AB: All-Round Nice Guy

Let’s start at the very beginning (a very good place to start) - when you start a business, you get a one-time opportunity to choose a name for your venture - something that will make a really positive statement about your business the very instant it is seen or heard. A chance to impress…

…well, that’s the plan, but in many cases, choosing a name for your business is a little more haphazard, and often results in something a little less than inspiring.

Even if you’re already committed to your business name, keep the following methodologies and resources handy, so that when that day dawns when you have the opportunity for a do-over, you’ll be fully prepared.

Ready? Let’s go shopping!

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First things first - when will you launch your web site?

No, this is not a trick question. Yes, it *is* vital to answer this question first. The first problem you may strike if you choose your business name before choosing a name for your web site, is that the obvious domain name (web site address) for your business is already long gone, leaving you with a horribly long domain name that is both hard to write, and even harder to remember.

If you think you’ll never need a web site, please consider this: even though *you* may not use such a tool, your customers may well choose to do so - and more will use such a tool each and every year from here to eternity.

If you’re an online-only business, then it goes without saying that having a good domain name is the most critical part of choosing a business name - but even if you’re a traditional bricks & mortar business, then there are opportunities for using a web site for business purposes, least of all for a ‘yellow pages’ type ad for a fraction of the cost, and with infinitely more information.

It’s far easier to find an available business name than it is to find an available domain name - and it will only get harder and harder over time.

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THE PROCESS

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Step One: Think of a name!

Put on your thinking cap, and start working up possible words and phrases that describe your business. Ultimately, the best names are the ones that are the most memorable.

There’s a wide spectrum of ‘types’ of names to think of: the two extreme types of names are 1) the what-you-read-is-what-you-get kind, like Bill & Bob’s Plumbing Supplies or the National Australia Bank - or 2) the names with no relationship at all to their usage, but are simply ‘good names’ that are memorable - for example, Yahoo, Apple or Crown.

The benefit of a ‘concrete’ name is that the customer instantly knows what that business does whenever they see that name - it’s instant marketing power. But the detriment is that if your business ever changes focus, you’re left with a name that keeps you bound to the old ways. Some businesses get around this by moving old words in their name to an acronym, then tack on new words to refresh their image.

On the other hand, names that are simply memorable, yet have no direct link to the business itself give greater freedom for future expansions, yet have to have a lot of marketing to be able to link the name with the business in the mind of their customers.

The types of names in between these extremes are much more fun - you can often find a sweet spot where your name is linkable to what you do, but also off-the-wall enough to be memorable, and not tie you to that product or service forever.

Just quickly, some good suggestions are:
- Common phrases or lingo that reflect what you do, sometimes by a tenuous link or pun. Eg: Ribs on the Run, High & Mighty, or any hairdresser’s business name, come to think of it!
- Mangled words: when two words or concepts are forced together. Telstra, Microsoft, and many others use this treatment.

Some BAD suggestions are:
- Mispelled [sic] words. Don’t go there - please - it’ll only cause confusion when you have to repeatedly spell out your name - more so if a competitor has a similar, yet correctly spelt name!

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Step Two: See if there is a domain name available

If you’re only going to stay within Australia, then a .com.au domain name is the first and only choice. There are .net.au and .biz and .au.com options, but they’re not the ones that your customers might try on any first or second guess at your domain name. (Furthermore, if the .com.au is gone, it’s most likely that a competitor has already taken it!)

For .com.au domains names, the cheapest and safest place to go is NetRegistry.com.au - they offer domains for 2 years for $45 (and if you ask nicely, I can get you a further 35% off that). Melbourne IT offers the same service, but at $140 for two years. Other Australian domain name providers might be reselling these two main services, but since these folks both have freecall phone support, they’re the best choice is anything goes ‘ping’ in a technical sense.

In any case, simply type in the domain name you’re thinking of, and see if it’s available, or already taken. Don’t begin to commit just yet, we’ll need to register our business name first, then come back here with our new ARBN.

If you’re looking to go international, or to help protect/brand your business name, then a .com domain name is the most pertinent solution - unfortunately, there’s also no limit on who can own what name, so it’s first come, first served. That means that you have to be truly creative to find a domain name that no-one else in the whole world has ever thought of. It’s achievable, and a good test of your thought processes. If it’s available as a .com. then it’ll almost certainly be available as a .com.au.

A *great* resource for finding out if a .com is available is instantdomainsearch.com - it finds out the availability in real time, as you type. But by all means, head back to someone like netregistry.com.au to register - there are cheaper .com domain sellers, but some can be dodgy. I’ve had some fun with one or two of them before, and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.

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Step Three: See if the business name is available

OK - you’ve found a domain to match your thinking - now what? Well, in Australia, we need to register that name as a business name. The Office of Smalll Business does that, with either a personal visit or an online form - BUT - you’ve got to do your homework first.

First head to asic.gov.au. This is a wonderful guide to all registered and deregistered company and business names in Australia.

In summary (I’m running out of room here!) you have to search for a name that is 1) not the same as a registered company name (since they have national coverage), nor 2) the same as a registered business name *in your state*.

That being said, you *can* choose the same name as a business name in *another* state, but a) they might go legal if you willingly or unwillingly take business away from them or b) there’s a high chance that the other business already has the .com.au domain name - see? there’s a method to my madness - scope out the domain name *first*…

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Step Four: Lather, rinse, repeat

And that’s about it - it’s an iterative process - highly creative, but bound by lots of rules and lots of regulations. There is a lot of fun to be had in thinking of alternatives, and going off on wild tangents - and those tangents often lead to weirder, yet better business names. You’ve been warned!

AB out