So you’ve got this amazing idea for a business that you want to start, but you’re feeling stuck when it comes down to actually naming the thing! Maybe you’ve even put your business plans on hold while you think up the perfect name. Eeek!

Well don’t fret my friend, I’ve got you covered with some tips for how to come up with a steller name for your business. I’m confident that you can do this with just a little push in the right direction.

In this post I’ve put together my favorite brainstorming methods and tips for naming your business. I’ll encourage you to think outside the box, give you some resources to help you along the way, and get you feeling confident about creating and choosing your business name.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase using one of my links, I may receive a small commission.

Why Naming Your Business is Important

Naming your business is important for a couple of reasons. Obviously you need some kind of name for people to remember you by, and so they can refer you to others. This is incredibly challenging with no name.

Of course you also want to make sure that the name you choose is something you like, because let’s face it, you’re going to be using it A LOT.

A good name should also resonate with your ideal client, or at least not turn them away. It’s always good to keep in mind the social value of words. Especially the ones we use in our business names.

Before I get into the brainstorming techniques, you may also be interested to check out a great book by the name of Hello, My Name Is Awesome: How to Create Brand Names That Stick. (That’s an affiliate link right there.)

My 2 favorite Brainstorming Methods to Name Your Business

Create a Word Flow

This brainstorming method is my go-to for naming anything. This method is sometimes called a word-dump, but I’ll be honest, that term kind of makes me cringe, so I’ll be calling it a word flow. Feel free to spread the word. ;)

Let’s set the scene:

You just got your cup of tea (or vodka tonic) ready, you grab a notebook, you find a cozy spot to sit, and you set a timer. I like to start with 30 minutes and add if I need more time. You can also do more than one session. Sometimes after a break you’ll be able to come up with more words to add.

Step 1:

Ok, timer set. Start writing any words that come to mind when you think of your business. Write anything, really anything, that comes up in your thoughts. Write things you like, things that have sentimental meaning, write down your values, then words that relate to your values.

Keep going. For as long as you can.

Hop on thesaurus.com and get more ideas.

Here’s a quick example for a yoga studio:

So I start with the word “yoga” and write any word that I can think of related to that, or just pops into my head:

• Retreat

• Experience

• Get away

• Rose

• Lotus

• Mindful

• Intuition

• Happy

• Peaceful

• Love

• Heart

• Head

• Third eye

• Wander

• Travel

• Tea time

You’ll notice that not all of the words seem to be directly related to the original word. That’s kinda the point. This is a super short list and no doubt yours will be much longer.

Step 2:

Once you have a decent sized list, start rearranging and putting words together, and mixing them up. This will lead to even more ideas. 

Give yourself another timer for this part if you like. Or feel free to ditch the timer if it’s not your jam. Rapid ideation, as it is sometimes called, works for some people but if it’s not working for you, don’t feel guilty about ditching it.

Once you’ve got a good list going, you should have a lot of words to play with to put together a stellar business name. Hopefully you’ll have several options to choose from and will need to narrow it down.

Create a Mind-Map

Mind-mapping is another brainstorming method that I like to use. You can use a timer like in the previous method if that helps you stay focused for longer. I like to use the Forest App. You can learn more about some of my favorite tools for mindfulness and focus in this post.

Step 1:

Start with a topic or a question and put it in the center of your page. The topic could be related to something your business does, or to a brand value. Or you could start with a question, like “who is my business for?”

This last one is a cool way of coming up with all the words that might describe your ideal client. You can honestly use any question related to you or your business. This will give you a wider variety of words and phrases to pull ideas from for naming.

So you’ve got your topic or question in the center, right? Ok, perfect! Now you will start adding words and phrases to the page with a line connecting them back to the center.

It’s also fun to try this with sticky notes. The sticky note method allows you to move things around and rearrange as the number of notes grow.

Step 2:

You guessed it! Start rearranging. If you are working on paper, start a new page and make different connections than before. Put words together and move them around. 

If you are working with the sticky notes be sure to write down any fun combinations that you land on before you rearrange them or you find that a breeze has thrown a few of your gems to the ground. You can also take photos from time to time as you play around with different combinations, which will help you look back through the ideas later.

