“What’s in a name?”, you might ask… well, could be a lot. Or it could be a little. Naming your business is actually big business. It could help you soar to new heights, or sink below the mud of obscurity. I’ll give you my thoughts in this week’s edition of: Manic Marketing Monday.
I get asked all of the time, “So, what’s the story behind the name ‘Brown Cow’?” My answer is always the same, because I named my business “Brown Cow” on purpose.. I had a reason. It wasn’t because I like cows, even though they’re ok, and it wasn’t because brown is my favorite color (it’s actually orange). There is a reason I picked that name, I’ll share the story with you.
In college, almost every night I drank a glass of chocolate milk. Since then I’ve used the phrase “chocolate milk” in email addresses, passwords, etc. I even kept up the ritual of drinking it a bunch – so much so that my kids follow suit. We go through milk and Nes-Quik so much in this house, it would be smarter to buy in bulk! It got to the point of people calling me the “chocolate milkman”. So, when it came time to brand my business and pick a name, I thought to myself: “Well, where does chocolate milk come from?? Brown cows of course!” – and the rest is history.
Now I could have chosen a bunch of different names, I even thought of just using my name – I actually did for a while. But I was more interested in creating a brand with a catchy name, instead of just using my own. I wanted my business name to reflect a level of creativity – for it to stand out in the crowd. I wanted it to be different from everyone else and to give off a feeling of fun. When I show people my business card, the reaction is always a smile and a chuckle. When I get a new client from the internet, who found my site, they always say that they love the name and think the cow is fun. That was my goal. I want clients to know that this small design studio is based on creativity, fun, and a down-to-earth feeling. Everybody eventually understands that the business is me, but they also know that the brown cow stands for something.
In the early stages of starting a business, most people get bogged down by the hard decision of what to name it. No body wants a business name that leave people scratching their heads. No one wants the boring name, or the hard to spell, or hard to pronounce name either. It’s tough business finding that name that fits who you are. But I’d encourage you not to settle on just any name for the sake of time and pressure. I think it’s important to find the right name, especially the name that portraits the image that you are striving for. It doesn’t have to be ultra cool, or ultra professional, it just needs to be you. So, take time to allow yourself to sift through a list of all the things you want your business to be – and center on a name that fits. For a great article on the specifics of the name game, go here.
scottJ
artist/owner Brown Cow Design
