6 Steps to Creatively Naming Your Business Venture

Article Contributed by Holly Hurd

Naming your venture is one of the most exciting aspects of getting started, but it can be one of the most difficult to do. It’s an important step to spend time on. A bad name can actually stall your venture and a great name can move it forward. So how do you come up with a great name? Hurd offers 6 steps to creatively naming your business venture.

1. Time to brainstorm.

Start by writing down what you are offering and then write down as many related ideas, synonyms, puns, that you can think of. For example if you are starting a dessert business you might list: sugar, cupcakes, pies, cookies, brownies…anything related. When you can’t think of any more, search an online thesaurus to add to your list. Then add adjectives. In this example you might add yummy, delicious, tasty, sweet, delectable, and on and on. While brainstorming, also jot down keywords that describe your venture. Think like a potential customer; what keywords would they type into a search engine to find a product or service like yours? Keywords is just another list for you to mold your name from.

2. Get personal.

Make a list of names or things that mean something to you. It could be your name, your kids’ names, pet’s name, school’s name, home state, nickname, etc. Look at what the state flower, your astrological sign or your hometown team’s mascot is. The ideas are endless. What else is related? For example, if you are from the Carolinas and starting a line of girls clothing, your venture name could be “Carolina Girls” or “Sweet Caroline” or “Tarheel Togs” – you get the idea. Sticking with the dessert example, the name could be “Tarheel Treats” or “Carolina Sweet Treats.”

3. What’s your venture’s purpose?

Now write what the purpose of the venture is. In our example, you want to provide yummy desserts for parties and special occasions. So here is another list: party, celebration, fete, gala. Go to the synonym finder again. You should now have several long lists that will give you lots of ideas to choose from. How about “Southern Gala Girls” or “Southern Sweets”?

4. Catchy Combinations – think Clichés. 

You want a name that people will remember; something that describes who you are and what you do. Now you are ready to start combining words from your list. Think about common sayings or clichés. Look at words that start with the same letter for alliteration like in our above examples. Rhyming words are great too. Your name should clearly tell what you do. If your name doesn’t tell exactly what you do, add a tagline below. For example, “Fabulous Fetes”, Party planning for you or “Susie’s Sweets”, Delicious Desserts for Every Occasion. It should be a statement telling what you do in just a few words.

Quick Tips:

• Your name should clearly tell what you do and represent all you do
• Your name should be easy to pronounce and spell
• Use keywords in your name to help with online search

5. Check Domain Availability 

From the time you start to put your venture out there to potential clients, your name will be linked to everything you do. Spend some time to get this right. Check the internet for similar names and see if the domain is available (www.instantdomainsearch.com). If so, once you decide on a name, claim the domain. You can do this through a hosting package for about $10 a year. You don’t want to spend time and money creating a brand and then go to start a webpage to find out it’s already taken. If “yourcompanyname.com” is taken, you may want to go back to square one. Additionally, you can take it one step further and protect your brand and name for $375 (current fee as of 2013) through the US government trademark office (http://www.uspto.gov) if you have plans to go beyond the local area with your venture.

6. Gather Feedback – what name ideas stick?

Once you come up with something you like, get feedback from your family and friends. What does your husband think? Do your kids like it? How about your friends? Use it in sentences or practice telling a client the name. For example, imagine you are talking with an old friend and you say, “I’ve started a new venture (fill in what you do)_____________, it’s called (fill in your name) __________.” Does it roll off your tongue, make sense, is it easy to remember?

Great VentureMom Names

• One VentureMom I’ve talked with named Patty makes cakes for gatherings. So the name of her venture is “PattyCakes.” It combines her name with what she does and it’s a play on a term we all know and recognize. You can imagine what her business card and logo will look like.
• Sam is here to help organize and save photos. She can be a lifesaver for those of us who have those boxes of photos in closets. She and her husband were joking about what to name her venture and thinking about the Dr. Seuss children’s book, Sam thought “Sam I Am.” So the name of her venture is “Sam-I-Am Media.”

Other great VentureMom names:

• “Vintage Vogue” — vintage jewelry
• “Birdy and Grace” — golf wear for women, Grace is the founder’s daughter’s name
• “Greening our Children” — a charity to educate parents on how to be green
• “The Common Courtesy” — a manners class for kids

By now your creative juices should be flowing with ideas for naming your venture. Your venture’s name is an important decision and you should dedicate the time this week to the six step process outlined above. Having a meaningful, relevant and catchy name will resonate with your potential customers and will help you brand your company effectively.

About the Author

Holly Hurd is a Serial Entrepreneur and founder of an online community called VentureMom.com to help mom business owners, comes across so many great names from the moms she features.