Business naming question...

[richerimage]

I would go with a ficticious name. For the reason mentioned before, you have scope to grow and employ photographers (this may be the furthest thing on your mind right now but why close a potential door in the future) and even though you may vet them thoroghly would you really want them taking photos under your name? If your brand goes mre commercial you then have the option of producing your own 'artistic' material under your own name. Just a thought! good luck!

[candleman]

Originally Posted by private

Thats a good point - how do you find out if its legally taken

i'm not too sure about in the USA.. in NZ i just searched under our Tax departments website for "business registry" and i found a list of all regisered businesses this means its all "registered" business names, whether operational or not.

[CactusTri]

Is xyz name already being used?

- Google
- Do a whois search (you can use godaddy.com for this)
- Chamber of Commerce or Secretary of State for your area

Are a few good places to start looking.

And I think a photography studio can succeed by using your own name as well as coming up with a business name.

[steelese]

So I posted this in a similar discussion and I think it is work posting again.

So here are the things I learned from the degree in marketing.

If your name stands out too much it can be distracting. It is logically a Red Herring that you notice at first, but since it has no real reference to the business you may forget it.

Different is good though. All I see is for photography studio names are photography by (first name), or (last name) Photography. This works in some cases, and as an artist it appeals to my ego, but I know that if I did this, it would blend in with everyone else.

Here is a case study. GOOGLE. The name is simple. Frankly, it doesn't stand out all that much, but it seems different. We are familiarish with the term. It is vaguely mathematical or techy. So it works with the company. The name sticks in our head because of all the associations.

The other thing we like is similar sounds. When sounds are similar we remember the better. GOOGLE does this. The G sound at the beginning of each syllable gives us repetition of sounds and we like that as humans. BlackBerry does the same thing.

That brings us to the last item I'd like to talk about. Brevity and punchyness of sounds. The BlackBerry was originally going to be named the StrawBerry because the buttons looked like seeds on a strawberry. The marketing department thought better. The sound Straw is a long and arching sound. When you say it your inflection goes up on the 'st' and down on the 'raw'. This is too long to remember. Black inflects at the beginning and decrescendos from there. It is also much shorter.

So these are the main tools we are taught in marketing. You can choose to use one or all of them. Oh and just so I remember, plays on words aren't too good either. It's the red herring effect we talked about earlier.

Then again, there are lots of successes that break every rule in the book. Though, not everyone can be the exception, and don't fool yourself into thinking you are.

[CactusTri]

Originally Posted by steelese

So here are the things I learned from the degree in marketing.

If your name stands out too much it can be distracting. It is logically a Red Herring that you notice at first, but since it has no real reference to the business you may forget it.

Thanks for sharing!

Is there a good way to tell if it is a distinctive name (a good thing) or a distracting name (potentially a bad thing)? Or just like looking at a picture and identifying anything that "looks wrong" (or in the case of a name, sounds wrong)?

And, if Google had not become the raging success that it is, would it be on the list of examples of a bad name for marketing? Olan Mills Portrait Studios was simply named and is now very successful. The probably would be just as successful if they original studio had been called "Get Yer Pictures Here" and provided a high quality product.

And I would be willing to ask if my new name stands out too much or has any other marketing flaws?

Flowing Desert Photography

[FGPhotography]

Ok, so that being read:

What if (like me) one's named their photography business after themselves, can that name be changed later if other's have been hired under them? I just found my name flowed so well (note signature) that I couldn't pass it up. What's your opinion/thoughts on that?

(Sorry OP for jumping in there lol I'd answer you, but as you can tell I have similar questions )

Originally Posted by candleman

the name i'm going with for my work is not my personal name.

EG. SnappyDude Photography

if you name it after yourself, there is no room for growth.
EG hiring other shooters if the business grows, because everyone is asking for you in person.