Finding a business name

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ArcticSilver

729 posts

Ultimate Geek

#77412 16-Feb-2011 05:58

Currently I am in the process of starting up a IT business. It will be offering on call support to residential and small business clients.

My main problem is not what you might think. Its the name!

I have spent countless hours racking my brains for some form of insperation, but the little that i do have end's at the registrar when i find that the name is taken.

I need to get idea's rolling again so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

rvangelder

352 posts

Ultimate Geek

#440074 16-Feb-2011 07:31

lean on me

tonyhughes

Hawkes Bay
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#440076 16-Feb-2011 07:33

Been there, done that, ended up with some random names, then traded as something else.

Currently I own a company that is named after one of the streets I lived on.

Get creative, write down 100 names, talk to your friends and family.

Balchy

484 posts

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#440080 16-Feb-2011 07:46

IT - Phone Home

For billions of years since the outset of time, every single one of your ancestors survived, every single person on your Mum and Dads side, successfully looked after and passed onto you life. What are the chances of that like?

meesham

973 posts

Ultimate Geek

#440086 16-Feb-2011 08:03

I struggled with it as well when I was establishing my company a couple of years ago. I do software development mostly for Australian companies (but I live in NZ), so I went with a species of tree found in both Australia and NZ and tacked "Software" on the end.

steve83

1 post

Wannabe Geek

#440087 16-Feb-2011 08:08

Have you tried putting some of your ideas into http://www.onlinethesaurus.co.nz/ and checking for synonyms?

Don't forget the company name doesn't actually need to be descriptive of what you do, it's more for legal purposes and banking etc, the business itself can operate under a trade name, for example I've got one generic company name under which sits several trading names each of which represents a specific service offered, it's a little more complicated to administer but overall works well as I only need to do one tax return each year for the whole lot,

Check out http://www.iponz.govt.nz/cms/trade-marks/trade-marks-homepage for more info,

Good luck!!

S

xpd

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#440098 16-Feb-2011 09:03

Pick a name and see if there is a greek translation or mythologcial figure - we were trying to figure out a name for an internal knowledge base, I found "Koios" which is a titan of intellect etc. :)

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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sleemanj

1490 posts

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#440191 16-Feb-2011 11:23

My suggestion: "Hello IT"

Great on a number of levels
1. obvious link to The IT Crowd, intsa geek cred
2. saves time answering the phone, no need to greet AND say the business name, what good sysadmin doesn't like reducing work
3. I think it would be memorable
4. and humorous to those who have seen The IT Crowd
5. gets to the point

---
James Sleeman
I sell lots of stuff for electronic enthusiasts...

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meesham

973 posts

Ultimate Geek

#440196 16-Feb-2011 11:42

sleemanj: My suggestion: "Hello IT"

Or maybe "PEBCAK Solutions", with a big reset button as the logo.

ArcticSilver

729 posts

Ultimate Geek

#440326 16-Feb-2011 16:32

steve83: Have you tried putting some of your ideas into http://www.onlinethesaurus.co.nz/ and checking for synonyms?

Don't forget the company name doesn't actually need to be descriptive of what you do, it's more for legal purposes and banking etc, the business itself can operate under a trade name, for example I've got one generic company name under which sits several trading names each of which represents a specific service offered, it's a little more complicated to administer but overall works well as I only need to do one tax return each year for the whole lot,

Check out http://www.iponz.govt.nz/cms/trade-marks/trade-marks-homepage for more info,

Good luck!!

S

Been doing that one already. Cheers for the idea though.

meesham:
Or maybe "PEBCAK Solutions", with a big reset button as the logo.

Some how i don't think this one would be best, but i had a laugh.

nate

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#440516 16-Feb-2011 23:02

Finding a good business name is pretty hard, I remember us doing it 7 years ago (which we did over beers in a flat in Mt Wellington).

My pointers:
- for names you come up with, check if the domain (.com/.co.nz) is available, and twitter/facebook if you're going down the social network route
- check Google for any clashes with the same industry
- try saying "Good Morning, XYZ Company, John speaking" - if it sounds strange over the phone, you can guarantee new customers won't get it
- avoid words/phrases that can be confused in spelling (like eye-T instead of IT)
- ask friends and family what they think
- don't rush it, coming up with a good name takes time.