Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Choosing or Changing the Name of Your Consulting Business

I just finished listening to TVCNet member Ron Price of Price Associates on 580 KIDO in Boise. Ron was a guest on Idaho Today and was discussing changing your business name. If you haven't heard, Ron recently changed the name of his business, LifeQuest, to Price Associates. You can read more about the name change in our Sharing Our Success section of the TVCNet website.

Selecting a name for your business, or even changing a business name, is a very big decision for any business owner. A business name must do many things. It must be recognizable, unique, thought provoking, and it must describe who you are and what you do.

When I started my consulting business, PinPoint Performance Solutions, I stressed for more than a week to come up with a name that would be used in all of my marketing materials, my website, my e-mail address, business cards, etc. Even after two years since selecting a name I'm still not sure if I have the right name for my business. It may not be the best, but I get a lot of compliments on my logo from people who dig it!

I only had the opportunity to catch the last half hour of Ron's guest appearance on Idaho Today. What I did learn from his conversation with the show's hosts was that change is inevitable. In business we have to adapt to the needs of the marketplace and if we intend to stay in business we must be willing to change ourselves - even our business name.

The membership of TVCNet who received my monthly newsletter earlier this week was treated to a quote I found recently that comes from management guru Tom Peters.

If you don't like change you'll like irrelevance even less.

There shouldn't be a lot of stress surrounding the naming of a business or changing its name. Just know that based on today's business climate, the name you choose today or the name you've been working with all these years will probably change. Just ask Ron Price.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

In our world today, there is nothing as constant as change. Isn't being a consultant all about change? Implementing change is one of the hardest things that people have to go through. We like our little ruts and don't want to get out if we can avoid it. A consultant's job is to help someone jump the rut and become better.

Justin Beller said...

Thanks Corey. Based on your comment, you might be interested in a post I created last month called Zero Gravity Consultants.

Enjoy!