Best Guide to Help Graduate Entrepreneur Name Their Business

From Google, founded by two Ph.D. students, Larry and Sergey, to Zuckerberg's Facebook, founded at Harvard, to FedEx, founded by Frederick Smith of Yale University, it is clear that universities and colleges have always been great foundations for any diligent person wishing to start their own businesses.

When starting a business—besides the fact that most graduates struggle to develop the necessary entrepreneurial skills—one thing we've found at Squadhelp is that they struggle to pick a memorable brand name.

And that’s what this article today would be targeting. Let’s dive in.

Steps to help any business find the best business name

Discover and build your Startup's brand

The image of your brand, goods, and services is the most important element of your business because it affects how people see and engage with your company. And a business name tells customers a lot about your brand.

Consider the retail business, Amazon. What sensations does the word evoke? It conveys creativity, professionalism, and a massive reach. And you can see how well it aligns with the business's brand.

Therefore, your brand should be your primary consideration while naming your business. How it should seem, its ideals, tone, and the feelings it should evoke in customers should mirror and express your company's brand perfectly.

With your brand in mind, start a brainstorming session and focus on finding as many names as possible. Prioritize quantity before quality, and don’t fall into the trap of evaluating the words you come up with or writing off potentially good names that didn’t feel right to you.

Use the following naming tools to fast-track the process:

Thesaurus
Visual names associated with color components
company names for sale
Slang in the industry you're entering
Rhymes

Remember, only end your brainstorming session after coming up with at least 200 words that are simple, short, and engaging words. It doesn't matter whether the words are evocative, bizarre, or abstract; you won't know their real potential unless you review them.

Compiling as many names as you find while brainstorming will provide you with a diverse set of possible business names to explore as we go on to the next phase of reviewing them.

Review your names

If you remove personal bias, you should have 200 or more names with equal chances of representing your startup. But that’s far too much. So in this final stage, you would select the most suitable one that truly reflects your company.

Verifying your chosen business name is the simplest method of determining whether it is an excellent fit for your company.

To choose the best name for your company, make sure your top choice meets some basic requirements.

Begin by:

Seeking Customer Feedback: This is the most important test since it will tell whether or not the name will capture the interest of your potential customers. Make a list of your greatest names and invite your audience to vote for their favorite. You may also get unbiased feedback from close friends from college, neighbors, or even perfect strangers.
Verifying that it has an available '.com' domain: Businesses with original names cannot thrive in the competitive industry unless they have a related domain name and a great website. Make sure that any name you are considering has a '.com' domain name and an available social media profile.
Trademarking: By protecting your business name with a trademark registered with the USPTO, you can avoid so many problems later on. This is because a large number of common words have some form of trademark protection, and reusing them might result in legal consequences.

As a new entrepreneur, the trademark registration procedure can be difficult and time-consuming. So don't put off acquiring the help of a competent trademark attorney.

Conclusion

Your startup's name is a vital asset that will allow it to outshine its competitors in terms of revenue, productivity, and recognition. If you want to attract new customers quickly, you must create a brand name that accurately expresses the essence of your startup's identity.