Some entrepreneurs and startup owners attach little or no importance to the name they give their startup. Unknown to them, their business name will get used more and last longer than any other investment they make in your business. It’s essential that they get it right the first time. We share naming mistakes you should avoid.

Not really exclusive

You may be thinking that you have selected a wonderful, trendy and exclusive name until you discover that someone else is already using the name or it is very similar to another one. This is why it is important for you to perform thorough research before choosing a name.

Your business name is too niche

You don’t want to outgrow your business name which happens most times. So, you to use a name that will pass for any business you want to engage in. For example, if Dangote had been named cement.com, they would be limited to selling cement.

Difficult to pronounce the name

Your name should be easy to pronounce in your brand’s country of origin. Don’t rely on punctuation marks or letters in different colours to aid in pronunciation. Your name will not appear in colour in the press or in search-engine results.

You are not careful with inventing names

If you invent a new word for your name, be careful that it doesn’t sound unnatural. Joining two words together or mixing up a bunch of letters to form a new word rarely appears or sounds smooth.

You try to be mysterious

A sure-fire way to annoy people is to choose a name that’s completely random and obviously meaningless. Simplicity should be your watchword when choosing a name.

Creative spelling of names

This is by far the biggest mistake startup owners make when naming their company. The problem creative spelling of names is that you will always have to spell it when you say it because it isn’t spelt how people hear it.