Seeking Business Name Advice, Opinions Appreciated!

[Trailrunner79]

TinaBean - Thank a lot for your insight, it was very helpful and has made me re evaluate my business name. I'm still town between a couple of different options. I've thrown out using my first name last name sports consulting, but like the idea of Smith Sports Consulting, Inc (SSC) * Fictitious name*. I've also thought about a name such as No Limits Sports Consulting, or No Limits Sports, Inc. (NLS)? Would that be more effective? Also, I polled a large number of my friends and asked them about business names. Overwhelmingly, they suggested Smith Sports Consulting, Inc., and these were business-like people, many with experience in pro sports and business.

Originally Posted by Tinabean

I'm a brand marketing professional and unless you are on the level of Michael Jordon, Lance Armstrong or Muhammad Ali, you should come up with another name that is more action oriented (exciting) and creates energy or a vision. Quickly....think of the following brands and what immediately comes to mind: Coke. AT&T Nike.
These trusted brands create a feeling as soon as you see the logo.

As your personal sports star fades (performance may wane or you may retire) the value of your brand may as well if you rely too heavily on your past accomplishments. Also, as your participation in the sport declines, as it does with all athletes over time, your brand image becomes dated.
Also, when you want to sell your business, it will be more attractive to buyers if there is perceived continuity...they won't feel compelled to change the name and lose any brand equity you may have remaining....the sale of the business will be transparent. And, on the upside, you can STILL take advantage of associating your brand with YOUR name and current success through PR and Media advertising with your photo. You can tie the independent brand name to your professional image and gain the same recognition NOW while achieving better branding results through the suggestions I've made.

The name of your business, given the category, should be forceful and powerful. It should ALWAYS appear with your logo, whenever possible, which should be professionally designed by an agency working in the sports marketing field.

Good luck

[mainebrokerman]

sports consulting....is very vague, will it capture your target market/consumers??

if you have a niche, then have a niche name, an action name, or line,

for example,

john smith.....sports consultant/athletic trainer

this seems very vague, you are following the path of so many others

or

try some action words, or tag lines, under the umbrella of a sports consultant...

energize... invest in the new you, melt away the past and bring on the new you,
6 months away from who you want to be......
achieve....your potential...
feeling better, looking great, sports consultant, just 6 months away from a brand new..YOU!!
breaking barriers, athletic coaching......
on top of your game, athletic coaching and training.....

or my favorite,
get off your ass.....fitness center..

one last thing,,,if i were a fitness trainer, id also try to be a nutritionist, diet and exercise go hand in hand, makes you more of an authority, also

[Tinabean]

Hey Trailrunner!

I tried to DM you but for some reason I got a message that you are no longer accepting DMs.
So I thought I would reply to your DM here...hope this is appropriate.

My biz is incorporated (inc). My attorney indicated that the incorporation provides enough coverage for my personal assets, which was my primary concern. When I started my business, I had four primary consultants to make sure that I had all of the bases covered to provide me with the best opportunities for success: An excellent corporate accountant, an attorney who had experience with corporate litigation/tax law, a banker (even though I did not take out loans to start the biz) and a former VP of a major corporation in my industry. It is critical to get the right types of people around you to succeed. And make sure that you have folks who will tell you the difficult things that your friends won't. My accountant is a very intimidating person who is hard on me at times but he has helped me significantly to grow my business. Whatever you have to pay for an excellent accountant, get one on board to begin with!!!!!

Good luck to you. Come back and post your website info, etc.... as you become established and I'll add you to my contact list. Perhaps our paths will indeed cross professionally.

If you feel so inclined, you can send a statement regarding my services...I would appreciate it.
Just DM me with it.

I will use your statement in my web and printed materials. We recently moved our offices and are restructuring the business to better position our services based on a new international contract we should be awarded next week!!!!!! Wish us luck!

[mbuszu]

I don't care for either of the business names in the poll. Smith is way to generic of a surname to include in a unique business name. Sports Consulting may convey what your business does, but it doesn't get me excited about what you do or how you do it. Lastly, I perceive an obsession with your three letter acronym SSC, but I don't see what good it is at all as it could stand for anything.

The poll is inherently biased as the two choices aren't really choices as 1) option A is the shorter of the two and 2) Option B isn't a business name in any format most of us have ever seen before. The poll leads most people like myself scratching out heads saying of course you're going to get majority vote for option A.

My advice is to come up with something a good unique logo can be attached to, and something easy to remember and say. Remember the business name is just one part of a complete branding package. Generic names stink so my recommendation is to avoid one. They are in abundance, but they are hard to remember. I also am in agreement with the other poster regarding how a sports-star's name is inherently a bad idea because unless it's a super-sports star name no one will know it anyway. It might be an ego thing where you really want your name attached to your business and if that's the case, then so be it, go for it. Fundamentally though, it's a psychologically backward thing to do as your business and your customers do need to look forward to business growth and future accomplishments... not backwards to what you achieved in the past (as another poster also expressed).

One last piece of advice... search the USPTO and your state websites for business names similar to the one you are about to settle upon. I've learned after only much expense that you want to trademark your name and image as soon as possible and ensure that once you have settled upon a name and identity that it's yours uniquely and forever. The overall cost of this process is much less than most people realize and it sure beats going through the effort and expense of a rebranding effort a year or two down the road.

Good luck with your venture whatever you decide.