For many founders, finding their own company name is a challenge. It should reflect both the company’s own creativity and its uniqueness. Even companies that employ only one employee – the founder himself – often spend weeks or months until the right name is found.
Many of us have had a name since birth. At first glance, it may seem unusual to use your personal name as a company name, but many people, friends and acquaintances already know you and can therefore recommend you more easily. The fact that you stand for your offer with “your name”, that social media profiles are already available and that top-level domains such as www.prenamesurname.com are available can also be very advantageous.
But as soon as you want to start a small business with several people, it becomes much more difficult to find a name. It is important to take into account the following factors, which can reduce massive marketing costs at a later date.
3 things that are important for the success of your company name:
- Check whether the name is available as .com domain or additionally for your country (e.g. .de for Germany): https://www.godaddy.com
- Check if the company name is available as a social media account on the major networks Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat or Pinterest: https://www.namechk.com
- Check whether parts of the name may already be searched for frequently: https://trends.google.com/trends/
If all these points are positive and you have a good feeling with the name: Lucky! If not, think about another name or add a short word to the name. If www.companyname.com is already taken, www.thecompanyname.com could still be free.
By the way, you’re in good company with this strategy: Mark Zuckerberg wasn’t able to start with facebook.com directly, but had used thefacebook.com before (and before that facemash. com, but that’s another story). Only after the platform achieved its first successes he payed the $200,000 (yes, that was a lot for a website in 2004) to buy the site facebook. com from the former owner.
Last but not least, a combination of the personal name and the offer can also be a sensible solution: www.stephaniessteak.com might not only be free as a domain and in the social networks, but might also be easier for steak friends to be found on Google.
Translated with the help of www.DeepL.com/Translator