Freelancers: How'd you pick your company name?

Nov 03, 2014

David Anderson
By David Anderson

Hey folks!

Talked to a few folks last week @DevLearn who were interested in starting their own consulting company. One question that came up a couple times was around choosing a company name.

Do you go with your personal name or a business name? Do you have a preference? How'd you come up with your name?

Awesome

129 Replies
Rebecca Fleisch Cordeiro
over 9 years ago11/06/14 at 7:57 pm (UTC)

Hi All,

Tim, LOVE the "who would you hire image" ;) You always know how to capture things.

Jerson, my hand is definitely up with the mix and match attire for Skype client meetings ;) Also, a  note on these:

Stewardess = Airline Attendant
Secretary = Administrative Assistant
Bartender = Bar Chef/Mixologist

I'm old enough to remember that these name changes  had as much to do with eliminating sexist stereotypes - especially as men and women were moving into jobs that had previously "belonged" to the other sex - as with professionalism.

Bruce, I love that Dilbert cartoon. Scott Adams is a master

Melissa, I'm not much of a TV watcher (I read while my hubby watches ;)), but tx for sharing. That was TOO funny.

Steven Hornak
over 9 years ago11/17/14 at 2:50 pm (UTC)

Having an interest in the law I have come to understand that choosing a corporate name that incorporates your personal name is a bad idea. Here is why:

There are two reasons to incorporate as a company (entity) as apposed to just having a client write you a check.

  1. The first is expenses. It is much easier to write off expenses to a company that personally. 
  2. But the second has to do with protections. If something ever goes wrong with a project (no it does not happen often in our industry) and I mean really wrong there is less of a differentiation between you and the corporate entity. 

This second reason can make a confusion if a law suit was ever files. They could sue you personally instead of "John Doe, Inc.". While a suit against you with proper contracts in place (Not having proper contracts is a whole different case) would most likely get thrown out but  it would at the least cost you for the additional suit and at the most the other party can show that there was no differentiation between you and the corporate entity. This is called Piercing the Corporate Shield and it can cost you big.

So to answer the actual question I my partner and I chose Collabor8 Learning, LLC. This points to the ability to collaborate with a client. It is also a nod to social learning systems that we offer to clients.  

Hope that helps.

Note, I am not a Lawyer but I did develop a few legal courses.

Thank you,

Steven Hornak

Collabor8 Learning 

Patrick Gurczynski
over 9 years ago12/08/14 at 6:14 pm (UTC)

What's in a name, right? It's amazing how big of a decision this is at such an early part of the process. If it goes well, you're set. If not, it can be a costly mistake to recover from. It's a delicate balance between something you will be proud of, but will also speak to potential clients. While I love my company name (Forerunner Development), it sort of landed between genius and not so much.

I originally wanted to go with G26 Productions (last initial, baseball number), but soon learned that G26 is short for "Glock 26" (a handgun).

I am a HUGE Halo fan, and the Forerunners play an intricate part in the mythology. However, it's also a very popular make of vehicle by Toyota. So while my fellow Halo enthusiasts may tip their cap, most people ask me if I'm some sort of mechanic. Not great.

Still, I love my company name. I look forward to building my brand. When I see it next to my logo or on my invoice, it gets me excited about what I do. It's mine, and it's unique.

Bruce Graham
over 9 years ago12/10/14 at 7:38 am (UTC)

Something that someone once suggested to me was that if you want to build a brand, then having the company linked to your name is a limiting factor, because you, rather than your vision, your company products etc. become the product per se.

Perhaps there are different name types depending on what image/type of company/aspirations you want to portray? Perhaps different types of name can help/hinder depending on exacttly what you are trying to achieve?

Pamela Almand
over 9 years ago01/08/15 at 5:40 pm (UTC)

I'm an ELearning narrator...and ex-747 captain for Northwest Airlines... hence, "The Captain's Voice". It is a shameless utilization of my previous career as a female airline pilot, using the rationale that unusual=memorable! And my lower-pitched "captain's voice" is calming and friendly as well as confident and professional.

 

 

john faulkes
over 9 years ago01/08/15 at 5:48 pm (UTC)

Technically most of us who are independent deliver commissioned works rather than 'products' ; we are in the service business and the most important driver of that is Trust. A client will typically know you by name and reputation, so in a sense they don't care over much what you call your business, as long as it doesn't distract (you wouldn't want to go to a client as representing the eLearning department of Joe's Bathroom Fittings).

If you do alight on a great name, though, fine. You can be energised by it and promote it. Just make sure it doesn't constrain you too much - future client requirement may well take you into new and as yet unpredicted areas of work. if in doubt, using just your name is fine, and it's also less likely that someone else has already thought of it!

Daniel Adeboye
over 9 years ago01/08/15 at 9:43 pm (UTC)

Awesome thread, took the time to read through and it's a great resource for starting out...

This has sent me thinking about the issues of naming and it's importance; preferences of people, and the various effects or likely effects on the business. This would become very needed at the time of decision making...

Thanks all for sharing your personal stories!  

Judy Nollet
over 9 years ago01/08/15 at 10:02 pm (UTC)

I started freelancing back when admin assistants (aka secretaries) answered phones. When I'd ask to speak with a specific person, they'd ask me what company I was with. When I said it was just me, it usually turned out that the someone I wanted to speak to wasn't available. But once I could say "I'm with White Plume Communications," they'd put me through...

Why White Plume? It has to do with Cyrano de Bergerac. You can find out more at my site:

http://www.whiteplumecommunications.com/page-aboutPlume.html 

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