Article by Robert Green, Business Advisor, Western Sydney Business Centre
A Rose by Any Other Name
Shakespeare had it right for romance and flowers, but the same sentiment doesn’t apply in business, even if you are a florist.
Why? I have seen some weird business names in the past which were creatively arrived at, only to leave the business anonymous and unreachable because of the name.
There are many things to consider when choosing a business name that is going to work for you. We all know that this is now an electronic world and people live at a fast pace these days. So, we need to take this into account.
Your business name has to be easy to remember and to type. Why? Well it will need to accomplish these things:
- Be descriptive (what you sell or who you are – Pete the Plumber, Widgets Pty Ltd, Yum Cream Buns, Jones and Sons, Accountants, etc)
- Be easy to create email addresses from (short and/or memorable, the longer the name the easier it is for the emailer to type it in wrongly when emailing your business)
- Don’t be cute – “Teddy Bear Drainers” might give you a warm and fuzzy feeling (pun intended) but will struggle to be treated seriously in the plumbing and draining market whereas Teddy Bear Toys will hit the mark if it is the name of a toy business.
But don’t stop there! You need to select at least another two names. Why? If the first is taken, then you have two others to fall back on when you go to register your business name. Check in two places before registering your business name. First, the Australian Business Name Register and, if available there, check with IP Australia to make sure no-one has copyrighted or trademarked the name in another form. Also check that the domain name is also available.
If you get a yes from these places, then go ahead and register it. And go straight away to an internet provider and claim the domain name.
In my next article we will look at some tips to avoid some other business name related pitfalls
