- [Advisor] 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 Minnesota.
Minnesota is an excellent place to form a new business.
With fast product growth, great access to funding,
and the second highest quality of life in a country.
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 Minnesota.
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're 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 name 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 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 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 cannot include words
that could confuse your LLC with the government agency,
such as, FBI, Treasury, or State Department.
Here's some state specific requirements for Minnesota LLCs.
"Your name cannot include the words corporation
or incorporated or abbreviations of either word
and cannot imply that the LLC is organized
for a non-permitted purpose."
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.
It can also contain the word company,
or the abbreviation Co.,
if they are not immediately preceded by the word
and or an ampersand.
Here's some state specific requirements
for Minnesota corporations.
"Your name cannot include words
that could confuse your corporation
with the government agency,
such as FBI, Treasury, State Department, et cetera,
and cannot imply that the company is incorporated
for an illegal purpose."
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 Minnesota's naming requirements
for the business structure you chose.
For all business structures,
your name must be distinguishable
from other existing businesses in Minnesota.
A couple 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 a 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 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 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 company.
Your brand name is the name you used 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
catching and creative names,
then check to see if they're 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 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 okay?
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 words
spells out, flop.
Did I included 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're only trying to do business
in a specific location.
How does the name compared 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 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 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 to 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 the 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 want to check to make sure the names are available.
The first and most important search
is Minnesota'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 Minnesota
on how to start an LLC.com, linked below.
Searching is free, to learn more,
visit Minnesota naming guides
linked in the description below.
After confirming your name is available in Minnesota,
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 business's structure
to make sure you are following all naming requirements
of your business type.
You'll also want to check the name requirements
that are specific to Minnesota.
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're 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 trademark.
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,
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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