How did you name your business?

excellent question brianna.. i will say my wife maiden last name was part of the process..but i also wanted something that ranked high alphebetically..and when i said the bizi part..well bee just camed to me like eureka! BiZi Bee Floral just rolled off my tongue..i google the spelling and found nothing on this continent even close.. then it just kinda stuck.:)

Brianna:

For Seattle Organizing Works, I wanted something that sounded a bit utilitarian. I did not want a cute catchy name but rather a name that defined the company. I believe that the word "WORKS" does that. To me WORKS means everything: all things that are available...like a hot dog with the works. Our company can organize anything...get your life in the works!

country meadow..... to me equated to.... rolling grassy hills...dotted with wildflowers... fresh air... uncomplicated... relaxing... enjoying nature... hence..Country Meadow Ltd.... specializing in relaxing spa products! :-)

We (this is a very inclusive "we") have now named two businesses and the process was somewhat similar. Forethought, my nonprofit and public sector consulting process involved a series of conversations with my husband (a former market researcher) about my philosophy, approach and goals and a desire to convey that with my name. Ultimately, we settled on Forethought because that was the common denominator in what I believe leads to success in any sector.

When we were naming CubeSpace, we wanted something that would revalue working in a cubicle. Emulating the LGBT movement's revaluation of the words dyke and fag, we wanted to turn the image around and make the cube something positive. We wanted also wanted the name to be somewhat descriptive of the community that we were trying to create and the basic concept of the business. Once we got to that point, we just played around with different combinations until we hit something we liked and wasn't already registered as a business name (which did happen to us twice!)

Or something more creative...

My wife's initials before marriage were "ST" and my initials are "AR." ST + AR = STAR! [LOL but now... her initials are SR so our initials don't spell anything cool. =/ ]

Maybe the same concept can work for naming a business ;]

Good luck!

-Andrey

this may be slightly off topic..but please indulge me..

i was just brainstorming the other day..trying to drill down a good url for our biznik wedding industry to use that would describe what we are trying to provide(a once stop indie wedding shopping experience). also part of the consideration was trying to snag as much industry related web traffic as possible..so this is what i came up with..we now have a baby blog(just born) at tietheknotspot.com ..

Hmm, it's been years.

Nimbleland came from a series of Nimbleland Greeting cards I drew about characters named Nimbles and sold them individually and by series while working for the Phone company. I even copyrighted the cards. So when I wanted to start a business for working with the Washington State Arts Commission business, I used the name.

As for Brake Director, we sat in my living room years ago, think out loud , theater degree, Directing major, a brake pad….. and I saw images of a humanized brake sitting in a Hollywood director's chair with sunglasses, a beret and a megaphone. And there you have it.

I bought a business named for two doctors who had owed it before me - the name had value at the time. When I got around to re-naming it I spent money hiring a company in Seattle to come up with a name: we talked about what I was trying to convey; they came up with recommendations. Hundreds of dollars later I was totally unimpressed.

Then talking to a freind of mine, he simply said the name should convey what you do and where you do it. The Everett Chiropractic Center name was available and Everett Chiropractic Clinic was in the process of dissolving so I have used that for 11 years. It's worked out ok - good actually - but limited the scope of what's offerred and does not communicate any kind of niche - a definite must if you listen to any of the Biznik marketing gurus.

The next name I chose will have the word "wellness" in it since that's where my heart lies. In an ideal world I think starting with a word that starts with "A" is also good:-)

DD

thanks brianna! maybe you have some ideas for some cool wedding articles to post..after i adjust the theme and photos a bit..:)

Great topic, I love hearing these stories.

Eventide Studios. I knew I wanted something that hinted at the night hours I keep. I am completely nocturnal, and my work@home lifestyle has complimented that nicely over the years.

I used thesaurus.com and plugged in "night" and the word "eventide" jumped out at me.

My next task was securing a web domain name. Many of my first choices were not available. Yes, I tailored the name of my company around a web domain name. I am weird I guess, but that is just important to me.

Just total serendipity. When I started out, I wasn't planning on having a business name- was just going to be Mark Silver. I had had it with cutesy, forced names, and it didn't seem to be very necessary.

But, when I went looking for a URL in 2001, marksilver.com was already taken, and he was doing something decidedly different than I was doing with my business. Take a look- he's in Seattle. (http://www.marksilver.com)

So, my buddy Tom who was helping me with my website at the time was brainstorming with me, and he's the one who actually came up with 'heartofbusiness.com'- it was free, and I grabbed it. I still didn't think I was going to name the business like that.

We've been Heart of Business, Inc. quite happily- and I'm grateful to my buddy Tom who came up with it, because it's been absolutely perfect for us and what we do.

I actually considered naming my company "Nerdvana Consulting." My advisors recommended a more professional name...