Choosing A Name Is A Key Element To Growing A New Enterprise

A rose is a rose by any other name.
What a start-up calls itself is a key element in long term growth.
Have a name that will help drive recognition.
A small business has limited resources to build a brand.
Once begun, it is very difficult to change the company’s name and brand.
(Quick Fix: If you already have a name that is non-descriptive, consider a short tag line (3-5 words) that goes under the company name, which is descriptive, compelling.)
Choosing an initial name is a critical component of any start-up.
Frequently, little thought is put into naming the company or product title.
A brief survey of 2000 start-ups in the last quarter of 2010 and first quarter 2011 showed that 57% were either the name or initials of the founders.
Another 19% were a combination of the founder’s first or last names.
Only 27% gave a readily-understandable name that gives an inkling of what the company did or provided.
Simply adding words such as “healthcare,” “partners” or “associates” is not the solution.
Once launched, a small company usually doesn’t have the time, resources or inclination to change, even in the face of client perplexity.
Worse, often names come into conflict with already established entities.
Choosing a name that immediately informs potential buyers is a key element of any start-up, so it should be chosen carefully.
Here are some suggestions for evaluating names to be used:
• Choose a name that will help sell the product or service.
• Avoid using your name or initials.
• If possible, keep your company name to eight or less characters and perhaps include a number.
• Keep it short and to the point.
• Try to have the website URL that clearly mimics the name.
• Try not to limit it geographically. (The Internet has widened the marketing footprint.)
• Do a search to avoid any conflicting enterprises. (Do this nationwide; and if you are going to operate internationally, make sure the name isn’t offensive in another language/culture.)
• Trademark it as quickly as possible.
• Try to avoid acronyms or letter combinations as they are often confusing on the Internet search platforms.
• Make it easily pronounceable. (If you need to provide a phonetic version, it is wrong.)
• Try to use words that are familiar to your target audience.
We often point to the name of a predecessor company, Clay-Webster Associates, as a clever approach.
Named for Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, it was “vaguely familiar” to many potential consulting clients. Many thought the company was older than it was because they had “heard of it before.”
Above all, be comfortable with the name and learn to live with it a long time.

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A New Threat To Small Businesses By The IRS

Small businesses face a growing threat to their firms from the IRS.
The tax-gathering government arm is requiring small firms to turn over the entire transaction and management files during audits.
Put simply, the IRS wants firms under audit to provide full copies of their Intuit and other programs they use to manage their business affairs.
The IRS wants these files so that it can better examine the inner workings of companies and to see if expenses are properly allocated.
However, what this would do in reality is provide the IRS with customer lists and other sensitive information.
The IRS says it will keep such information secure and private but there are no guarantees.
Small business groups are up-in-arms about this requirement.
They point out, as the Wall Street Journal reported, that large companies have sophisticated programs that keep the data separate.
Smaller firms, who use Intuit and Peachtree software among others, do not have such luxury.
The two providers say they are looking at the problems, but right now, this newest IRS move may cause considerable heartache to smaller enterprises in the near term.
It is an issue that needs to be resolved quickly and no matter what happens, makes more work for smaller companies at a time when they are faced with numerous other problems.
Concerned managers should contact their management software provider to learn what they are doing about this matter.