Q&A: "What should I name my business?"

Here's the question we'll be tackling today:

Hey Nicole! My name is Sky and I’m starting a digital marketing consulting firm. I’ve done a lot of the paperwork, but what I’m finding to be the hardest part about starting my own business is deciding on the name. I’m just totally drawing a blank and haven’t come up with a single option. Where can I go to figure out a good business name?

What’s in a name?

Well, a lot. Just like you stress over the name of your kid, or your puppy, you should be equally thoughtful about the name of your business.

Sky, I wish there was a shortcut to finding the perfect business name. There are some brand-name generators online that are fun to play around with, but the short story is: you’re going to have to do this on your own—and you’ll be so glad that you did, because your company name is a big freakin’ deal. You’ll do a lot of hard things when it comes to running your own business, and I’m not going to say that coming up with a name is the hardest thing you’ll do, but it’s the first hard thing you’ll do.

But I am here to help!

Here are six things to help spark inspiration when picking a name:

1. Go dictionary diving. When the founders of Twitter were naming their company, they literally opened up the dictionary and found the entry for twitter. The rest is history. Same with Google! Most people think that Google is a made-up word. In fact, the founders used a creative spelling of the word googol, which means “a number that is equal to one followed by one hundred zeros.” The idea was to connote in just one word the massive breadth and scope they wanted their search engine to have. So dust off your dictionary, or pop over to dictionary.com and start treasure hunting.

2. Invent a language. If you can’t find a name that you like in the dictionary, consider making up a word, like Xerox or Kodak. The thing to keep in mind here is that since these are not actual words, there’s no sentiment attached except the one you create through advertising and marketing that consumers relate to. If you don’t want to or don’t have the money to do this right, steer toward something that’s already out there.

3. Go halfsies with make-believe. Can’t think of a made-up name and don’t want to go with a boring one? Then smoosh two together, like Instagram, or Facebook. And don’t forget about all of the start-ups out there ending in -ly, -ify, and -able (like Bitly, Spotify, Shopify, and Giftable).

4. Is it sticky? In business speak, “stickiness” refers to how memorable the name is with consumers. The best names are those that you don’t have to write down to remember, even after you hear them for the first time.

5. Is it visual? The founder of the equipment company Caterpillar came up with the name after hearing someone describe his tractors as “crawling like a caterpillar.” He loved that visual, and so was born the name of one of America’s most iconic companies.

6. Shorties but goodies. Studies have shown that briefer is better when it comes to company names. Nike, Apple, Pixar, and eBay all have just two syllables. Long names are harder to remember and harder for people to tell their friends about, which is the best (and cheapest!) marketing you can get.

xo,

Here are more ways to get it together and get it all:

Click here to subscribe here to my daily financial advice podcast, Money Rehab.

Click here to pre-order my latest book, Miss Independent