6 things to consider when picking the perfect name for your business, Guest Post

Choosing the right name for your company is a BIG deal. After all, this will be the pinnacle of your brand, your call to arms - everything else trickles down from the name; your logo, your website, your services, even the customers that you attract. Do it right and your company is off to the perfect start, do it wrong and your idea will stumble. With that in mind, here are six things that you need to consider when naming your company.   Watch out for being too ‘now’ Don’t choose a name that could date your company. As with most things, styles for company names come and go. For example, adding ‘ify’ to the end of a word like Spotify or intentionally knocking off a few letters ala Tumblr. Whilst it certainly worked out for these two businesses, there will be bunch of companies who tried and failed to rip them off. Trends are the norm in business and it’s fine to follow them with things such as your website and logo, but names should be built to stick. Be true to your own company, don’t copy someone else.   The Apprentice approach Does anyone else cringe at the team names they use on The Apprentice? Venture! Ignite! Synergy! Phoenix! These names mean absolutely nothing. Your company name doesn’t have to spell out - or even hint at what you do, but it should at least invoke a feeling, rather than a ‘meh’. Avoid cluttering up your name with meaningless words.   Think about location In some instances including a location in your company name makes perfect sense, if you provide a service to a particular area for example - such as Pimlico Plumbers. Just be careful that you’re not limiting yourself in terms of growth (and inviting local competition to set up a similar name with a slightly different location).   Is it Google-able? When you tell people your business’s name they should be able to:  

• Remember it
• Spell it
• Say it

  This way you can be easily found online. For the same reason, you should think twice about having a name made up of initials, as this probably won’t be easy to remember or spell.   Be unique Do some research on the names of your competitors and other businesses in your local area. Your name needs to be different, otherwise your operation will constantly be confused with someone else's (and you’ll soon grow sick of correcting people). Set your business apart with a name unique to you and that tells a story about your brand.   Is the name available? If you’re running your business as a limited company there are certain rules and restrictions on what you can and can’t call your company. For example, it must be totally unique (it can’t even be similar to another company name), it can’t include certain words without specific conditions (for example, you can’t used the word ‘dental’ without permission from the General Dental Council) and it can’t imply a connection with the government. You can check the availability of your company name here.   As you can see, that’s a few things to consider. Ultimately, what you name your company is your decision, but as a bonus tip, be sure to talk to other people about the moniker - they may have some illuminating feedback on your proposed name or even have some ideas of their own. Best of luck!   By Mathew Aitken at Company Formation MadeSimple - The simplest company formation service. Company Formation MadeSimple has formed over 500,000 UK limited companies, find out how they can help your business start, run and grow today.

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