Important things to consider when naming your business
If you are an aspiring business owner and in the early stages of planning out your business, well – congrats to you on taking the big leap and making moves!
Regardless of what type of business you are starting, one very important item to tick off the list in the early stages of business planning is determining your business name.
We strongly suggest investing the time and energy into securing and perfecting your business name as ideally, the name of your company will be around for the next while! (we’d hope right!?)
So, deciding on a name, sounds easy enough – right?
Well, there are actually a lot of factors to consider beforehand, and in this blog post, we’re going to touch on the 5 most important things we strongly suggest to consider when naming your business.
1) Invest the time in brainstorming your name.
The best way to brainstorm and further spark some thought on name possibilities is to word dump ANY words that relate to your business, your mission, your brand and your industry onto a spreadsheet.
When deciding on our own name, for example – The Coast Kit – we pulled words and multiple different synonyms from useful resources online such as an online thesaurus & other useful business name generator platforms such as this Shopify business name generator here.
We researched words that related to our location in which we operate (Vancouver, BC, located on the west “Coast”) and we also wanted our name to convey the message of “breezing through” your online marketing due to the fact that we offer “kits” that help business owners do just that – which is why we ended up with “The Coast Kit”!
The goal is to have several words in your spreadsheet, then it’s a matter of mixing and matching, combining and eliminating the words to further narrow down your list. We guarantee you, you’ll come up with some pretty stellar name ideas you likely would never have thought of!
2) Ensure your name represents your brand and is relevant.
Once you’ve narrowed down some names (let’s say about 5-8 different names), it’s important to then ensure that your name is completely in-line with what your business is all about.
Ask yourself the following questions?
1) Does my name have keywords within it that reflect my brand?
2) Is my name easy to remember? (ie. Is it long and complicated or difficult to pronounce?)
3) Does my name match the tone, voice and mission of my company?
4) Is my name suitable for my target audience?
If your name choices tick all the checkboxes above great! If not, eliminate immediately, and move along to the next important step, ensuring your name is available! Dun dun dunnnn!
3) So you’ve got a great name – but is it even available?
This is probably our least favourite part of the process (sigh!), because it can sometimes lead to a letdown. You’ve spent all this time perfecting and researching the ideal name only to realize it’s taken by another business.
So, how do you know if another business has the same name and if it’s protected?
Well, there are a few ways!
1) Run a simple search on Google as well as on your favourite social media channels to see if any businesses pop up with your business name.
2) Check if the domain name (website URL) is available for your business or taken. There are SO many platforms to purchase a domain name on, such as: Squarespace, GoDaddy, Namecheap, Siteground (to name a few).
Pro-tip: If you add quotations before and after your name if it has multiple words in your Google search, Google will run a search for the entire name, instead of just keywords within the name, allowing more precise results to appear.
3) Search national name databases
4) Search provincial or state name databases
For the later two, this website here, specifically for Canadian residents will help immensely!
Disclaimer: This blog post is not intended to provide legal advice. All content on this site is for general informational purposes only. Should you have any legal questions regarding naming, its best to consult with a legal professional.
4) Seek valuable feedback from friends and family.
We always suggest taking the time to run a poll from friends & family.
Often times, your friends and family are the ones who aren’t afraid to tell you like it is, and they’ll likely provide you valuable feedback to ensure your naming choices are right for your business.
You’d be surprised what type of feedback you will receive, and because you’ve invested so much time into this already, it’s almost like having extra sets of eyes looking out for things you may not have noticed throughout the process.
5) Register and secure your name.
Once you’ve found THE NAME! (Cheers to that!) It’s time to get to work!
Ensure you register your business name with the governmental jurisdiction your business is located in for approval. Once approved, be sure to purchase your domain name (ex. www.yourbusinessname.com) as soon as possible too and look into signing up your Instagram username!
In BC, for example, you can visit this provincial online platform which provides all information needed on requesting a name for approval, naming rules, researching name choices etc.
If you are incorporating a new business, the government jurisdiction where you incorporate will review and approve your proposed corporate name. They will research existing names and trademarks that are identical or similar to yours and let you know if your’s is accepted or not.
From a different province in Canada?
You can find more information on a Corporate name search and how to choose the right name here.
From a different country other than Canada? If you type in your Google search: “your country name’ then ‘business name registration’, you’ll be sure to find the corresponding governmental link to register your business.
