- [Instructor] 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 of the company.
Let's get you started on the right path
to picking a solid business name in Vermont.
Vermont is an excellent place to start a new business
with some of the best access to venture capital,
it has the eighth highest business survival rate
in the nation.
Every State has slightly different requirements
for naming a business.
Follow along closely to learn the required steps
for naming a business in the State of Vermont.
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.
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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 LLCs 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 consists
of two or more people.
A general partnerships name must consist
of the surnames of all the partners.
Like a sole proprietorship,
if you want to operate under a different name,
you need to file for a DBA.
Here's some State specific requirements
for Vermont general partnerships.
A trade name for a general partnership cannot include
any word, phrase or abbreviation that falsely implies
that it's the business name of a business type
other than that of a general partnership.
These include; corporation, incorporated, company,
limited, professional corporation, et cetera.
LLC or limited liability companies.
If your company is an LLC,
your name must include the phrase limited liability company
or one of its abbreviations, LLC or L.L.C
with a period in between each letter.
Restricted words such as bank, attorney,
law office, et cetera, may require additional paperwork
and may also need a licensed professional
to be part of the LLC.
Your name can not 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 Vermont LLCs.
Your name cannot include words or phrases that,
in context, denigrate or defame people
or groups based on race, color, religion,
ancestry, national origin,
sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,
place of birth, age or disability.
Your name cannot include words or phrases that,
in context, depict or describe sexual
or excretory organs or the activities
or products thereof.
Your name cannot include words or phrases that,
in context, appeal to the prurient interest,
depict or describe in terms patently offensive
or threatening, or such words or phrases
that imply such terms, regarding sexual conduct.
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 Vermont corporations.
Your name cannot include words or phrases that, in context,
falsely implied governmental affiliation.
Your name cannot include words or phrases that, in context,
denigrate or defame people or groups based on race,
color, religion, ancestry, national origin,
sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,
place of birth, age or disability.
Your name cannot include words or phrases that, in context,
depict or describe sexual
or excretory organs or the activities or products thereof.
You're name cannot include words
or phrases that, in context,
appeal to the prurient interest,
depict or describe in terms patently offensive
or threatening, or such words or phrases
that imply such terms, regarding sexual conduct.
Your name cannot include the word "cooperative"
or its abbreviation unless the corporation
is a worker cooperative corporation
or it is organized as a cooperative association.
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 Vermont's naming requirements
for the business structure you chose.
For all business structures,
your name must be distinguishable
from other existing businesses in Vermont.
A couple of examples of names not being distinguishable
would be Auto Store Inc.
versus Auto Store LLC.
The only difference in the name is the 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 & Smith using an ampersand.
Your business name can't have words
that sounded 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 a 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 Co.
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 business's 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 till it 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 the 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 and 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 when naming their businesses?
Does your name stand out in a bad way?
You want a 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 and 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 business's mission,
you don't want one so unoriginal
that it won't stand out in a crowd.
You want to convey your 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 searches
for MOTS 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 Vermont on howtostartanllc.com
linked below, searching is free.
To learn more, visit Vermont naming guides
linked in the description below.
After confirming your name is available in Vermont,
we recommend doing a domain search
to see if your 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 US 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 than you want to pay for a startup.
Naming your business can be one of the most important
and one of the most fun steps in starting your business.
When deciding on your business name,
you want to first determine your businesses structure
to make sure you are following all naming requirements
of your business type.
You also want to check the naming requirements
that are specific to Vermont.
Think about your branding,
how your name will affect your brand,
and if you want to have a separate brand name
from your business's legal name.
After brainstorming some ideas,
you 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
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if you found it useful and subscribe
if you'd like to see more,
and if you have questions or encounter any roadblocks,
leave a comment below.
Good luck in starting your small business.
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