Choosing a name for your business

I've seen people fret for weeks over naming their business. One person I knew became so frustrated that he finally settled on "IDGAS" - for "I don't give a S..".

When I first started my computer consulting business, I called it "Backup-80", because many of my customers used Tandy TRS-80 computers and I was their "backup" resource. As Tandy computers faded into the mist, I realized that was silly, and renamed myself "A.P. Lawrence".

Why not? It's my name. I don't have to worry about accidentally picking somebody else's business name and getting bothered by them. It's my name, I can legally use it even if some other "A.P. Lawrence" does the same.

As Rhonda Abrams said at http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/abrams/2005-11-03-name_x.htm:

A name is only as valuable as the marketing dollars and the business behind it. You need both a marketing budget and a well-run company to make a name or trademark meaningful. Otherwise, it doesn't matter how memorable or clever your name is.

Don't waste a lot of time worrying about your name. "Bob Smith Plumbing" or "Brookline Landscaping" tells the whole story and isn't ever going to be confusing. "Happy Pipes" or "Bushes are us" could mean just about anything, and could even have negative associations for some people.

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