I was amazed by Cici of The Six Figure Chick‘s recent milestone with her business. She has officially made over $1,000,000 in sales through Instagram even though people doubted she could make money via a social media platform. Not to mention she’s kicking cancer’s butt and is a true inspiration for women of color in business. It got me thinking about Ci Ci’s overall mission and culture of her brand. Ci Ci uses her brand name as her motivation to make things happen in her business. Her business, The Six Figure Chick, has actually helped her SURPASS six figures!
The name of her company is much like an affirmation. She believed that her skill set was profitable enough to make six figures, and she worked until she hit that mark, plus more. What you meditate on becomes real, whether you’ve noticed or not, so why not name your business something that you wish to one day be your reality?
I get it. Most new business owners use a systematic approach when it comes to choosing a “cool” company name. But would you really like to piece together your company name from a worksheet that gives you step-by-step instructions? Or would you like to keep it original and brainstorm from your gut? If using these manufactured tactics work for you, then feel free to disregard this post entirely. But if you are a person who works from passion and are on a mission to fulfill their purpose, it’s best to use your intuition. Following your intuition will help you choose a name that is unique and holds sentimental value to your life’s calling.
Listen to your feelings when choosing your “cool” company name.
Just think about it, Tina Lawson (mother of Bey) got the Destiny’s Child group name from randomly opening her bible and spotting the word “destiny” (cue the light bulb). From there, she knew that the name was fitting for the group. She later added the term “child” to the group’s name because she believed the women were banded together to fulfill their destiny while they were still young. And the rest was obviously history. There was no formula involved.
Be confident in your natural abilities to make the right decision (a.k.a. trust your instincts and your gut) to help with choosing your business name. Yes, I’m asking you to throw away all formulas and stop looking for blog posts to help you choose a name. It’s YOUR business anyway. Who’s to tell you what you should call it?
Your company name should also be a constant reminder of your overall mission.
If you’re in the early stages of your business, it shouldn’t be too hard to remember why you wanted to create something so awesome in the first place. Always stay close to your “why”. If your company name has no in-depth relation to your mission, there’s an obvious disconnect that is destined to show in the work you do and what people will expect. For example, no one visits Chick-fil-A to eat a burger. People expect chicken, not beef. Consumers will get pretty confused if your business talks about a product or service that it doesn’t cater to. Keep it simple, fun and to the point.
It’s likely that you’re embarking on this journey because you desired to do something different, you wanted to support a certain cause, or you felt inspired to solve a problem in someone’s life. Your company name should be a motivational moniker that keeps you in “mission mode” — similar to an affirmation. The best part about affirmations is that when you remind yourself of them and train your mind to believe these statements to be true, your affirmations will eventually become true. So perhaps your “millionaire mogul” brand name doesn’t feel quite right when you’re making five figures — but that doesn’t mean one day it won’t be. Allow your company name to embody the messaging behind the woman you want to be and the people you want to target.
Having a cool company name helps your business stand out.
If you truly want to stand out online or at a pop-up shop, it’s a no-brainer that you need to bring something unique to the table. So by all means, don’t be basic and go call your clothing line “Eternity 21” or “H & N”. It’s unoriginal and I bet my last quarter that you can think of something that no one else can mimic, but can be confident in or relate to. Your passions, your mission, and your purpose are completely unique to who you are. That alone helps your business and brand stand out.
Random nouns mixed in with a “popular” phrase won’t help you stand out; in fact, they have the potential to fizzle out pretty quickly if it isn’t evergreen. Your business relevance will die out just as quickly as the fad. Why do you think Lil’ Bow Wow reinvented his title so many times? Again it’s okay to be inspired by others, but make sure your company name is original. Make it pop and always be authentic.
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Ann Kinyua
August 18, 2017 at 8:01 am
This is quite informative. I am in the process of starting a business and now I have these great ideas to guide me when choosing a name. Thank you.