Now that you have 2 solid methods for brainstorming, I’d like to share a few more tips to help you through the process.

Tips + Resources to Help You While You Brainstorm for a Business Name

01 Consider your Ideal Client 

It would be a real shame if you went through the whole process of naming your business without considering who it’s for. Your ideal client should come first when you are thinking up a name. 

If you aren’t really sure what an ideal client is or maybe haven’t taken the time yet to put into words who your business is for, check out this post: 13 Steps to Attract Your Dream Clients.

I’ve also created a free workbook to help you create your ideal client profile. Snag your copy over here.

A few things to consider about your ideal client:

Feelings

• How do you want your customers to feel when they think of your brand?

• Are there certain feelings you’d like to prevent?

• What problem does your business solve for your client/customer?

Actions

• What actions do your clients/customers take to buy from or work with you?

• What do you do every day in order to make the experience for your client the best it can be?

Who

• Who is your ideal client/customer?

• What do they value

• What interests them?

Look + Vibe

• What colors or visuals could be associated with the feelings of your ideal client/customer?

• What words describe the mood/vibe of your business?

These are just a few ideas to get your started, feel free to tweak this list as needed.

02 Consider yourself

It’s your business after all - the name can reflect you. At the end of the day, you are going to be using your business name a whole lot, so it should be something you feel good about. It’s going to be representing you.

You can apply many of the ideas above for your ideal client, to yourself as well.

03 Use a thesaurus

Now, you don’t want to get overly intellectual with your business name (unless that suits your ideal client), but using a thesaurus is a great way of expanding your options while you brainstorm.

I love using thesaurus.com, because it offers so many synonyms and an interactive experience which leads to more and more word options.

04 Quantity over Quality

While in the brainstorming phase, you need to throw perfection straight out the window. The less perfect the better actually. If you analyze every word that comes up and try to decide whether or not to add it to your list, I guarantee you’ll end up with far few ideas in the end.

05 Have fun + Get goofy

Remember the last tip! Don’t let your serious side take over. You’re coming up with a business name, not doing your weekly finances. There is no exact formula for coming up with a killer business name, so let loose a little and have some fun with it!

06 Play with foreign languages

Did I say have fun? Thinking outside the box could mean that you consider the meaning of words in other languages.

Just be sure that word doesn’t have some negative meaning for your ideal client. You should also consider how it will likely be pronounced. You may want to phone-a-friend (who doesn’t speak that language) and ask them how they would say it, before you decide to run with it as part of your business name.

This leads me directly into the next tip.

07 Once you’ve narrowed it down get feedback

After spending some time brainstorming, you might be second guessing your narrowed down list of names. Get some feedback from an ideal client or a friend who is similar.

Ask for their honest feedback and which names speak to them the most. Get more than one opinion if you can, but don’t go overboard. This is a subjective process and everyone will have a little bit different reaction.

08 Take a break / sleep on it

During the brainstorming process take breaks when you are feeling like you’ve run out of ideas. Creative thinking can be exhausting and we just can’t do it ALL THE TIME. Walk away from it for a little while and come back when you are feeling refreshed.

Once you’ve come up with your business name, take some time to sit with it before you commit. Sleep on it. If you’re still loving it after a good night’s rest (or 2), then you can commit to the name without wondering if you’ve made a mistake.

09 Select the name and don’t look back, Don’t get stuck in “analysis paralysis”

Now… you should definitely sleep on it, but don’t get stuck in what I like to call “analysis paralysis.” Don’t let this step of naming your business continue to get in the way of actually starting the dang thing. 

Trust your gut and run with it! Sometimes when we get stuck on one phase of our business it is actually our fear of moving forward into that unknown territory that’s holding us back. It’s time for you to own it, and take the next step!

Did this post help you? Or do you still have questions? Please leave a comment and let me know! I’m always happy to hear from you!

Don’t forget to snag your copy of my Ideal Client Discovery Workbook
This workbook will help you nail down who your  ideal client is so you can start speaking directly to them.

Did this post help you? Or do you still have questions? Please leave a comment and let me know! I’m always happy to hear from you!