- [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 Ohio.
Ohio is an excellent place to start a business.
It provides great access to funding
and ranks highly in ease of doing business in the US.
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 Ohio.
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 name's availability.
Be sure to ask yourself the seven essential questions
we provide before you make this critical business decision.
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.
One state law that applies specifically
to sole proprietorships in Ohio
is that a sole proprietor operating an insurance agency
under a fictitious name that is not or cannot be
registered as a trade name must register
the fictitious name with the Secretary of State.
Check out the page linked below to find out
the difference between trade names and fictitious names.
General partnerships are similar
to sole proprietorships, with the difference being
that partnerships consist 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.
For general partnerships in Ohio,
trade names must be distinguishable
from other registered business names in Ohio,
but fictitious names do not.
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 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 Ohio LLCs.
Your name cannot contain profanity
or words or phrases that are generally considered
a slur against an ethnic group,
religion, gender, or heredity.
Your name cannot incorrectly or improperly imply
that the business is affiliated with a government agency.
Your name cannot include any of the following words
without prior approval from the superintendent
of financial institutions.
Bank, banker, banking, trust, or words
of similar meaning in any other language.
Your name cannot include the following words
unless the LLC is registered as a cooperative.
Coop, cooperative, co-operative with a dash,
or co-op with a dash.
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 Ohio corporations.
Your name cannot imply that the corporation
is connected with a government agency of Ohio,
another state, or the United States.
Your name cannot include any of the following words
without prior approval from the superintendent
of financial institutions.
Bank, banker, banking, trust, or words
of similar meaning in any other language.
Your name cannot include the following words
unless the corporation is registered as a cooperative.
Cooperative, coop, co-operative with a dash,
or co-op with a dash.
Your name cannot contain profanity
or words or phrases that are generally considered a slur
against an ethnic group, religion, gender, or heredity.
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 Ohio's naming requirements
for the business structure you chose.
For all business structures, your name must be
distinguishable from other existing businesses in Ohio.
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 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 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 15-45 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 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 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 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 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 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 search
is Ohio'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 Ohio on howtostartanllc.com, linked below.
Searching is free.
To learn more, visit Ohio Naming Guides
linked in the description below.
After confirming your name is available in Ohio,
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 naming requirements
that are specific to Ohio.
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.
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.
(gentle upbeat music)