Last Updated on 4 years by Christopher Jan Benitez

Naming your business is an important part of launching your brand as a freelancer.

It is very frequently the first thing that your leads will find out about your business.

It needs to be compelling and engaging so that it will draw clients in while also summarizing your brand and identity.

Although naming a new freelance business can feel difficult and challenging at first, it should not have to feel like you are stepping off the edge of a cliff while wearing a blindfold.

With these steps described in the article below, you can improve the organization of your ideas and get the most out of your freelance business name.

Naming your freelance business: Everything you need to know

Before we begin, I would like to introduce the writer of this post: Grant Polachek of Squadhelp. Here’s his bio:

Grant Polachek is the Director of Marketing at Inc 500 company Squadhelp.com, the worlds #1 naming platform, with nearly 20,000 customers from the smallest startups across the globe to the largest corporations including Nestle, Philips, Hilton, Pepsi, and AutoNation. Get inspired by exploring these good names for your business.

So if you have concerns with coming up with a name for your freelance business, don’t hesitate to reach out to Grant and Squadhelp!

Also, I’ve edited the article to make it better. Nothing but the best for my dear readers 🙂

So, let’s begin!

Build your brand

When choosing a name for your freelance business, it is useful to gather all of your branding ideas in one central place.

If you make a handy document, then you can check back to it throughout the entire naming process.

On your document, write down some of the things that you want to be central aspects of your freelance brand.

For example, you can answer questions like:

• What do you do?
• What are the values of your brand?
• Why are the freelance services you are providing important?

If others don’t feel that you are passionate and invested in your own brand, then they will likely begin to question why they should care about your freelance business either.

Writing down a number of existing freelance business names that you think are effective can help you brainstorm names for your own new business.

Make it a point to take down notes on each of these names and write down what do you like about them and if you want to try to achieve a similar feel or vibe.

Keep writing down existing freelance brand names that you like until you end up with a list of eight to ten of your ideal names.

After you have gathered the top names then you can start to dissect them.

Go through this catchy business name list to give yourself a head start.

Write some notes in the form of bullet points that describes what exactly you like about each of your favorite names and why they work so well for their company.

Analyzing and dissecting your top existing freelance business names in your field can be a great exercise to give you some direction for the naming process.

Think about your audience

Another thing that you should consider when launching your freelance brand is the audience you want to appeal to.

For example, a clothing line targeted at older, accomplished, and professional women will have a very different voice and tone than a fashion line for women in college. And there’s a good reason for that!

Your brand name needs to focus on who you are appealing to and more than just you.

Most of the popular brand names have a target audience in mind and connect to them through shared values and emotions that resonate with them.

Take, for example, the investing app Robinhood.

This app helps people make the investment process free and simple for the typical person, not just the ultra-rich.

Their brand name for their business not only encapsulates their values to a tee by utilizing the story of the heroic bandit Robin Hood.

Robin Hood is a great choice for a narrative because it appeals to the millennial audience.

The name is both fresh and fun and also aligns with the values of convenience and fairness that millennials hold in such regard.

Look into the future

Where do you want your freelance brand to be in five years? What about ten years down the line?

If you are planning on starting a freelance business that might grow into different areas in the future, be wary of selecting a name that pigeonholes your brand.

At the beginning of launching your business, you may be creating a sock brand. You may feel that the name SuperSocks could be a great fit for your business.

But if you want to expand into other territories later on such as hats or gloves, SuperSocks would no longer a suitable name.

This means that you would have to change your established name which could confuse customers and ultimately lose business. Planning ahead can help you avoid a costly rebranding process down the line.

Try to capture your mission and values in just a couple of short project statements like these:

• We need a name that captures our young, unique approach to selling high heels.
• We need a name that establishes us as a traditional and trustworthy brand.
• We need a name that hints at our animal-friendly business practices.

You can begin by writing a couple of project statements for your own freelance business.

Make Tough Choices

Now that you have put all of your ideas in one central place and have figured out what the type of name that you want, you can begin the process of coming up with name ideas.

One of the most important decisions that freelancers need to make early on when coming up with a name for their business is whether or not use their real name or a brandable name.

While there are merits to both of these options, it is typically preferable for freelancers to incorporate their own name into the business. This helps solidify the connection between the business and yourself.

Especially if you are the only freelancer working for your business, incorporating your own name into the brand name will make it clear to clients just who they’re working with.

On the other hand, if there is any possibility of expansion down the road, separating your name from your company name is a must.

Collect some names

Now, it’s time to put your thinking caps on.

Jot down every name you can muster that might work with the brand you are creating.

Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box, and don’t judge any of the names that you come up with at first.

Even if you don’t like it now, you may find that one of your brainstormed names could really resonate with your target audience.

Continue writing down as many names as you can think of because the more you have to cross off the list, the better idea you will have of the type of name that you are looking for.

When coming up with names, you must start broad.

Some names can be descriptive, intellectual, poignant, or classic. You can merge words to form a name or use two separate words to summarize your business’s appeal.

One helpful way to come up with brand names is by writing down an example for every type of name you can think of.

Getting out of your comfort zone when coming up with names will help you in the future and give you a variety of names to choose from.

Cut down your options

Finally, it is time to start making some decisions by cutting down the number of name options that you have brainstormed.

Start removing freelance business names that you know won’t work for you until you have only five or six favorite names remaining on your list.

Now that you have some great options to move forward with, this is a great chance to start getting second opinions from your friends and family. Another group to get feedback from would also be your target audience!

When asking questions about your name choices, don’t just ask, “Which of these names do you like the best?” Make sure you frame your questions more neutrally by asking something closer to, “Which of these brands would you be interested in learning more about?”

Lock down your domain name and assess your risk

A solid domain complements a great brand name. This is because your website is where your prospective clients will find out more about what services you offer.

So, it is best to have as close of a match to your name as possible.

[mks_pullquote align=”left” width=”720″ size=”24″ bg_color=”#333333″ txt_color=”#ffffff”]Editor’s note: Now hold up, playa!

Signing up for a domain name is another problem altogether. In fact, it deserves a post of its own.

However, instead of making it difficult for you, here’s what I suggest:

When signing up for a domain name, go with Siteground*.

It’s a web hosting platform that offers domain registration.

So why Siteground?

Simple: It makes your site load faster and respond better for your visitors.

After signing up for a domain and a hosting plan, you can build a WordPress site within minutes and enjoy its blazing-fast servers and excellent customer support!

Again, click here* to sign up now and set up your freelance business website so clients will come knocking on your door.

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Trademark validation for your freelance business name is another great way to secure your name.

Run a trademark risk test so that you can rest assured that your brand name isn’t already in use by a similar freelance business.

Being proactive in preventing trademark risk will help you avoid any complicated legal issues.

Naming your freelance business is no walk in the park!

Video summary created using InVideo.

Coming up with an effective name can feel like a daunting task. So much of your success rests upon a name.

It is the crux of your freelance brand’s identity, and it is the first connection between you and your clients.

You might think that all of the best names are already in use, or that you lack good ideas, but don’t worry.  The perfect name for your business is out there and if you follow the steps then you’ll find it in no time!