How to Choose a Business Name You Won’t Outgrow
Your fool-proof guide to choosing a brand name you'll love forever
When it comes to storytellers, Shakespeare may have done no wrong (even if we weren't huuuuuge fans of having to doth and dith and thy our way through his plays in high school).
But when it comes to naming stuff? Yeah, a rose by any other name probably wouldn't sound as sweet at least.
Names are really important. They're how we identify and present ourselves and our businesses to the world. They influence how we’re seen and perceived and determine who we’re able to connect with.
We think Marty Neuemier says it pretty well in his book, The Brand Gap: “The need for good brand names originates with customers, and customers will always want convenient ways of identifying, remembering, discussing, and comparing brands. The right name can be a brand’s most valuable asset, driving differentiation and speeding acceptance.”
Which is why it's super important that you give your business a brand name that'll age well, support your goals and tickle the fancy of your FYT (F*ck Yes Tribe). The last thing you want is to rename your business and brand a few years down the road because it isn't working for you (after you've invested all that energy and effort, building up brand awareness for your current name!) You want something that will grow with you and support you now and into the future.
Fun fact: Did you know that Subway was originally called Pete's Super Submarines? Amazon also launched their book delivery service as "Cadabra" but had to quickly change it to Amazon when a lawyer thought their name was "cadaver" - yep, like a dead body. Yikes.
So, how do you choose a brand name you won't regret later? Easy: You follow this guide. 😉
Step one: Write your story
And, no, we don’t mean penning the next Great American Novel. Instead, we’re talking about writing your business story: Aka the heart, soul and vision behind your brand.
Knowing your brand foundations – including who you are, what you stand for, who you serve, what you serve up, and what you aspire to achieve in the future – will make it easier to choose a name you can trust to grow with you wherever your business goes.
Step two: Dream big
If you’re lucky, you’ll stumble across the perfect business name while you’re lathering, rinsing and repeating in the shower.
But, if you’re like most of us, finding the best brand name takes a whoooole lot of brainstorming! The good news? Brainstorming is super fun, especially if you approach it with a spirit of playfulness and let your creativity run free.
Don’t know where to start? Try some of our brand name brainstorming prompts:
Play with your keywords. Your keywords are the words or phrases your FYT will be most likely to enter when they search for your business, product or service. If you can fit a keyword into your business name, it’ll make it easy for your audience to understand to what you do (and for you to rank higher in search engines!)
Whip up some wordplay. Love puns? Adore alliterations? Pay a dime for a good rhyme? Have some fun and experiment with ways you can create inject some humor and wordplay into your brand name!
Hit the books. You can also browse your dictionary, thesaurus or even bookshelf for words that might appeal to your FYT. Don’t worry if they’re not totally related to your business or services. Remember, this is just brainstorming, and anything goes!
How do you want your FYT to feel? Make a list of all the emotions and adjectives you’d like connected with your brand.
Step three: Plan ahead
Now that you’ve hopefully got a few different inspiration avenues to walk down, you’ll want to narrow down your list to about a dozen potential brand names.
A good way to whittle the options down is to do a time-hop into the future and consider where you’d like your business to be in one, five and even ten years’ time.
If a name could age (i.e., it could be a hit and peak humor now but irrelevant and forgotten later) or limit your potential (by tying itself to something specific like a person or product that may not be involved in the business in the future), scratch it off the list.
You’re looking for a brand name that’ll be timeless not trendy.
Step four: Make it easy to remember
Finally, make sure your brand name is easy to spell, say and remember. Complicated spelling might look cool, but if it makes it harder for your FYT to find you, it isn’t worth it.
Keep it simple and memorable, babe.
