Choosing a Name For Your Life-Coaching Business
Choosing a Name For Your Life-Coaching Business
Faced with more than a hundred coaching businesses in the directory, how could I possibly choose between any of them? Their names are so similar that there is nothing to distinguish one coaching business from another.
Some coaches like to use their own name as their business name, but this doesn't tell potential clients much, except perhaps whether the coach is male or female. We know that people make assumptions about others based on their name alone -- about their age and ethnicity, for instance. Does your name resonate with your target audience, or are you an Edna trying to appeal to a generation of Chantelles and Tammy Louises?
Other coaches like to use their town or location: Edinburgh Life Coach, Stroud Coaching, but if they, as most coaches do, offer phone or online coaching, then location is irrelevant. The terms Life Coach plus town may well be frequently used internet search terms, but beware! Many of the people who search for Life Coach Birmingham are themselves life coaches, or wannabe life coaches, living in Birmingham, who are checking up on the competition.
The life coach industry is expanding rapidly, and it can be hard to differentiate yourself from the competition. An original and appealing name will help you stand out and catch people's eye. Professional naming companies charge thousands of dollars to do this job, but you can do it yourself for nothing, or for the cost of a few books.
Sources of ideas
You'll need to devote a few hours to the job of naming your business. Grab a thesaurus and look up as many words you can think of that are related to the sort of coaching you offer, such as career, change, crisis or confidence. Jot down words you like or think might have potential. Follow up all the cross-references in the thesaurus for more ideas.
Look at the names of existing life-coaching businesses on the internet, in magazines and in directories for more ideas. Avoid words that are used too often in your field, otherwise you will come across as a follower rather than an innovator. Find more possibilities in magazines and websites that deal with related topics eg health, relationships.
Depending on the focus of your coaching business, you might find inspiration in other reference books, say books on mythology, magic, religion or sport. You may attract more clients if you focus on a particular group as your target market (eg those recently made redundant, older women, teachers) and choose a name which indicates this. Brainstorm words to use in your name by reading publications and websites likely to appeal to your chosen niche group.
Points to bear in mind
By now you should have well over a hundred words on your list. Many of them will be unsuitable, so your first task is to go through the list and eliminate these. There's no point in having Goddess in your name, if you are hoping to attract male clients, or calling yourself Pentacle if your coaching business is far removed from anything mystical. Remember that men and women use and interpret language differently, so a word that may appeal to women eg Bliss, Divine, will not necessarily appeal to male clients.
Now that your list has been whittled down, identify words that you could use in your name. Combine words (join with 'and' or 'to'), or 'mix and match' words and/ or syllables to create a unique name: Bliss and Bloom, Soul Centered/ The Centered Soul, Health-conscious/ Conscious Health, Mastermind/Mind Master.
Names containing initials or abbreviations, such as Coaching 4 U or Gr8 Plans, can easily be misspelled or mistyped by people searching for you on the web; they will search for Coaching for You and Great Plans. You won't want these coaching companies to gain business that was intended for you. Remember that initials and abbreviations suggest speed and brusqueness, which might be fine for a career coach, but they do not create the right impression for a coach in meditative techniques. Always keep your target market uppermost in your mind when choosing a name.
Finding the perfect name takes time, so don't rush the job. Once you've registered your company name and had stationery printed, it will be an expensive hassle to change it, so it makes sense to get it right to start with.
There are more articles and information on choosing a winning name for your business on Susan Purcell's site Winning Names, http://winningnames.co.uk/. For the Winning Names blog on names in the news, go to http://winningnames.wordpress.com/.
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