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  1. #1

    Deciding on a business/company name. What should I do and avoid? How did you do it?

    Hello there,

    I'm going through the stages of starting/expanding my web business and naturally I've decided to add hosting to my design & dev services, but it's unbelievably hard to find a business/company name that I like and is an available dot COM.

    So my questions are:

    1. What should I avoid when choosing a name?
    2. How did you guys/gals decide on your name? Where did you get the inspiration?

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Here's some hints:

    1. Avoid long domain names that are difficult to remember.
    2. Avoid domain names that are difficult to spell.

    Ultimately, I don't think it matters what is your domain (except for the points above), since you are going to brand your business with it... and after a while your customers will just come to know you as [whatever you pick].

    For example, you could do something simple like "xyzhost.com". (where "xyz" is your target market.)

    I hope that helps.
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Fargo, ND
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    8

    naming...

    I think what zippy has pointed out makes a great launching pad, but the best thing I can suggest is to find something clever that fits what you are wanting your company to portray. My business partner and I have been going through the same thing the last couple of weeks, and have finally come up with a great name. I don't want you to get discouraged if you don't come up with something right away, it will take some time and especially researching to make sure it's not already in use!!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    BC, Canada
    Posts
    776
    The name should be unique, and still reflect what kind of business you're running. I would suggest not trying to just think of random words to make a combination, like using the suffix "host" and throwing in whatever you think of as a prefix. You'll probably end up with GutterHost or something equally damaging to your image
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  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Miami, FL
    Posts
    825
    Avoid using a name that is in use by other companies, especially those that may be close to you.

    Avoid using a name that defines your company, as you may want to expand your offerings in the future.

    I originally started out with "My IT Guy Consulting" in 2009, and after having the brand Trademarked I started searching for companies and realized that there were hundreds of different companies using variations, with several in my immediate area. Needless to say, I changed my company name in 2012 to avoid the loss of customers to these other companies, and to avoid expensive lawsuits. (As well as the perception that the company would only employ male technicians or etc...)

    I chose "Cingular" as my new brand, which was previously in use by a wireless company that was bought out by AT&T. When I first heard of this company I thought it was a great name that has plenty of potential that they were not taking advantage of...so when they started vacating their Trademarks I started using the name

    Now I'm not limited to just IT, hosting or etc. If I want to get into logistics, property management or etc then I have no issues with a name preventing me from operating that business (I.E. Would you call "My IT Guy" or "Cingular" to deliver your packages?)

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    2,173
    Quote Originally Posted by 8BiT View Post
    Hello there,

    I'm going through the stages of starting/expanding my web business and naturally I've decided to add hosting to my design & dev services, but it's unbelievably hard to find a business/company name that I like and is an available dot COM.

    So my questions are:

    1. What should I avoid when choosing a name?
    2. How did you guys/gals decide on your name? Where did you get the inspiration?

    Thanks
    Step One is should always be defining the niche you want to target with your marketing efforts. You should be very clear and very narrow when defining a niche. Step Two should be explaining how your business is different than others and why that difference matters to the target customers in the niche you defined. If Step Two feel difficult, then you defined your niche too broadly. If that happens, retry Step One. Don't say "people who need web hosting". That is way to broad. Narrow the niche down until you have a very clear picture of who your customers will be and what matters to them.

    Once you complete these two steps, then you are ready to decide what your name will be. Remember, the name is one of the most effective branding signals you will establish. The business name should clearly define your niche and the difference you deliver that matters to that niche.

    Here is an example of how you might do this approach. Let's say your name was Bill and you had a small shop on Franklin Street, and everybody in that neighborhood knew you as the computer guy to call. You might decide to create "Bill's Web Hosting on Franklin Street" business, since the owner's name and address would be valuable to customers in that area. Then you would choose a domain name that captured as much of that business name as possible. Maybe billfranklinwebhosting.com (or franklinstreetbillwebhosting.com). This approach would resonate well if your niche were the local market and your important difference was that you (Bill in this example) was the face of the local business. For many businesses that focus on a local niche, the owner and the address can be extremely important factors for. Many potential customers will choose a local business over a non-local business in order to be able to get face time as needed.

    If you want to focus on a broader, non-local scale, that first example is not the right approach since people around the Internet would not know or care about Bill from Franklin Street. If you are trying to market to a non-local crowd, you will need to define a niche in a more creative way. Maybe think about a niche based on what members of that niche are trying to do online. Maybe sell web hosting to people who blog about a specific breed of dog. It sounds silly, but doing that will give you the advantage of standing out in the minds of those people more than a generic company that tries to appeal to everybody. So in this example, maybe the company name would be americanbeagleblogger.com or americanbeaglebloghost.com, since it would target that very specific niche. When people in that very clearly defined niche see that your company is perfect for them, they will instantly sign up.
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  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Vancouver
    Posts
    11
    Few things to keep in mind when selecting a company name:
    1. Make sure a variant of the domain is available, don't feel confined to .com - as every day it's becoming more and more common to use a different TLD.
    2. Make sure you don't limit your company growth or lock into an aging technology (Don't call yourself CloudHost.com unless you are sure you will never sell anything else, and you are OK with renaming your company when cloud is replaced by the next buzz term)
    3. Make sure it's short and somewhat unique - so people can not only remember it, but they will be able to recommend you very easily - a lot of people will just google search your company name and if you are called "cloudvpshost.com" you probably won't show up first.
    4. An old trick, which isn't as relevant anymore, is to name your business with an A or B so you show up on the top of alphabetical listings (like the phone book, or trade show listings)

    Good luck

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    3,816
    I just register a generic 'x consulting llc' and DBA it for a .com, think later.

  9. #9
    Domain Suggestion Tools help you decide of a name as well. I'd advise you to Google it.

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