Small Business Blog

(c) 2009 Marcia Yudkin

“Your business name must be bold.” Look around the Internet,
and you’ll often find this advice. Your business name must grab
people’s attention. Sometimes this is a valid guideline,
especially if you are in the entertainment, gadget or fashion
industries. Too often, however, I see this rule lead business
owners to strain for an unusual name, just for the sake of
attention. And the very unusualness of the name then becomes a
serious liability.

More ordinary names can sometimes work out much better than
far-fetched ones. Here are two examples of this phenomenon.

When Susan Friedmann of Lake Placid, New York went out on her
own, she christened her new company Diadem Communications.
“Diadem means crown – a fitting name for what I felt was a
crowning achievement,” she recalls. (continue reading…)