5 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Naming – Part 1

My friend and business partner John Garrision co-wrote this and we figured we’d post this as a series.

One of the most exciting — but potentially frustrating things — about starting a business is coming up with the best name.

It’s exciting because you get to start with a clean slate and the potential is unlimited.

But it can also be frustrating because you want a name that is unique, something you can be proud of, something that will live beyond you, something that you’re not going to get sick of, something that you’re going to love for ever.

There are lots of ways to come up with a great company name. But once you come up with that name, you’ll want to make sure that you don’t make any of the five mistakes listed below.

Are you ready?

Mistake #1: Being Unclear About What Your Name Can Do
There are a lot of things your name can do:

• It can distinguish you from the competition. (Or it can make you sound just like everybody else.)
• It can convey an attitude. It can motivate specific kinds of customers to develop a relationship with you. (Or it can attract the customers you don’t want and make those you do want hesitate.)
• It can motivate potential employees to work with you. It can motivate joint venture partners and investors to take a look at you. (Or it can make you seem too risky or not innovative enough.)
• It can be memorable. (Or it can be forgettable.)
• It can serve as the most compressed marketing message your company will ever create. (Or it can confuse people.)
• A great name can serve as the beginning of your company’s success. (Or can seriously limit how far and how quickly your company gets anywhere.)

Remember, a good name is the basis of all your relationship building, sales and marketing efforts.

Unfortunately, a name can’t do everything. It might be able to achieve two or three, even four of the positive attributes listed above, but it can’t communicate everything. If you don’t decide what you want your company name to do, you may need to generate hundreds of names most of which won’t work for you.

Once you know what you want your name to do, you’ve limited your focus and that in turn will unleash your creativity in a more targeted way. A way that will allow ideas to flourish and increase your chances of developing a name that will ultimately serve your needs.

So, start here. What are the top two to three to three things you want your name to do? Write these goals down and check your final candidates against your goals.

Stay tuned for Part 2 in this series.