| You know, I dont know why, but
so many freelancers get so hung up on what to name their web
design businesses that it becomes almost ridiculous.
Ive read countless threads in so many webmaster forums over
the years, with people asking time and time again, "What's
a good name for my web design business...?, when in reality
they should be focusing on much more important business issues,
such as registration, tax, accounting and actually finding
clients.
Why on earth so many people spend 3 months deciding on a cool
name for their new web business, to only then invest five
minutes towards the important stuff???
It just makes me wonder.
If you're serious about starting your own web design business,
then I'll give you some advice.
Stop messing about with stuff thats not important!
A client isn't going to care less what your business is called
so long as you can service their needs and provide a quality
end solution. Of course Im not suggesting calling your business
"wibbly wobbly web design", but you get my point,
right?
Calling your business "Mega Ultra Cool Kick Ass Web Design"
is only for bragging rights and to impress your friends. Forget
about it!
What you should be concentrating on is a business plan, financials,
projected earnings and your ability to support yourself as
a self employed freelancer -- not a "cool name"!
Alright, Ive almost finished my rant, so Ill summarize a
few pointers for you to think about below when you're trying
to come up with a name for your web design business.
Here they are in no particular order, take note:
1. Concentrate on what's really important to begin
with.
Dont spend 3 months trying to come up with a catchy name
for your business unless its really necessary. You're not
going to impress anyone, infact your clients won't care, and
neither will your friends. So long as your business name reflects
roughly what you do, you will do just fine.
Focus your efforts on what's important, such as attracting
clients, generating cashflow and managing your business. A
name isn't really that important, unless you plan on starting
the next Coca Cola or Microsoft.
2. Choose a business name that allows a level of
flexibility.
Flexibility - huh?
I'll give you an example. Let's say you register "Sydney
Web Design" and then you move to Melbourne. Not exactly
a good choice now is it? Or how about you register "Southside
Web Design and Hosting" and then 12 months into your
business decide that you're no longer going to offer web design
and hosting, you're going to change your services and start
focusing just on search engine optimization. Again, the name
doesnt fit its purpose.
Heres some advice. Use a name that is generic and has a universal
application.
Off the top of my head, how about using your last name, or
perhaps the street you live on, or something generic, that
means something to you. Most often than not, choosing a generic
name like this is much easier, and can be applied to multiple
purposes giving you more flexibility.
3. Domain Names.
Do I really need to explain this? You have a kick ass business
name, and now its time to register your domain name - but
wait, its taken. Oops!
Check the availability of both, before you do anything. But
you already knew that right?
4. The phone test.
The last thing you want to do is register a business name
with silly hyphens or numbers in it. Not only will this do
your head in from people asking ..."Is that four as in
the number four, or for as in for, for...?" Do you really
want clients asking this every single time you meet with them?
Not only does it cause unnecessary confusion, but it could
potentially cost you in terms of people typing in your business
website address incorrectly.
Best of luck to you.
John
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