| Choosing a professional business name for your | | | | couldn't stop! Even a professional lawyer didn't |
| bookkeeping business will be one of the most | | | | understand my "clever" name! |
| important decisions you make. You want to | | | | Hopefully I haven't scared you, but I just want to |
| choose a name that projects the ideal image of | | | | show you that do you have to be very careful |
| how you want your business to be perceived. | | | | when naming your business. The cost and the |
| Easier said than done, right? | | | | headache of having to change it or start all over |
| To show you how important this process is, let | | | | can totally set your business back (if not |
| me share a story that happened to me: | | | | completely destroy it!) |
| A few years ago I made the mistake of choosing | | | | It'll take some serious consideration but once you |
| a really bad name for my first bookkeeping | | | | come across some names that you like, put the |
| business. I called it "Esquire Business Services" | | | | whole thing aside for about a week. Let the |
| which I thought was a great name because I | | | | names percolate in your brain during this time. |
| thought the word "Esquire" gave the business a | | | | When you come back to your list after the week |
| legal sounding name. | | | | is over and one of the names "grabs" you, then |
| I thought that this name would project the image | | | | that's the one you should choose. Please note, |
| of someone who was smart and knew what | | | | however, that you may have to submit three |
| they were doing. Boy was I wrong! | | | | names as you may not get your first choice. So |
| I found out later that people who called and got | | | | pick your first, second and third choices wisely to |
| my answering machine were confused by my | | | | make sure that you're equally enamored with |
| message and thought that they had reached an | | | | them all. |
| escort service! I finally realized I had a bad | | | | Remember you'll have to live with your business |
| business name when a lawyer actually phoned my | | | | name for years to come so make sure you really |
| answering machine and he laughed so hard he | | | | love it. |