Small Business Focus: The business behind a name | ARLnow.com

This column is sponsored by BizLaunch, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

Undoubtedly, one of the most essential parts of a business is its brand name. It’s how customers recognize businesses; it’s communicated in a business’s marketing material, and it’s one way businesses can differentiate themselves from the competition.

In this week’s Small Business Focus, we will discuss how businesses can protect their name and things to look out for when selecting a brand name for your startup.

When thinking of a brand name for your business, the elements that make a business’s name successful should:

• Be easy to pronounce
• Be easy to spell
• Convey some sense of what the business does

Once you develop a successful name that follows those three rules, you’ll want to ensure that creative minds don’t think alike and that another business isn’t using your name.

1. First, you’ll want to ensure another company hasn’t already registered the name. In Virginia, you can use the Virginia SCC’s Name Check Availability to quickly search if your business name is available. Simply enter your name, and if it’s available, you can register it. Seems simple enough, right? While that’s a good start, you’re not quite done. Since we live in a tri-state area, we would also encourage startups to check D.C. and Maryland records to see if that name is being used by one of our neighbors across the river.
2. Second, search your name on the internet using Google and on social media sites such as Instagram or Facebook. For one, you’ll want to know what your business name is associated with on the internet, and you’ll find out if someone is using that name or a name like your business. We’ve had some clients skip this step only to realize that unsavory images appear when they Google their business name.
3. Finally, check to ensure that another business doesn’t have a trademarked of your business name. A trademark is intellectual property that protects other businesses, national and international, from using your name. You can search trademarks by going to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s website using the Trademark Search System.

Once you’ve done your due diligence and your name is available, then it’s good to use for your business. However, if a name is already registered or similar to a trademarked brand, you might want to consider using a different name to avoid confusion with your customers and potential lawsuits.

When starting a business, there is so much to think about, from deciding on the right name to complying with regulations to marketing and sales. BizLaunch is your one-stop shop for all things starting and running a small business. To learn more, visit us at www.bizlaunch.org or schedule a one-on-one consultation today.