So you’ve finally decided to become an entrepreneur. That’s one of the best decision that you’ve ever made in your life. Now I will show you things to consider when choosing a business name.

There are millions of businesses on earth that one may wonder if it’s still possible to get a business name that is still available. The truth is, no matter how many thousand businesses that are created in a day, you can still get a business name that suits your need.

Before I created this blog, I had that thought? Can I still get a good name for my business?  And finally, it’s a reality.

However, are you stuck at choosing the right name for your business? In this article, I will share 7 things to consider when choosing a business name and if you ignore them, you are at your own risk.

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1. If a Business Name is already chosen, don’t go for it

You may not know how dangerous it is until you lose your hard-earned business. I have seen many entrepreneurs make this mistake of picking a name that is already in existence. The truth is, it’s very easy for you to name your business “Google” or “Amazon Nigeria” because you think that Google or Amazon Company itself won’t recognize you.

They may not know you are using their name for your business. But in the future you will definitely face the result by losing your business, being fined or sentenced to prison.

2. Your Business Name should also be your Domain Name

Choosing a domain name that is different from your business name will make people devalue your business. Most of the successful businesses have the domain name correspond with their business name.

• Google Inc. has its domain name as google.com.
• Apple has their domain name as apple.com.
• Ford Motor Company has its domain name as ford.com.

However, if you are dreaming of making your business of going viral, this is a very important thing to do.

What will definitely happen if you disobeyed this rule?

Ok, let’s imagine that you named your business as “John’s Graphic Design” and your domain name is “picturesecrets.com”. These 3 things will happen

• People will think you are dealing with photography when you are a graphic designer
• You will lose potential customers.
• It will definitely affect your business from becoming a world-class business.

The only way to escape this killer mistake is to make your domain correspond with your business name. If the .com extension is not available, you can choose other extensions like .org and .net.

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3. Your Business name should explain your Business/Brand

As a start-up entrepreneur, your business name should convey the meaning of what you do to people. Just as I named this blog “Passion Entrepreneur”, anybody who hears about the name will automatically know that we are in the business of equipping entrepreneurs and making young people become financially free.

• The business name “Microsoft” will clearly convey to the entire world that the company deals with microcomputers and software
• When someone hears the business name “NameCheap”, he will clearly understand that the company deals with domain names.

Although they are some big brands like Google and Apple whose business names are abstract from what they really do. I will always recommend that your name should explain what you really do.

4. Avoid Long names. Make Your Business name short, simple to pronounce and spell

Avoid long business names. They take time to remember and memorize. Short names are simple to pronounce and memorize easily.

5. Claim The domain name and social media URL before someone else does

If you have finally come up with a business name, it is very important that you get the domain name and social media accounts as soon as possible before someone else get it.

This is where many startups make a mistake. They will go for sub-domains (like .blogspot.com, .wordpress.com and .tumblr.com) putting the real domain name in danger. Someone make decide to buy the domain name thereby forcing you to choose a domain name that is different from your business name

Getting the social media URL that suits your business name is very important. Thousands of people create social media accounts every day and if you don’t act fast, you may realize that people have taken it.

If you take a look at the twitter username of these big companies like

Entrepreneur Media

New York Times

Bloomberg

Google

You will discover that the business name is the same as the domain name and their twitter username.

6. Don’t make your business name concentrate on a specific (geographic) location

This is a must-do for those who want their business to be known internationally. Don’t make the mistake of putting a geographic location to your business name. Avoid names such as

• Success Naija
• Nigerian Info
• Lagos Entertainers

The same thing should also be applied to the domain name. If you intend to target foreign audience and clients, then go for domain extension like .com, .org, .net, .info instead of .com.ng, .ng, and other country-specific extensions.

7. Don’t limit yourself

In future you may want to reach more audience, that’s why it’s very necessary not to choose a name that is so specific.

For example, instead of choosing the business name “Success Logo Design” it is better you choose “Success Graphics”.

The former will only allow you to concentrate on “Logo Design” and nothing more than that. Even when you garner more skills, your customers will think you do only logo design.

The later is generic and includes services like logo design, posters, brochures, photo editing, etc. This can help you to reach more audience and clients thereby increasing the amount of money you make.

WRAPPING UP

Many businesses are created each day. Thousands of domains are bought in every minute. You wouldn’t stand there and allow someone to take your business and domain name. After you have finally decided the business name that suits your business, never hesitate to buy the domain name which is about $12 per year (N4000).

Are you having troubles choosing the best business name? Drop your comments and questions and we will help you out.

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