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The Write Touch … Write for Business … The Write Words … The Right Writer … Writing that’s Right … No doubt you’ve seen names like these before, especially among freelance writers, copywriters, and business writers. There is nothing wrong with creating a business name that plays on the curious fact that “right” is pronounced the same as “write.” It has just been overdone.

Coming up with a creative, unique business name is difficult. In fact, some corporations and start-ups pay consultants tens of thousands of dollars to do just that. I recently read an article about a firm that charges $100,000 to find a name for a corporation. One name!

I’ve had a long adventure with business names over the years. One of my earlier creations was word/vision. The perfect name; I’m a genius, I thought. Until one day I was networking at a trade show and everyone thought I worked for WorldVision Canada, a well-known charity.

Then I got it into my head that calling myself a “copywriter” was too uninspired. So I adopted the title of “Promotional Writer” and included it on all my letterhead and business cards. Brilliant, I thought. I’ll stand out from the crowd. And I certainly did. Within weeks I had received inquiries ranging from someone wanting me to run an employee incentive program, to an auto dealer asking if I could rent him a large floating gorilla for a weekend sales blitz he was planning. (I had no idea how he connected Promotional Writer to promotional balloons. And I didn’t care. I dropped the name.)

For a couple of years, I was known by the business name, “The Writing Project.” Not bad as names go, but I was never comfortable with it. It didn’t sound like me and it created confusion. Some people thought I offered writing seminars. Others commented that the name sounded like academia, not business. So eventually, I began to market my services simply as “Steve Slaunwhite, Copywriting/ Consulting.”

The funny thing is, once I began to market my services under my own name, my business improved. I discovered that agency executives and corporate marketing professionals were far more interested in Steve Slaunwhite the copywriter than the business name I used. In fact, when I hid behind a business name, I would sometimes get confused for a mortar-and-brick type business, not the independent professional most clients were interested in hiring. So Steve Slaunwhite, Copywriting/Consulting it was and has remained.

If you do decide to use a business name — rather than your name — expect that name to change as your business evolves. I know very few self-employed professionals who have kept the same business name they started with. You may find within a few years that your business has gone down an unexpected road, and the business name you are using isn’t appropriate anymore. You might want to think about this before you invest in your initial supply of business cards and letterhead. (I still have reams of The Writing Project stationery, and use it for scrap paper.)