How did you name your business????

SCBrins

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HELP! I am having such a hard time naming my business. I've come up with a bunch of names that in the end I can't use. My most recent name I am considering is Swaddled memories. I am focusing on Maternity, babies, kids and family....and I think it would be beneficial to have the name reflect that without SCREAMING it. What are your opinions?? What did you name your business and how did you come up with that name?
 
Don't lock yourself into a single type of photography with your name. Keep it vague incase you branch out,
 
To me "Swaddled Memories" is strictly a newborn photographer-- you don't swaddle maternity, older kids, or families, right?

I struggled with a name for a long time and in the end chose my own name. My clients hire me for MY eye, MY vision, and MY customer service. In the end, I am selling ME.
 
Anotheramateurmomwithacamera.com :er:

I came up with my business name after working as a professional photographer for 30 years and then switched from using my given names, to a different business name. I will be switching back to the original name next month.
 
From what I know your company name is not really important as to who you are and what your produce as a photographer. I see a great percentage of people using their own names to get recognition. I believe people feel a bond to the person rather than a company name. But If your well-known and your shots are on point, then which ever name will be irrelevant to people. Look at some of the biggest companies now-days and they have extremely odd names that have nothing to do with what they sell. Hope this helps good luck! :)
 
My first name is John, my business was photography.... ergo, John's Photography was born. Not terribly original I know, but it works. The issue I have with all of the names such as ".... memories" is that it doesn't clearly state what you do. When I'm looking for a business, I'm 99.9% more likely to choose "Bill's Plumbing" than I am "The Pipe Doctor" because in my mind, "Bill's Plumbing" tells me exactly what the service is, whereas with "The Pipe Doctor", is he a plumber, a drain-cleaner, a furnace-duct-installer, or what?
 
Have you even checked with local / state government on business licensing / incorporation to see if the names you want are available? Some do limit that as they don't want duplicate names (I have no idea about your area... but it is New York, right?)

And you will probably need that business license / ID when dealing with the IRS... Paying taxes is a good thing...

And you may want to check Domain Name availability, unless you are going to just use Facebook.

10 rules for picking a company name - Term Sheet

How to Name a Business | SBA.gov
 
Swaddled Memories is not used at all....Its completely free! And for some reason I don't really like the idea of using my name. I know I probably should, but I am just turned off. Maybe cause I'm not a fan of my name? And I don't feel that Stacy McGarry Photography flows off the tongue?? But, I also figured that any where the name of the business would be there is ALWAYS something else explaining it, even on google, if you look up Swaddled Memories, than below it would be a sentence or two that says, Maternity, newborn, kids, and families. I just feel that a business name should indicate what sort of photography you do, (and I really don't see me branching out to Weddings....I hate doing weddings LOL) without SCREAMING babies....and I thought that Swaddled Memories was specific enough, yet vague enough. I mean maybe the meaning behind it is that I am just keeping your Memories Safe...Doesn't have to specifically babies...right? UGH IDK, I think this is harder than naming my daughter!
 
Just start an LLC and then do DBA (doing business as) with whatever business name you came up with. That way you can change it easier in the future.
 
"Swaddled" sounds like "waddle", so I picture a big momma walking around with a new camera.
 
Look around the room. The first thing you see, add a random adjective in front of it, and then end the name with "photgraphy". Boom, instant name.
 
"Olive oil photography" does NOT work as a business name.
 
I cant even mention what MINE would be on a public forum...

"Omg why would someone take a photo of that because its disgusting and morally wrong Photography and video rental".

?
 
My first name is John, my business was photography.... ergo, John's Photography was born. Not terribly original I know, but it works. The issue I have with all of the names such as ".... memories" is that it doesn't clearly state what you do. When I'm looking for a business, I'm 99.9% more likely to choose "Bill's Plumbing" than I am "The Pipe Doctor" because in my mind, "Bill's Plumbing" tells me exactly what the service is, whereas with "The Pipe Doctor", is he a plumber, a drain-cleaner, a furnace-duct-installer, or what?


^This.
I asked myself two questions:
What's my name?
What do I DO?
And voila, Sharon Monett Photography was created.

Granted, I'm not "in business." But that is what I'll go with if and when I do officially go into business--actually, I'm reasonably certain that I will never become a Portrait Photographer of any sort, or a wedding photography, because that just doesn't even sound fun to me. But I probably WILL get a business license, etc at some point so that I can sell prints should I ever seem to have more than two people a year who want to purchase them. :D

It's simple and easy. No, it might not be "flashy" like the cutesy names, but I'm not flashy either. The type of photography issue can be dealt with by adding a tagline, "specializing in Bird Photography, macros and abstracts."

You mentioned that with Swaddled Memories, if you looked it up on Google, there would be a sentence or two below that would state what else you do. But the thing is, "Swaddled" for me screams newborn so loudly, I wouldn't ever bother to LOOK at the rest of the text to see that you also do families and maternity and kids. I'd just see "Swaddled" and I'd move on.
With your name, there's no way people would automatically associate any particular type of photography with it, and so THEN that sentence below saying what you actually DO becomes important.
 

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