- [Narrator] Coming up with a business name
is one of the most important steps
in forming a business.
Your name affects your branding
and your image as a company.
Let's get you started on the right path
to picking a solid business name in Indiana.
Indiana is an excellent place to form a new business,
ranking number in ease of doing business
in the country.
Every state has slightly different requirements
for naming a business.
Follow along closely to learn the required steps
for naming your business in the state of Indiana.
In this video we will go over,
How to name your business
based on your business structure.
Branding and brainstorming business names,
and how to check your names availability.
Be sure to ask yourself the seven essential
questions we provide
before you make this critical business decision.
(gentle music)
One, choose a business structure.
You'll need to determine your company's
business structure before deciding a name,
as different business structures
have different naming requirements.
There are Formal Business Structures
like LLC's and Corporations,
and Informal Business Structures
like Sole Proprietorships and General Partnerships.
In this first section,
we'll talk about the naming requirements of each.
Informal Business Structures.
If you are operating under a Sole Proprietorship
your company must operate under the surname
of the owner.
In order to use a different name,
the owner must file a DBA,
or Doing Business As,
also known as an Assumed Name,
Fictitious Name, or Trade Name.
General Partnerships are similar
to Sole Proprietorships,
with the difference being that partnerships
consist of two or more people.
A General Partnerships name
must consist of the surnames of all of the partners.
Like a Sole Proprietorship,
if you want to operate under a different name,
you need to file for a DBA.
LLC, or Limited Liability Companies.
If your company is an LLC,
your name must include the phrase
Limited Liability Company,
or one of it's abbreviations, LLC or L.L.C.
with a period in between each letter.
Restricted words such as attorney, law office, etc,
may require additional paperwork
and may also need a licensed professional
to be a part of the LLC.
Your name cannot include words
that could confuse your LLC
with a government agency,
such as FBI, Treasury, or State Department.
Here are some state specific requirements
for Indiana LLC's.
You must have approval from the Indiana
Department of Financial Institutions
to use the word bank, or any variation,
in your LLC's name.
Corporations, if your business is a corporation,
or a C Corp,
your name must include the words corporation,
company, incorporated, limited,
or an abbreviation of any of these.
Here are some state specific requirements
for Indiana corporations.
If your company is a professional corporation,
it must contain the words
Professional Service Corporation,
or Professional Corporation,
or abbreviations of these words.
Only a professional corporation
in which all shareholders are licensed physicians
may use the term medical
in its corporate name.
When choosing your business structure
you may hear the term S-Corp,
which isn't actually a business structure,
but a type of tax structure
used by an LLC, or corporation.
If your business is taxed as an S-Corp,
follow Indiana's naming requirements
for the business structure you chose.
For all business structures,
your name must be distinguishable
from other existing businesses in Indiana.
A couple examples of names
not being distinguishable would be
Auto Store Inc. versus Auto Store LLC.
The only difference in the name
is a business structure.
Changing the words
the, an, or a, in front of your business name
does not make it distinguishable.
For example, The Auto Store Inc.,
Auto Store Inc. and An Auto Store Inc.
are not distinguishable from each other.
Using an ampersand instead of and,
or vice versa,
such as Smith and Smith,
is not different enough from Smith and Smith
using an ampersand.
Your business name can't have words
that sound identical to another business
with a different spelling.
Boys Inc. with an s
and Boyz Inc. with a z,
are not distinguishable.
Two, Branding and Brainstorming.
When picking your business name
you'll also want to consider
whether your legal business name
will be your brand name,
or if you will have separate brand name.
Your legal name is what is listed
on your formation documents,
this includes words required
based on your business structure
such as LLC, Corp, or Company.
Your brand name is the name you use
to market your company
and the name that clients and customers
see and use.
When deciding what to name your business,
decide on your branding strategy
using these three options,
do you want your businesses legal name
to also be your brand name,
such as Tiffany and Co.?
Do you want your legal business name
to be different from your brand name?
Hewlett Packard is HP.
do you want to have a legal business name
and several different brand names?
Gap Inc. is their legal business name,
but their brand names are Gap, Old Navy,
and Banana Republic.
