“Are you a DJ?” “I’m so glad I found you because I’m a DJ and I think you could help me promote my business.” These are just two of the e-mail messages I have received since starting my business, DJ Public Relations. You would think naming your business, while an important task, shouldn’t be a difficult one. Especially if you name your business after yourself, like I did. Get it – DJ for Diane Jones. Pretty clever, right?
Well, it turns out that the name of your business shouldn’t be a quick decision without much thought involved. The name of your business is the first introduction to a new client in many instances. It is your calling card…your brand…your label. It is an important component of a new business, and deserves a little thought and even some research.
Before deciding on the name of your business, think about what services you will be providing? Are there key words that should be included in the name to help identify what the business does? Are there key words that are already identified with a competitor that you want to make sure you don’t include in your name, so that your company is not confused with another?
Once you have a name in mind, do an online search to make sure there aren’t other companies in the area that have the same or even similar names. Check different spellings to ensure that your name isn’t already out there, just spelled a different way. And make sure the name you are considering couldn’t be misinterpreted to mean something else (for example, that your company provides public relations services for DJs!)
Yes, in hindsight, the name of my business might not be the absolute best possible choice I could have made when I created my company four years ago. I probably didn’t give it enough thought and just got too excited about the new phase in my life that I was about to take. But, except for a few random e-mails asking me to help with DJ services, it hasn’t been too much of a problem. It could be worse. I found a company online with offices in Toronto. Their name…WTF Group. Yikes!
