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Naming Your Freelance Home Business
By Rachel Goldstein
If you want to be taken seriously, you will need to name your freelance business. Make
sure that your business name reinforces the image that you want to project for your
company. For example, one of my websites names is AllFreelance.com. You automatically
know from the name of this site that it has to do with freelancing.
Try to do the same thing with your business name. Don't choose a business name that you
will have to spend much time on promoting or explaining what it means. If you are a graphic
designer, try to use "Studio" or "Creative" or other buzz words in the name unless you don't
mind clients looking past your company because they aren't quite sure that you are a designer.
My company's name is Deezin Studios. Originally I thought that everyone would understand
that "Deezin" was just an intentional misspelling of "Design" but it didn't quite work
out that way. I always land up having a 5-minute conversation with clients about my
company's name. "How do you pronounce Deezin?" I really don't mind; it is a great
icebreaker. But, the point is that since "Studio" is one of the buzzwords in my business
name, clients always know that my company is a design company.
Another thing you want to remember is that the world is categorized for the most part
alphabetically. Try to choose a name that starts with a number or a beginning alphabet
letter. Watch out with numbers though because some directories, including dmoz.org, will
categorize by the first letter in the title. In other words, if you name your business
1Design, dmoz.org would categorize under the "D". Since most web surfers don't go past
the first search engine results page, it is important to start your name with an A, B, C, or D.
You probably are thinking, "Great, I am done!" Nope! You should register your business
name with your county. They will need to check your name against previously filed names
to make sure the business name you chose isn't already taken by another business.
Just imagine working for months or years with an unregistered business name and then
getting a notice in the mail to stop using someone else's business name. You would have
to start all over from scratch again. You would have to toss your business cards,
letterhead, envelopes, invoices, and everything else you printed for your company into
the trash. And what a disaster you would have created on the web. You would have to find
everywhere that is linking to your page and ask them to change your business name. What
a mess! So, register your business - it is worth it!
Before you fill out the paperwork to register your business name, pick three names, so you
don't have to refile if they reject your business name. Also, scan your phonebook and
do web searches to make sure that you cannot find the name that you have chosen. I
recommend using mamma.com or google.com for your search.these are the two most
comprehensive search engines on the net.
Now that you have registered your business name, go on ahead and print business cards,
letterhead, and invoices. The business name you have chosen belongs to you!
www.Allfreelancework.com
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