Finding business name can be stressful but if you hit it right, it can impact your business positively.
Finding a bendable business name is a little bit easier in this millennium since there are now free online tools to help you with your business name.
Techpally name generator has a good list of name generators where you can test the availability of the potential company name.
You simple enter some settings into the tool, and generate business names, you can get suggestions of business names in hundreds.
In some tools, when you enter the name and you will see at a glance the availability of your company name in various social media, the most important domain extensions and trademark registers.
Why should you bother with Business name?
You can of course say, “Why should I bother with this and waste my time?
The name doesn’t really matter. I prefer to take care of setting up my company or product development.
I only partially agree with this point of view. According to businesspally, establishing a company and developing products is certainly the top priority when starting a business.
However, one should by no means neglect the company name or the product name.
If it fits, I always like to include the comparison with children. Just as a newborn baby has to deal with his or her name for a lifetime, so too must your company.
So the baby should get a nice name. A later name change causes a lot of problems that should be ruled out from the start.
Recognition of the company name
Customers should be able to easily remember the company name.
But how do you find out whether the company name is memorable? You have to test it. Preferably in a conversation.
Describe your company to others. At the beginning, state the company name and ask the person you are talking to after 5-10 minutes whether he can remember the company name.
If he doesn’t remember it, it’s usually not his fault. If the person you are talking to does not have a sparrow brain, it is because the company name you have chosen is not easy to remember.
Legal framework
Before you decide on a name, you have to check that the name could not lead to trademark infringements and that the name complies with the legal requirements.
A registered company must always have the respective legal form in the company name.
In the case of partnerships, such as a general partnership, at least the owner’s last name must be part of the company name.
Ultimately, it is also worthwhile to have the company name registered as a protected trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office.
An entry is always limited to a certain period of time and costs around 300 dollars and is valid for 10 years.
However, this legal protection assures you that no other entrepreneur may use your new company name.
If you are already active throughout the EU, you can register the trademark with the “European Union Intellectual Property Organization – EUIPO” as an EU trade mark.
Outside the EU, you can register your name and logo with the “World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO”.
However, this is quite time-consuming and is not recommended for a startup.
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