What's in a Name: 5 Rules for Choosing a Business Name

5 Rules for Choosing a Business Name
How to Create a Winning Business Name
By Susan Ward, About.com Guide
sbinofocanada.about.com/od/startup/a/createbizname.htm

What’s a winning business name? A business name that draws business in itself. Creating a winning business name takes some thought but is one of the most important things you’ll do during the process of starting a business. Starting out with a weak business name is like trying to golf with only one club in your bag. You may sink some shots but it will be a whole lot harder.

1) A winning business name has to be memorable – but easy to spell.
Obviously, your potential customers and clients need to be able to remember your business name. But they also need to be able to find it easily if they’re looking for it in a phone book, directory or online. So choosing a business name such as “Crychalwellyn” is a bad idea. Unique is good but difficult spellings are a bad idea.

2) A winning business name needs a visual element.
What popped into your head when you read “Crychalwellyn”? Anything? Most people don’t visualize anything when they read this business name that I invented. But generally we are hard-wired to “see” images when we read or hear language, and incorporating a visual element into your business name can be a powerful aid to customers’ memory (and a powerful advertising tool).
So you want your business name to have a strong visual element to it. The catch is that...

3) A winning business name has to have positive connotation.
Many words have both denotation (literal meaning) and connotation (emotional meaning). A word’s connotation can be positive, neutral or negative, depending on the emotional associations that people generally make. The classic example is the difference between “Mom” (which has a very positive connotation) and “Mother” (which has a neutral connotation). Now you know why they called them “Dad’s” cookies, rather than “Father’s”!

What it means to you is that when you create a business name, you need to choose words that have the positive connotations that you want people to associate with your business – and make sure these connotations are suitable for your business.

If you are starting a trucking business, for instance, you don’t want it to have a weak sounding or negative name, such as “Willow Twig Trucking” or “Kitten Transport”. You want a business name that conveys strength and reliability. A choice such as “Stone Creek Trucking” would be much better. Notice how all these names have a strong visual element.

4) A winning business name needs to include information about what your business does.
Chances are good that your new business is not going to become an international brand. It certainly isn’t instantly going to become as well known as Nike. So you need to be sure that your new business name at least gives your potential customers or clients some clues about what you actually do. That’s why you see so many landscaping businesses that have the word “landscaping” in their name, and hair styling businesses that include words such as “salon” or even “hair designs” in their names.
Including information about what your business does in your business name also makes it easier for potential customers and/or clients to find your business in phone books and directories (both off and online).

5) A winning business name has to be fairly short.
Once again this is vital because you want customers and clients to be able to remember your business’s name (and be able to tell other people what it is)! But it’s also important for promotional purposes. You want a business name, for example, that will fit well on a business card, look good displayed on a sign or in an ad, and perhaps even a business name that will serve well as a domain name and show up well in search if you have an online business. So keep it as short as possible.

See Related Links:
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2011/11/give-them-more-of-you-how-to-build.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2012/04/5-tips-for-resurrect-your-business.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/12/10-ways-to-get-your-business-organized.html

A March for Women Entreprenuers

March is the month for women so, we are spotlighting women entreprenuers.

Comparison Between Self-Employed Women and Wage-Earning Women
Are There More Advantages For Women Who Own Their Own Businesses?

By Lahle Wolfe, About.com Guide

Are There More Advantages For Women Who Own Their Own Businesses?
In April 2008, the Small Business Administration (SBA) published a summary of an analysis about business women derived from the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement.
There were many interesting findings reported about self-employed women in business, especially when compared to wage- and salary-earning women. But perhaps one of the most unsurprising (to me) observations was offered in the following SBA statement: “Contrary to expectations, neither wage and salary-earning nor self-employed women significantly shifted industry participation over this portion of the study period.”

I am perplexed why the authors of the study would consider this “contrary to expectations,” as this should not surprise anyone familiar with the challenges of women in the workforce who have significantly greater industry-limited opportunities when compared to men. Or, that it should strike anyone as unusual given the amazing entrepreneurial spirit of women breaking barriers in the privately-held business world. In fact, the study’s summary goes on to support my own thoughts:

“However, wage and salary-earning women were somewhat more likely than self-employed women to be in industries with the greatest degree of female ownership (primarily social services and education services). Self-employed women were more likely to be in industries with a medium presence of female ownership. This suggests, according to the authors, that self-employed women were branching out of industries traditionally associated with women.”

Even prior to this study, as early as 2002 it was statistically measurable that despite gender barriers women in business are slowly branching out into male-dominated industries, and doing so with success, even if not yet in mass proportions.

