The name

I'm not a parent so I've never had the serious responsibility of naming a child.  I have thought about what I might have named my child - at one point, I really liked Mary Kyle and Nigel.  I have thought about how the name could be messed with as a kid grows up - insulting nicknames, what the initials spell, association with infamous characters with the same name and other nasty notations.

Naming a business is serious, as well.  Certainly not as serious as naming your child but still a challenge.  Should the location be represented?  Should the owners' name be included?  Should the name indicate what the business does?  Or should a name be a made-up word (think Google)?

What organizational form are you going to use?  Limited Liability Company (LLC), Corporation, Partnership or Sole Proprietorship?  Do you understand the advantages and disadvantages of each?  If not, do some research or ask West Ventures LLC for some guidance.

Think about how your brand may be defined from or around your name.

 Once you have a couple ideas, you have to vet the names.  Do some internet searches - maybe someone somewhere is using YOUR idea already - darn it!  Go to an internet domain name vendor - like GoDaddy and search to see if the domain name is available in any form.  Go to your state's website where you would register your business.  (In Wisconsin, it is the Department of Financial Institutions.)  On these sites, you can do searches to see if your chosen name is being used by another organization.

After you've done all of this research, ask some trusted friends what they think.

Some cultures perform naming ceremonies this truly demonstrates the importance of a name.  So don't rush through this step in the development of your new venture!