Why do you need to search for the availability of a business name?

There are a number of reasons why a startup business would want to perform a few checks before choosing a business name. The most common reason is that as a new business, you wouldn’t want to have the same name as an already existing business. Firstly this would be confusing for your customers to potentially see two companies with the same name and secondly, you may be encroaching on another company’s right by using their trademark. As simple as it sounds, you couldn’t start a new business and call yourself, Google Inc, as clearly this is against the law.

It would be fair to say that if you come across a business that goes by the same name as you, and this name isn’t trademarked or registered as a company and the business is located overseas or far enough away from your own operations you could potentially call your business by the same name. It is hard to choose a unique name for your business and I don’t think there is anything particularly wrong with sharing the same name as another sole proprietor, but ideally speaking, having a unique name has some serious benefits.

How can I perform a business name availability search?

• Search the Internet – Your first stop should be your favourite search engine. Type the keyword or exact name of the business you are considering and see what crops up.
• Search local and national phone books – Check your local phone directory and yellow pages directory to see if any businesses have similar or exact same names.
• Search business directories – Similar to the above, search as many business directories that you can get your hands on.
• Check with company registration websites – For the UK, you could check the Companies House website for businesses that are registered companies that may have the same name as you. For the US, you could check a site such as BizFilings.
• Search Domain Tools – Certainly under modern circumstances and the need for a web presence you should really check to see if the name you are considering for your business has a domain name available. If it does, that’s another tick in the box for your choice.

Which ever name you decide on, make sure its right for you and your business. Don’t rush the process and certainly don’t choose a name that doesn’t have longevity, you have to keep the future in mind when choosing a name for your business.

First things first – To save yourself a lot of heartache and potentially wasted time down the line, reading this guide is an absolute must. Let us begin..

How important is your business name?

Perhaps the very first thing a potential customer will see is your business name and instantly an impression or opinion will be made of your organisation. I happen to believe that the name of your business, in terms of short term visibility, is more important than your sales pitch, your inventory or even yourself and perhaps employees. You may have excellent customer service skills and a fantastic product but if you get your business name wrong, a customer and a potential sale can all be lost in a moment. Under most circumstances, the name of your business tells a lot about your business to a viewing customer. Remember we discussed earlier in this article how customers make instant judgements of your business based solely on its name. They do this even before they have even seen what else you have to offer them.

How do I choose a good business name?

The first thing to think about is what industry or market sector your business is operating in;

• Are you a service or product based company?
• How important is branding to your business in the industry?
• Are you ever likely to need to be able to brand your business in a specific way?
• How crucial do you think your business name is going to be for marketing purposes?
• How about expansion? Do you believe that there are other market sectors your company may diversify into? What about expanding overseas? What are the implications for that?

It’s essential that you appeal and strike the right tone to your customers with your business name. If you think for a second about the largest and most successful brands we have in our world today. The likes of McDonalds, Nike, Google, Sony and so forth, these are businesses that have developed a brand, not just a business name, and good brands practically sell themselves.

What other considerations are there?

Over the course of running your own business you are going to get a lot of practice saying your business name and seeing it associated with your own name. You may think that it’s a no brainer to choose a name for your business that you like the sound and sight of, but keep that in mind when choosing.

Something that business startups forget about is whether another organisation has the same name as you. For obvious reasons, having the same name as another business really isn’t a good idea, especially if trademarks or other rights are involved. Always check that the name you have chosen is not already in use.

Your business name needs to be memorable. Why? Because you want customers to remember your name and directly associate it when they are looking for the products or services that you tender. Keep in mind that the longer the business name, the less likely people are to remember it. You may think that something short and unique is the way forward, certainly most successful brands are like this but let’s not go too far off the chart it becomes too unrelated to the business sector you are operating within. Don’t chase a short name and sacrifice its relevance to your organisation.

As easy as it sounds – business names should be original, concise and coherent to the sector you operate in. Choosing a name for your business can be a tricky task but take time over it, it will hopefully be with you for a long time to come!