Every month or so, I meet someone who asks me what I do for a living.  To this question I sometimes answer simply, “I name companies and products and then my team brands them.”  I anticipate the reply which is pretty common: “Really?  That is how you make your living, naming companies?  If I started a company, I would definitely be able to name it.”

Here is an interesting misconception…naming companies is easy. There is definitely a reason that naming (and branding) companies such as Storyhat exist.  It is because naming companies….is NOT easy!

Though it is true that founders and executives of a company may be on the same page as far as knowing exactly what the company does, what they offer, how they want to be viewed in their industry, and what their future product strategy may be, however more often than not, because a “a name” is so personal, invariably, that same team may be on opposite sides of the spectrum as far as the type of name they feel would be appropriate.  That is where a naming company comes in!

There are a lot of factors at play: Finding the right name, finding the right name with an available url, finding the right name with a url that may be for sale…by someone who will not yank your chain for months on end haggling the price, finding the name with the above challenges that importantly you can “own and protect” from a trademark perspective, a name that differentiates you from your competitors and partners, a name that an entire team can agree upon and in the end that meets your criteria and around which you can wrap a compelling story. Remember, picking a name is like picking a tattoo: you are going to live with it for a long time, so you better be the right one!

Whew!  Good thing Storyhat exists!