While you're thinking
about how to brand your business,
start brainstorming some business names.
You should start by brainstorming
at least four to five potential names.
The goal is to come up with a few catchy
and creative names,
then check to see if they are available.
A good brainstorming session
should last 15 to 45 minutes,
and it's important that you're comfortable.
Think snacks, water, a comfy place to sit,
and your favorite pen.
Use a timer and don't stop til is goes off.
If you need more time,
take a 15 minute break,
walk around a bit,
grab some more water, and start again.
After doing some brainstorming
and coming up with a list of a few business names
to choose from, ask yourself these questions
to help pick a name
or refine some of the names you have.
Is my name simple and shorter,
rather than longer?
A simple name will be easier to remember,
easier to talk about, and easier to write.
You can avoid some hassle
by having a simple and short name.
Shorter business names are easier to remember
and generally simpler
than long business names.
If your business name is too long,
there's a possibility that your clients
call you by a nickname,
that you have no control over
and doesn't do your business any favors.
How does the name sound
when I say it out loud?
Don't just read the name,
actually say it out loud.
Say your name slow, fast,
and with a different emphasis
to make sure it doesn't end up sounding
like something else.
Is it easy to pronounce, spell?
And does the acronym look OK?
Along the same lines as having a simple name,
a business name will be more memorable
if it's easy to pronounce and spell.
Another important thing to keep in mind
is if the acronym of your business
ends up spelling something.
You don't wanna choose a name for your business
only to find out the first letter of each word
spells out FLOP.
Did I include a geographical location
in my name?
By including a location in your name,
you may limit your business and growth potential.
Customers in other states
may not consider contacting you
if they think you are only trying to do business
in a specific location.
How does the name compare
to other businesses in the industry?
Look at your potential competitors names,
does there seem to be a format
that other businesses in the industry follow
in naming their businesses?
Does your name stand out in a bad way?
You wanna name that's unique
and grabs attention,
but not one that will make you seem
unprofessional compared to other companies.
Did I avoid trends?
Naming your business based on trends
might give you a small boost
in initial customers,
but you'll end up dating your business
when the trend fades away.
What may be a funny joke or reference at the time,
will fade away and no one will understand.
Is my name memorable,
or is it too narrow or literal?
Although you want a simple name,
and one that describes your businesses mission,
you don't want one so unoriginal
that it won't stand out in a crowd.
You want to convey you niche
or your uniqueness,
and your name is a great place to do that.
Three, complete name searches.
Once you've narrowed down
to just a few names,
you'll want to check to make sure
the names are available.
The first and most important search
is Indiana's business database.
If the name is not available,
you'll have to adjust your name
or use a different one.
We provide instructions to search
your business name in Indiana
on how to start an LLC, linked below.
Searching is free,
to learn more, visit Indiana naming guides
linked in the description below.
After confirming your name
is available in Indiana,
we recommend doing a domain search
to see if the name is available as a URL.
Even if you don't plan on making a website today,
we recommend buying your domain
in order to prevent others from acquiring it.
Next, do a quick search on the U.S. Trademark
Electronic Search System,
and see whether someone has already
trademarked your name.
Once you know the name is available,
you can choose to apply for a trademark
for your business,
but the cost is between $225 and $600,
which may be more that you want to pay
for a start-up.
Naming your business can be one of the most important,
and one of the most fun steps
in starting our business.
When deciding on your business name
you'll want to first determine your businesses structure
to make sure you are following
all naming requirements of your business type.
You'll also want to check the naming requirements
that are specific to Indiana.
Think about your branding,
how your name will affect your brand,
and if you want to have a separate brand name
from your businesses legal name.
After brainstorming some ideas,
you'll want to check and see if they are available
in your state,
and do a quick web search to see if they are available
as a web domain.
Once you've searched on the state level and online,
look to see if any of your
brainstormed ideas are trademarked.
Now you know all the steps
to name your business.
For a more detailed guide,
visit our website at Howtostartanllc.com.
Give the video a Like if you found it useful,
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And if you have questions
or encounter any roadblocks,
leave a comment below.
Good luck in starting your small business.
(gentle music)