- [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 Maryland.
Maryland is an excellent place to form a new business,
with the highest median household income
in the country and the top-ranking
business survival rate.
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 Maryland.
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.
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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 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.
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.
You 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 Maryland LLCs.
You name cannot imply that the LLC
is organized for a purpose other than the one
outlined in its articles of organization.
Corporations.
If your business is a corporation or a C-corp,
you name must include the words corporation,
company, incorporated, limited
or an abbreviation of any of these.
Note that company can only be used
if it's not proceeded by the word
and or a symbol for the word and.
Here are some state-specific requirements
for Maryland corporations.
Your name cannot imply that the corporation
is organized for a purpose other than the one
outlined in its articles of incorporation.
In addition, it cannot include words that
could confuse your corporation with a government
agency such as FBI, Treasury, State Department, et cetera.
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 Maryland's naming requirements
for the business structure you chose.
For all business structures, your name must
be distinguishable from other existing
businesses in Maryland.
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.
Change 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 and 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 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 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 competitor's 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 Maryland'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 Maryland on howtostartanllc.com, linked below.
Searching is free.
To learn move, visit Maryland Naming Guides,
linked in the description below.
After confirming your name is available in Maryland,
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
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 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 Maryland.
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'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,
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.