How to name your business

What’s in a name you ask? Why everything! Your business name is the most basic form of representation for your new company, so it must be relevant, memorable and unique. Relevant in the sense that it is pertinent to whatever it is you do; memorable such that it’s easy to recall and refer; and unique such that your business is not readily confused with another.

Ensuring uniqueness requires more than just checks with your local registrar that there are no other businesses with the same name. You should also check whether trademarks already exist in a particular name, and even whether the Internet domain and Twitter username is still available.

So important is the naming process, there are entire firms dedicated to just that – coming up with great business names! But if hiring such a firm is not within your budget, All Business writer Gerri Detweiler gives several useful pointers for choosing a business name.