May

2

Your Name, Your Asset

May 2, 2007 |

Never underestimate the value of your name. It could be a great asset if you have worked hard to make it mean something to others. Some people say that “you are the brand”: if that holds true, then your name is your trademark.There are many types of business. Some entrepreneurs have high hopes of a growing business in terms of employees. Other entrepreneurs wish to create something great that they can run until it gets going and then sell it to someone who doesn’t want to go through the risk of starting that kind of business but who can run it into further profitability. When starting such a business, one crucial step in the process is choosing a name that reflects the nature of the business and the vision you hold for it.

Yet, there are some other entrepreneurs who just want to escape the rat race and use the skills they have gained to make a better, more interesting living. These entrepreneurs are happy with doing the kind of work they do: they just want to do it with more flexibility or more variety – maybe even with higher profitability. The concept is not so strange in society. Many doctors, lawyers, engineers, and accountants do business using their own names, or a combination of the names of the partners in a firm. These people can choose to have a growing career where they increase fees and/or add associates to their practice. Over the years they have learned that these kinds of services are best done by someone that their clients can trust and remember by name and face.

What can be taken from these ideas?

  • Build your name - even before you are even thinking of starting a business. Make your name stand as a trademark of good quality, professionalism, and great service. People will drag you into setting up your own business just to be able to use your services once in a while.
  • Consider Doing Business Under Your Name - when appropriate, you may be able to choose your name as the name of your company/partnership/business. This is particularly useful when providing professional services. Don’t do so if you intend to sell the business soon, or if you want to grow it into a company to last for the next few centuries. But there is nothing wrong in thinking about the idea of providing great service with personal attention over the next few years.
  • You Don’t Need a Great Idea - many people delay starting their own business because they do not have a great idea. A great idea is not a pre-requisite to start a new business. The fact that someone hires you to do your job is proof enough that people are willing to pay for what you do: the question is if you want job security or if you want to live the life of an entrepreneur with all the risks and rewards. There is money to be made out of good quality work, not only out of great ideas.
  • Your Name, A Springboard - building up your name is the way to reach new opportunities: a name is the basis of a networking effort (people need a name to remember you). Your name is a springboard into new opportunities. Even when you do not use your name as the business name, make sure that people remember you by name. You may not be in that particular business or job forever, and you want people to remember the kind of service that you personally do. It may lead to further investments, entrepreneurship, or traditional employment opportunities.

On my first professional business venture I have chosen to use my name, because that is how people remember the quality of my services.


Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. Lacey on May 13, 2007 8:58 pm

    Hey, I’m Lacey. I was wondering if you might want to do a link trade with my Wedding Finance blog? My fiance and I are documenting our attempt at fundraising all of our wedding money.

    Email me at lacey@savingforawedding.com and we can set up links. Thanks!

    The site is Saving for a Wedding

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