I started Technical Rex on September 10, 2007. The weather was excellent: sunny and right around 70 degrees. It was a good day to start a business. I knew that the first step toward making my business official was to file my Articles of Incorporation, but beyond that I had no idea what I was doing. I remember driving the one mile from where I worked to the local Bureau of Commercial Services. I found the office where I could submit a paper version of my articles, filled out the form, and filed it. I paid $60 to establish my business with 50,000 shares and was given a very handy list of phone numbers that would make up my next steps. I was in and out in less than half an hour.

The difficult part of starting my business was over. I didn’t know it at the time, but picking a name for my business and mustering the courage to submit the appropriate paperwork would end up being the two most difficult parts of starting my business.

This article is a two-parter. In this part, I will focus on how I picked the name “Technical Rex” for my business and provide some advice that might help you narrow down your choices and arrive at that perfect name for your own business sooner.

Choosing a Name for Your Baby

Choosing a name for your business is not unlike naming a child. The name you choose will give meaning and identity to your baby. A name that is easy to say, spell, and remember will go a long way. You also don’t want to make it easy for bullies to poke fun of your name. But as we all know, that last condition is impossible, so just do the best you can (point in case: Technical Rex easily degrades to Tech Wrecks).

There is one aspect of choosing a business name that makes it especially difficult when compared to naming a child: it has to be unique.

What Will Your Logo Look Like?

I spent an absurd number of nights brainstorming ideas for my business name. Some names were very serious, some tried to incorporate my family name, I tried puns based on the types of technology I had experience with, and there were a lot of names that offered a tip of the hat to pop culture and history. I kept coming up with decent names but they just weren’t “the one”. Eventually I started thinking about what kind of logo I would want for my business and that’s when coming up with names started to get much easier.

If you are struggling to come up with a business name, it might help to decide if you want your business name to also be your logo or if you would prefer an entirely separate mascot or logo. This can help constrain your options and make it easier to come up with new names.

If you want your business name to double as your logo then you will need to choose a simple name. Limit the name to one or two short words or abbreviate. Examples of these business names are very prevalent today: Dell, ESPN, FedEx, IBM, Oreo, Google, and so on. Slightly less prevalent are businesses with picture logos that are usually incorporated into the business name but are also easy to identify without the name. The classic example is McDonald’s golden arch. Both of these types of logos are made with a small number of solid colors, further suggesting simplicity. While these logos are usually easy on the eyes, one drawback is that they can seem somewhat unremarkable or plain.

Some businesses choose to go the opposite direction. These companies have chosen an image to represent the name of their business without actually requiring the presence of any printed. Apple, Nike, Fruit of the Loom, Mercedes-Benz, and Kentucky Fried Chicken all have logos that automatically conjure their business name without a single printed letter existing in their logo. Towards the end of that list of examples you can also see that this logo style lends itself better to company names that are long or have many words. There is a downside to separating your business name from your logo though. When you start your business your logo will not immediately have that recognition, it’s something your business will have to work up to.

In my case I intended to provide software consulting services instead of a physical product so business name/logo recognition was not especially important early on. By choosing to have a logo separate from my business name I gave myself the luxury of waiting to decide on a logo.

What Else is Important to You?

Having a sense of which style of logo you may want will only get you so far. It can help you refine the structure or length of your business name but even that leaves an overwhelming range of possibilities.

In my particular case I knew I wanted a cartoon logo that would double as a mascot of sorts. That limited my options to tangible things; abstract concepts and made up words would not work for my business. This realization led me to another: what kind of mascot would I want to represent my business? Or put another way, what interests do I have that would help me choose a fun and recognizable mascot or logo?

I have a number of hobbies and interests but it didn’t take much to rule out many of them when prospecting for a fun mascot. Obviously I’m interested in computers but a computer as a mascot for a computer company seemed a little too meta. Batman is pretty cool too but he’s already doing a fine job representing DC Comics. But dinosaurs. Dinosaurs were something I could work with!

Within a hobby or topic of interest most people have a favorite of some kind (is it a surprise that my favorite dinosaur is the T. Rex?). By choosing a hobby or other interest to help determine a business name you can quickly narrow your options even further by focusing on some or your favorite parts of that interest or hobby.

The familiarity of two topics also helps constrain your creativity. It’s much easier to come up with words, merge and create puns, and envision ideas when you have extra knowledge about the subject at hand.

It’s also not uncommon for business names to have hidden references to its founders’ interests. For example, did you know that Steve Jobs had strong feelings for the days he spent working on an Oregon apple orchard? Or that David Filo’s college girlfriend frequently referred to him as a “yahoo”? Choosing a name by merging two things that are important to you adds that much more heart and personality to your business.

Applying one of your interests to your business will also give your business an added splash of character. If you ever need to name products or services for your business you will have an immediate supply of options since your business name gives you a built-in theme to work with!

Summary

Coming up with a name that perfectly fits your business can be very difficult. For me it was one of the most challenging aspects of starting my business. My brainstorming sessions became more productive once I started thinking about the style of logo I wanted for the business. After I started dabbling with names that were influenced by my other interests, I started having fun coming up with names again.

Hopefully these tips can help you out by improving and focusing your creative efforts. I know that creativity doesn’t always come easily. If these tips don’t work for you but you know of other ways to get your creative juices flowing, try them out too!

In my next article I’ll address the other hurdle I had to overcome before I could start my business: fear!

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer or a CPA. I don’t even have an MBA. So please, take my advice with a grain of salt. My advice is by no means comprehensive or authoritative. It is merely intended to offer help insofar as my own experience goes. Your mileage may vary.