Help Deciding on Names

[tracey louise]

Hi im still having trouble choosing a name for my home salon.ive thought of a few which are

nailicious
exquisite 10
polished to perfection

someone also suggested using my initials for something like t l c nails because of the different meanings i.e tender loving care= tracey louise cuticles but it doesnt sound right with the word nails after it.
if anyones got any suggestions then i would be really grateful as im really struggling with this.
thanks

 

[Tracyjayne]

I used my initials TJF nails as I have a private plate on my car so people would know it was me when I came to their house x

 

[Astarstyle]

Have you looked at the Verve site? Carl has started a 'Brand in a Box' service which might help x

verve design

 

[Lucybluebell]

I'm in the same boat...really struggling!!! Was thinking of maybe using my street name? Or my name?

 

['chelle]

I'm struggling with my business name too. I've been trading as "Michelle's" while I make my mind up, but actually I think "Michelle's" is catching on. Its not the most creative or exciting name, but people can relate to me, it sounds personal, and I only ever intend to be a sole trader so it;ll always be relevant. I think you can over do it with your business name, you just need it to be clear and relevant, sometimes I hear peoples business names and they've tried to be clever but it just ends up being cringeworthy!! I think all the names you have suggested sound nice, go with the one you think has the nicest ring to it.

 

[CrunchBunch]

Have you looked at the Verve site? Carl has started a 'Brand in a Box' service which might help x

verve design

I'd second this, some of the designs are great x

 

[Only-me]

Hmm sorry I can only think of
Tre Lou x

 

[ella1991]

Ditto also struggling with a name.

I've had a few good ideas but when I go to look for the relevant web domain (I feel in this day and age you need a web page, even a basic one, to spread the word) they are already taken. But I like the suggestion of initials as that may be more easier to secure a web site - thanks

 

[Verve Designs]

thanks guys I'm quite pleased with that idea I had!

Ella- Don't worry too much about the domain name when you're choosing your business name. Your trading name and "brand" is vastly more important than securing a domain (and 99.9% of one-worded names have been snaffled years ago)

You're absolutely right about needed a website- but your domain name is going to make very little difference in people finding you on the web- it makes no differnce to your search engineering, and in most cases they'll be visiting your site via other marketing methods (i.e. you'll send them a leaflet or give them a business card with your URL on it) or be finding you via a Google search where your domain name doesn't matter anyway!

Once you've chosen a name you can easily "tack on" words to make it more possible to secure a decent URL.

For example- if you chose the name "Blossom" for your business you could have (and these are one's I've not checked- but its just a thought!)

Blossomswindon.co.uk
Blossombeauty.co.uk
yourblossom.co.uk
Blossomontheweb.co.uk

.......you get the picture. You can "insert" your business name into a phrase- which still makes it snappy to remember, and frees up your core choice of business name which makes it too restrictive to what's currently available.

 

[Teebster]

If you are going to have a website what I have noticed works the best but is too late for me is the name of your city/town followed by nail tech. eg windsor nail tech. It seems to bring you up on every search in my city. Not very glam, but effective and to the point x

 

[tracey louise]

My initials are T L F and my sister came up with T L F Nails for the t l f to stand for Ten Little Fingers so it would b ten little finger nails aswell as meaning my initials aswell.
What do you all think of that or do you think its to much?

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[tracey louise]

I'm just bumping this up since I haven't had any comments on my possible name yet,please tell me what you think? X

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[Verve Designs]

I dont like it. It's a little over-thought. Why does it matter if it's your initials as well? How would a client know that?

Don't forget that a business name is a sales tool- not a vanity project.

At a glance TLF wouldnt really mean much- and sounds like a boring insurance company name.

Ten Little Fingers, however, is MUCH better. But don't use the initials IMO.

It's half seven in the morning- so let me off being negative

 

[PixieBeauty]

Hi hon,
It's personal preference (and I found I couldn't ever come up with a name everyone liked) but I personally don't like initials OR treatment words in names. I think it's far better to have a name that sounds like a brand to me, so perhaps hinting at what you do (your original ideas were more my preference) rather than straight up "I do nails" or something so abstract it doesn't even give away that you're in the beauty sector.

So I would go back to the first names you had, personally, and work on those.

I'm sure others will be along with opinions xx

 

[tracey louise]

Thanks for the replies.I understand what you mean but I feel like in getting mixed reviews here as I was told to make it personal to me incase in the future I decided to open a salon.
I wanted it to be unique & different to everyone else.
I did quite like The Nail Room or VIP Nails but I was told by my family that it was just boring.
Otherwise its going down the route of something like Exquisite then write underneath in small writing nails by Tracey?

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[PixieBeauty]

It's difficult hon as I say I simply couldn't come up with something everyone liked at all, so decided after a process of elimination to go for it. Unfortunately what you'll get here is a hundred different opinions.

I opted for a main brand name with some personalisation so went for Polished...by Jessica. Ok, it's not going to redefine marketing as we know it but for me it got the balance right.

To counter the fact that you a going to always get naysayers, why don't you sit & write a list of things your name MUST be, then when contenders come along you can check off if you've met your own brief?

Eg must have my name, must represent xyz values, must appeal to xyz audience, must not contain xyz whatever. That will help you to eventually focus xxx

 

[Verve Designs]

A business name is important- but it's not the be-all-and-end all.

I say take the plunge- commit to something simple (you're never going to find a name that everyone likes). Then build a strong good-looking brand around that name. Take a look around at succesful brands- Virgin, Apple, Google, Adidas....all short snappy names. Shorter names are more memorable and more functional. Logos, signage and advertising in general are all easier to work with short business names.

Once you're up and running make that name stand for something, rather than coming up with the name and hoping people make that connection themselves. Have your name (whatever it is) mean "oh yeah, that place, they're really good".

Once you have that sort of connotation to your business name- it really doesn't matter what the name itself is.

 

[tracey louise]

Thanks for the advice.
I think doing a list of what I want it to include,mean etc.. may help so I will give that ago.
I also do prefer a shorter name & I understand what you're saying about picking a name & making it a reputable brand.at the end of the day its down to me & my work to.give it a good reputation whatever name I decide on.
I will go back to the drawing board & report back.thanks again.xx

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[Blue Rose]

Trying to come up with a name is soooo hard & you will always get people who love it & those that don't.

Instead of playing around with your initials, have you tried playing about with your surname or middle name? That's what I did when I re-branded my salon from Looks Beautiful to Cognito which is a play on my surname (Cogin). There's more to the story than that but that's the general gist anyway, lol.

There's no rule that says it has to have what you are/do in the business name. You can quite easily have this underneath your name orr in a tagline.

Looking waaay further down the line, if you make your business too personal & too much about you, that could have an impact if you would ever want to sell the business...