- [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 as a company.
Let's get you started on the right path
to picking a solid business name in Arkansas.
Arkansas is an excellent place to form a business
with low business costs and a highly ranked quality of life.
Every state has slightly different requirements
for naming a business.
Follow along closely to learn the steps
for naming your business in the state of Arkansas.
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 partnership's 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.
LLC or limited liability companies
If your company's an LLC,
your name must include the phrase
Limited Liability Company or Limited Company.
One of it's abbreviations can also be used
such as LLC or LC or L.L.C. with a period after each letter
or L.C. with a period after 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 a government agency
such as FBI, Treasury or State Department.
Here are some state specific requirements for Arkansas LLCs.
The name of an LLC that performs a professional service
must contain the words:
Professional Limited Liability Company
or Professional Limited Company
or the following abbreviations:
PLLC, PLC, P.L.L.C. with a period after each letter,
or P.L.C with a period after each letter.
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 Arkansas corporations.
Your name cannot include words
that could confuse your corporation with a government agency
such as FBI, Treasury, State Department, et cetera.
Restricted words like bank, attorney or university
may require additional paperwork and a licensed individual
to be part of your company.
Your name must not contain words that imply
that the company is organized for any unlawful purpose,
or one other than what is outlined
in its articles of organization.
When choosing your business structure,
you may heard 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 Arkansas' naming requirements
for the business structure you chose.
For all business structures,
your name must be distinguishable
from other existing businesses in Arkansas.
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, and 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 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 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'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 that the acronym of your business
ends up spelling something.
You don't want to 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're only trying to do business
in a specific location.
How does the name compare to other businesses
in the industry?
Look at your potential competitor's 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 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 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 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 search
is Arkansas' business database.
If the name is not available,
you'll have to adjust your name or use a different one.
We've provided instructions to search your business name
in Arkansas
on how to start in llc.com, link below.
Searching is free.
To learn more, visit Arkansas' naming guide's
link in the description below.
After confirming your name is available in Arkansas,
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 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 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'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 Arkansas.
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're available
in your state
and do a quick web search to see if they're 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
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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