I'm saying that that's what you need to do for your business name, but something to do again, consider if you are putting together or you are combining words.

08:12 Um, try to make it easy for people to easily see the word and be able to pronounce the word. MediaBooks, sometimes I'll get a little bit like, is it media books?

08:21 But people more or less know how to, that they recognize media and then they recognize books. Um, they recognize both words and they can figure it out.

08:32 So yeah, you want to just make sure your name is easy to pronounce. Now, um, there's a few checks you want to do when you do decide on a name.

08:40 Um, the first one's pretty obvious. Google the name. It's kind of a good- kind of overall check. You want to make sure that, you know, that business wasn't, like, closed down five years ago from fraud, and that's going to be something you have to deal with.

08:54 Um, second thing, search your Secretary of State listings. Another great way to kind of check to see. We'll see what your competition could be, or if, um, it's going to be trademarked at all, different things like that.

09:08 Speaking of trademark, also do a search on the USPTO.gov website. That is where you can find a list of all the trademarks that have been filed out there.

09:16 Um. And then also check if the domain is available. Now when I say check if the domain is available, I don't mean go to, like, Google and type in the domain and see if something pops up.

09:26 Actually go to a domain provider, like GoDaddy or, um, Squarespace. Um, Squarespace, you can buy domain straight from there. Go there, see if the domain is available and also see how much the domain is.

09:40 MediaBooks.com, um, our website is mediabooksagency.com. MediaBooks without the agency, just Mediabooks.com, is like, it's like $250,000, which I am not spending on a domain.

09:54 Um, so, yes, I would definitely, um. Check them. Uh, check if the social media handles are available.

10:06 Again, like I said, like, if there's any misspellings or any miscommunication. Um, and also if anyone else already has a social media handle.

10:13 That is really similar to your business name. Know that you'll likely be competing for traffic against that other channel. So, if there was another marketing agency titled MediaBooks, and they had the MediaBooks, you know, Instagram, Facebook handle, um, I would probably not.

10:29 I have chosen that name. Um, there is someone that already has that handle, so that's why on social media, you can find us at MediaBooks Agency. That is our handle. Um, but the person that has the MediaBooks handle right now, they don't provide marketing services to account, and so I think it's.

10:40 That was a differentiator enough that I can continue forward. Let's get back to Polly.

10:52 Polly is ready. To name her business. Um, we kind of have an idea of what she wants to nation. Um, but let's kind of brainstorm some names.

11:01 Polly bookkeeping services. Um, nothing wrong with it. It's- It's fine. It's pretty generic. Polly is kind of a unique name.

11:09 Um, you know, I'd want to check to see to make sure no one else has it, but it's- it's fine.

11:14 It's great. Uh, Polly accounting services. It's a little bit more encompassing of all the services she wants to offer. She does want to be known for payroll.

11:24 Neither of these names really speak to that. Um, which isn't- I wouldn't say it's- like, the end of the world.

11:31 But, um, I think she can probably do, like, a little bit better. Especially if she wants a niche in payroll.

11:37 Uh, grow your business bookkeeping. It's not really, like, sp- specific. It's a little bit confusing. Um, to, like, is she offering services?

11:49 Or is she, like, is it like a bookkeeping business? Like a bookkeeping business? Or is she teaching bookkeeping? Um, it's also very long. This is, it's not, I would say that it's not going to be the best option.

12:01 Um, a little bit too wordy. Paulie's payroll services. She wants a nation payroll. Um, and also if we think about kind of the relationship with payroll and how, how, the relationship payroll has with other accounts.

12:14 If someone comes to her needing payroll services, whether they already have a bookkeeper or not, let's say she wants to work with them.

12:24 Let's say she, she doesn't care. Because she really wants to niche and be known as an expert in payroll. So it doesn't really hurt her if people only know her as like the payroll person.

12:35 Now let's say they come to her and say they don't have a bookkeeper. She can then pitch her bookkeeping services.

12:40 But payroll is really what she wants to focus on. So I would say Polly's payroll services is a great name.

12:46 Uh, payroll with Polly if we're sticking with this payroll idea. I think, again, it's great. It's memorable. Um, you know, the Polly payroll, they kind of roll off the tongue together really well.

12:57 Uh, and then payroll, Polly. Short, sweet, to the point. Um, super easy to remember, and kind of a great way that she can kind of brand herself as an expert in payroll.

13:10 And, Umm, you know, have a-have a-have a nice little niche on their, uh, audience on the internet that can easily remember her name.

13:19 Um, so yeah, so the next area that- we're gonna go into is market research and brand personas. Um, as you're going through this, and I'm sure a lot of you maybe have this on one screen and you're thinking in the other screen, um, you don't need to go through each lesson and already have this figured

13:35 out. Hopefully by the end of the chapter you have a lot of these pieces put together. But if you're still kind of questioning or debating, I think this next section is going to really help tie all the pieces together and give you a few tools to further do that.