What’s In a Name - Selecting a Name for Your Business
Consider your name carefully. The name you choose should be easy to pronounce and remember, and give your customer some indication of the nature of your business. You also want to select a name that will not limit your company in the future.
If you haven’t already chosen a name, be sure to check whether that name is already being used. If your business is only in one local area, you can get some idea by looking in the phone book or looking for that name on the Internet. There are research companies that can check nationally or internationally to see if the name you would like to use has been taken by someone else.
You will also want to establish your legal right to use that name. This is the first step to establishing a brand – an identity everyone connects with your product or service. Registering a trademark with the federal government is the way a business protects its logo, name, or slogan – the identity that differentiates it from its competitors. A trademark registration can take from 6 months to a year or more to establish. The fee for filing a federal trademark is $325. If you only use the name in your state, you can file for a state trademark instead.
Most business owners also want to save their company name as an Internet domain name. First, check to see if your name is available. Consider all the ways your name can appear such as .com, .net, .org, .biz, etc.
In many cases, you must also file a fictitious name statement (also know as a DBA for “doing business as”). If your business name includes your last name and the last names of all owners, you may not need to file. Even if the name includes all owners’ names, if it also implies a broader ownership with the words “and associates” or “and company” the name must be filed as a fictitious business name.
In most states, a business is required to file the fictitious name statement within a month or so of the first day of opening. You will usually be required to show that you have filed the fictitious name statement before you can open bank accounts in your company name.
Filing a fictitious business name statement allows creditors and others to identify the owners of any business. The actual filing requires publishing the name of the business and all owners’ names in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for several successive weeks in the county where the principal place of business is located. An affidavit of publication must be filed with the County Clerk within 30 days after publication. The fictitious business name must be renewed every 5 years.
