So, you’ve decided to strike it out on your own instead of being in someone else’s employ. Congratulations! This will be the start of an exciting journey that will be fraught with peril but will come with its own rewards as well. And right before you even register your company, one of the most frightening things you will have to do is decide on the name of your company.
Your company’s name is the first thing that your potential customers will see, and it is one of the things that will leave a deep impression in their memories. You want to choose a name that connects the imagery that people have when they hear that name to the product and service that you are providing. Another thing to consider is whether the name rolls of the tongue nicely. You're going to want people to talk about your company to their friends and family, and it will be easier for them to do so if it's easy to pronounce the name of your company.
Emails and websites have become an essential part of any company in today’s digital age. In addition, people often choose to have their company names incorporated into their emails and website addresses. Thus, you would want to make sure that the name you are registering with the authorities is also available for you on the World Wide Web.
To check if the name for your business is available for your use, you will have to check with the local authorities of whatever country you are establishing your business in. For those starting their business in Singapore, simply head over to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) website at www.acra.gov.sg and do a search in the Directory of Registered Entities for the name that you have in mind. If the name that you have chosen is available, then you're golden and ready for the next step!
Your company’s name is the first thing that your potential customers will see, and it is one of the things that will leave a deep impression in their memories. You want to choose a name that connects the imagery that people have when they hear that name to the product and service that you are providing. Another thing to consider is whether the name rolls of the tongue nicely. You're going to want people to talk about your company to their friends and family, and it will be easier for them to do so if it's easy to pronounce the name of your company.
Emails and websites have become an essential part of any company in today’s digital age. In addition, people often choose to have their company names incorporated into their emails and website addresses. Thus, you would want to make sure that the name you are registering with the authorities is also available for you on the World Wide Web.
To check if the name for your business is available for your use, you will have to check with the local authorities of whatever country you are establishing your business in. For those starting their business in Singapore, simply head over to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) website at www.acra.gov.sg and do a search in the Directory of Registered Entities for the name that you have in mind. If the name that you have chosen is available, then you're golden and ready for the next step!
For the Internet portion of your name-choosing activity, head on over to www.whois.domaintools to do a quick search if your chosen name is still available. In today’s world, it is vitally important to establish your own presence on the Internet. Just think about it, when you hear someone mention something that you are not familiar with, what is your first impulse? To go and search for answers on the Internet using the various search engines. While there are some companies which allow you to set up your own website for free, this usually entails including the hosting company’s name as part of your website domain name e.g. www.mycompany.hostingcompany.com From a branding perspective, this is not an ideal situation, as you want the customer’s focus to be on your company.
Unfortunately, I have not found a free solution to this problem, but you can take heart in the fact that the solution is not expensive either. You can simply register your own domain name with a company such as GoDaddy.com, with prices usually in the neighbourhood of US$10 per year. Once you have registered your own domain name, you can then set up your email to read CEO@mycompany.com We will be covering this in a later topic about setting up your email.
Now, some of you might be tempted to pick a domain name which indicates your country of origin. For example, as I am based in Singapore, I might want my domain name to be: mycompany.com.sg. While this is possible, I do not advise it. The reason being that
Unfortunately, I have not found a free solution to this problem, but you can take heart in the fact that the solution is not expensive either. You can simply register your own domain name with a company such as GoDaddy.com, with prices usually in the neighbourhood of US$10 per year. Once you have registered your own domain name, you can then set up your email to read CEO@mycompany.com We will be covering this in a later topic about setting up your email.
Now, some of you might be tempted to pick a domain name which indicates your country of origin. For example, as I am based in Singapore, I might want my domain name to be: mycompany.com.sg. While this is possible, I do not advise it. The reason being that
- there are only a few companies which can register domain names which are country specific,
- the annual fee is usually higher than if you went with a plain .com,
- web hosting companies might not be familiar with the country specific extension, leading to some technical difficulties
Therefore, my recommendation is that, unless it is absolutely necessary to have a country-specific extension, go with a plain .com, .org, .net, etc.
So, these are my thoughts so far on choosing a company name. I would like to hear what are your thoughts about selecting the name that you intend to immortalize in the annals of business. Have you encountered any problems when trying to register a
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