You have the passion inside that drives you to start your business as soon as possible.

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Everything's ready: Who to hire, where to base the office, what to sell.

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But...

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You get stuck at a point.

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FINDING A NAME FOR YOUR BRAND.

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That's OK. We're all having this. This shows one thing: You are a creative person and you are aware of the importance of a strong brand name.

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And you're right: Your brand is like your baby, and it will live its life with the name you choose for it!

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But don't worry, you'll find the insights about how to pick the best name for your brand in this article.

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SUPER IMPORTANT ADVICE: First of all, silence the perfection monster inside. With its voice all the time in your head offering you millions of names, you can't end up with picking one.

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Here is an example screenshot of my "possible" names for Daçe Studio, when I was first founding:

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Here is a quick guide to help you in finding your brand name.

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A good brand name is

1. Distinctive

Does it stand out from the competitors?

One thing to avoid being generic is to invent your own word.

👍 — Google, Oreo, Kleenex

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A good brand name is

2. Simple & Brief

Keep it short up to 3 syllables to be more memorable.

👍 — Intel, Apple, Logi, Amazon

👎 — PricewaterhouseCoopers (it was awkwardly long, so it evolved into “PwC” as a nickname)

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A good brand name is

3. Easy to spell and pronounce

Does it pass the bar test? It should be easily understood when you talk about your brand at a crowded and noisy bar.

Or try your chance with Siri or Alexa. If she can't understand what you say, your customers will have a hard time doing so as well.

📢 ❓ 🥂 🍻 🎶

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A good brand name is

4. Harmonious with the local cultures

Avoid sounding inappropriate where your brand will work.

👎 — Ford launched a new car “Pinto” in Brazil, but didn’t realize that it means “small penis” in Brazilian Portuguese.

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A good brand name is

5. Extendable for “Brandplay”

Does it allow you to create endless opportunities to have your own language?

👍 — Twitter - tweets, tweeting, retweeting

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A good brand name is

6. Enduring

Will it still fit if your focus audience or products expands or changes?

👍 — “Apple Computers Inc.”, a super descriptive name on what they sold, changed its name to just “Apple” in 2007 to shift its emphasis from computers to consumer electronics.

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A good brand name is

7. Defensible

Can you own your brand name legally?

Can you find a suitable domain on the web?

Can it be trademarked easily?

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To summarize, a brand name is good if it is:

1. Distinctive

2. Simple

3. Easy to spell

4. Harmonious

5. Extendable

6. Enduring

7. Defensible

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The “name game” is not a random thing. It has a pattern in it. A psychology behind.

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Play the game carefully.

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Imagery:

Jess Bailey, Pexels.com

Heiner, Pexels.com

Pixabay, Pexels.com