Incorporate With the Right Name for the Long-Term

Sometimes the most frustrating part of starting a new company is selecting the right name for a corporation or LLC. You don’t want to make a mistake with this step. The name choice is how you will always identify your business.

An ideal corporate name should indicate what your company does. Since this is not always possible, select a name that helps people remember your corporation after they find out what it does. You might think that the name “Stranz” is catchy, but it doesn’t really say what the company does. But after you find out that this business is a hair care salon, the name becomes identifiable with the corporation’s purpose.

You can brainstorm for business names by examining the phrases that people use to describe your corporation’s market. Look at articles in magazines or online about your industry. Get your friends involved in identifying at least 10 workable names.

After you have a list of possible corporation names, put each of them through various trials. Some of these are obvious, such as having a name that’s easy to pronounce. You need to clear your mind when considering a corporate name. People hearing your business name for the first time are not familiar with your company. You don’t want the corporate name to sound like you’re in an unrelated field.

You can of course follow the process used by professional naming companies, such as NameLab. They come up with names that are nonexistent words. One of the names coined by NameLab is Acura, the division of Honda Motor Company. NameLab founder, Ira Bachrach, points out that the Acura name has no dictionary definition but does convey a message nonetheless. It suggests high quality engineering because of it’s similarity to the word “accurate”, which means precise.

Bachrach points out, however, that creating new words is not always appropriate for a new company. For example, if the business is offering something conventional, the name should be simple. Using a complex name can imply that the product is complex rather than a popular item.

In addition, coining new words is beyond the talents of most individuals. A better solution is to use new spellings of existing words. That’s the process used by Stranz, the local hair salon. Affixing a “Z” to replace the correct spelling of “strands” makes the name unusual but not too complicated for brand identity.