Читать книгу Start & Run a Landscaping Business - Joel LaRusic - Страница 8

Many expectant parents spend hours choosing the right name for their baby. They know it is a name that will be with them for a long time and will be used many times each day. Your new lawn care business is much the same. It’s your baby. What will you call it?

My own experience illustrates the importance of the business name. When I started out, I came up with the name Dirty Deeds Landscaping. It was catchy, and I received positive comments daily. It was not until a few years later that I realized how this name was working against me. Think about it: If you wanted to hire someone to come in and beautify your lawn and garden, who would you call first? Dirty Deeds or a company named something like Beautiful Lawns? On the other hand, if it is June, you have not cut your lawn yet, and your dog has been doing his business in the long grass, who will you call to give it that first cut? In that case, Dirty Deeds probably sounds just right. Dirty Deeds served me well for the first couple of years, when I was willing to take almost any job that came along, and I did get a lot of calls. Later, when I could be choosier about my work and had moved on to a narrower market, it required a lot of marketing to convince the public that the company was all about beautifying.

The moral of the story? Choose a name that represents what you want to do. And don’t forget about resale value in case you ever want to sell your business. A name like Johnny’s Lawn Care will work against you if your potential buyer is not named Johnny.

You should register your business name with the government department that handles business registration in your jurisdiction. Note that in many areas, registering your name does not secure it, but it does let you know if there is a company with a similar name operating in the area. To secure the name and prevent others from using it, you often must incorporate (see section 2.3). Check with the government department for the rules in your area.