choosing a name

MyMFDream

Can anyone help me with advice on how to choose a business name. I have a hobby I am hoping to develop into a small business. I am trying to sort out my business plan but I really really just cannot seem to sort out the name.

I am well aware that to be able to make it, especially online, brand is everything.

How did you all sort it out?

dottygirl

Hi I went for something simple easy to say and something that hopefully people will remember. What can of business are you going into. Good luck. x

jexygirl

Divulge at least the type of business and you may get ideas. No one here is psychic, and, mostly, has more to deal with than stealing your plan, so tell us even the area of expertise you plan to impart and we will try and help on the name front. Easilybuildable as a brand is something that recently /due to a joint project in the making is the hard part, picking appropriate names, that 3 agree on, that can also be rolled out to other avenues to expand the brand is a mare. It really is all in the name so tell us what it is and any names you have already, and we can go from there

Horace

Look at Companies House and see what business names are registered on there.

You could even use your own name which is what I did for one of my businesses because people were buying me and my expertise.

MyMFDream

Thank you everyone.

Sorry I should of said I make body lotions, moisturisers, lip balms, bath bombs and creamers plus scented candles. I use alot of floral scents so I had pretty much decided on 'peony and poppies' and was working on a logo, but then the more i used it the more I thought it sounded a bit too much like a florist. I have considered the whole thistle/scotland thing like 'Thistle Aromatics' but i'm not sure on it at all.

I have been trying to avoid anything with soap or beauty in the title just because i seem to come across alot of soap makers who use variations of soap, soapy, bubbles etc in their names..

I have been arguing with myself for days now.. Think i need to take a step back

Savvy_Sue

Well I like Thistle Aromatics, but would Thistledown be 'softer', and more importantly available?

cavework

Scottish Seduction would get you a lot of hits on your website

MyMFDream

cavework wrote: »

Scottish Seduction would get you a lot of hits on your website

haha

I just posted a long post there then i realised i was signed in as my friend. teach me for not making sure she logged off.

Anyway I like thistledown but its not availible. It is TM'd for other classes, locally there was a bridal shop with that name that closed down due to finance issues. shame because i like it.

I think that I have pretty much decided to use some sort of variation on Thistles as a nod to both me being Scottish and the fact the roots of the products is very much botanical.

Many more sleeps needed I think

cavework

No Honestly ..I wasn't taking the Micky
A Company needs a name that people remember and talk about.
Anyway, best of luck.
x

tushingham

my thoughts - probably useless - when i think of scotland and beauty i think of a more rugged type beauty than a soft and gentle type beauty. Even when you mentioned thistle, the first word that popped into my (perhaps twisted!) mind was 'prickly'!!! I wouldnt associate that with a beauty product. Neither would I associate lots of beautiful scottish things with beauty products although you could incorporate heather (too common?), highland, saltire, celtic, or a city name like edinburgh or stirling or something?? None of those work for me though.

You mentioned poppies in your first name choice. could you use something like that? Poppy, Poppies or Poppy's? Or some variant like Poppy Elegance or Red Poppy.

How about naming after one of your key ingredients?

You could post up some buzzwords to give yourself some clarity and others some direction on what your looking for.....
vibrant vs subtle, elegant vs cutting edge, sexy vs pretty, relaxation/calming vs energetic/energising, hot vs cold, loud vs quiet, younger vs older, airy vs punchy?

Best of luck with the name search and maybe someone can give you some more useful suggestions than mine!!!

t

GeorgiaMB

I was given the following advice;

*Don't use your name (this can change and if you ever come to sell the business it will be less desireable)
* Don't use a place name (again, this can change and it limits your area of service)
* Make it memorable and easy to spell
* Decide what image you want to convey (professional vs. fun and cute and remember you CAN'T HAVE BOTH)
* Use a name which is short enough to be used within a logo
* Contrary to some posters, use a generic name which doesn't include the service you provide. For example, don't use something like JB Photography. That way you are not limiting yourself to one area of business and can expand into other avenues without having to have different branch names. I'm going into childminding but also using the same business name I intend to do photography. It would therefore be stupid of me to call myself something obviously baby related or obviously photography related. This is entirely legal and acceptable (Tesco does it... they are primarily a supermarket but now offer loans, insurance etc) AS LONG AS you follow this advice.
* Check out what names are in use on companies house. You CAN have a similar name to another company as long as you are in an entirely different line of business. However, you will run into a world of trouble if you use a similar name to a company in the same line of business. For example, a company called "Victor's Secret" which sold lingerie was sued by "Victoria's Secret" and even when they changed their name to "Victor's Little Secret" Victoria's Secret were STILL not happy. If Victor's Secret had sold cars, they would have been untouchable.

I hope this helps?