Women Entreprenuers

Iman Abdulmajid

                                          Company: Iman Cosmetics

                                           Position: Founder and CEO

                                         Industry: Personal Care Products

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Leigh Magar

A 21st-century hatmaker marries old-world techniques with fashion-forward vision.

Yolanda Owens

Losing her job led to a major career switch — and a truly fresh line of beauty products.

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Tasia Malakasis

This former marketing exec followed her foodie dreams back home to run her own goat-cheese creamery.

See other realted articles:

http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2011/02/be-dressed-for-party-learn-how-to.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2012/02/black-history-of-entrepreneurship.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-to-start-online-business-101.html



How to Start an Online Business 101

Welcome back everyone, I hope that everything is well with you. I wanted to post this blog not only for those who want to start their own online business and for those of us who already have businesses online. Because as an online retailer, we should never stop learning.

ONLINE BUSINESS

From: The Everything Start Your Own Business Book
Author: Rich Mintzer

Rivaling traditional retailers today are online retail businesses. For the most part, e-tail (as it’s affectionately called) has not made a significant dent in the retail world… yet. In fact, many people still research products on the Internet and then walk into a bricks-and mortar retail location to see and purchase the products. Certain products, such as books, CDs, and toys have shown tremendous results over the Internet. For someone who wants to maintain a low overhead, selling a niche market item via the Internet can also be advantageous for a small business. Specialized services such as gift items or custom-made products such as a golf clubs have also enjoyed success. The Web has also proved a marvelous way to promote and increase sales for established bricks-and-mortar businesses that do additional sales over the Internet but don’t base their entire business on e-tail sales.
One of the biggest concerns of many customers shopping over the Internet is not knowing from whom they’re buying and not feeling confident that their privacy is respected and maintained. Other than dealing with established online companies, many people are reluctant to give their credit card number to unknown and possibly unsecured source. While many source show more breaches of security with traditional credit card methods used in retail stores, consumers are still wary of cyberspace. Fraud and privacy issues as evidenced by the ever-increasing rash of unwanted spam mailings that occur whenever they sign up or put their personal information on certain Web sites. If you’re going into e-tail, be sure to make yourself as accessible as possible with a toll free number, good customer services policies, a business address, and so on. People have become quite concerned about the anonymity of many e-tial-only businesses.
Another problem of starting a Web based business is unlike hanging a sign out front-as you would do for walk-in business with a retail location-you need to find a way to draw people to your site. For many entrepreneurs, Web marketing has not been an easy venture. The glut of reported, demise of many those sites, has not been as favorable for new e-tail businesses in the new millennium. It has become increasingly difficult for Web startups to find venture capital. While this trend may change in the near future, at present most people looking to start up an Internet business are thinking small or looking to start up an adjunct business (to a bricks-and-mortar business) but not use the Web site as their primary business source.
There are plenty of Web-based success stories, and if you find a niche, a way to market yourself, and enough venture capital to survive, you can still get a Web-based e-tail business off the ground. To your advantage is that you can very likely get by without many (or possibly any) other employees. Other than possibly needing someone to help set up and run the site from a technical standpoint, it’s quite possible that you can handle the orders yourself with a fulfillment house. You also don’t need an inventory, an alarm system, a night watchman, or a shovel for clearing the snow off the sidewalk so that customers can get to your shop.To succeed with an e-tail business, you need to think like an online consumer. It helps to either be one yourself or, at the very least, talk to regular online consumers. Get to know what people look for from an e-commerce site. Browse numerous sites to get a feel for how they look and how they operate. (Visit www.gomez.com or www.sites.com for Web site reviews.) Evaluate which sites are easy to navigate and purchase what you want and which ones are not. The point of ordering is the most important juncture of the process. If customers are clicking repeatedly to get through the process, they will simply click off of the site. You need a fast dependable, foolproof server. You need to be able to handle various payment methods, not unlike a bricks-and-mortar location. Because the Web is global, you may improve your sales potential by being able to handle foreign currencies as well. Finally, you need to have very reliable methods of shipping; otherwise your reputation will diminish quickly. Web sites have gone out of business by taking more order than they could handle or ship.

Remember, you’re providing customers with the ability to shop from the comfort of their own homes or offices. Ask yourself: How can you capitalize on that? How can you gain their trust and confidence? How can you make the shopping experience easy and time efficient?
E-Fact One of the largest target audiences online is the college student. About 90 percent of U.S. college students have access to the Internet--most through their schools. College students spend an estimated $700 million online annually. Now that's buying power!

What They Don't Tell You About Sales and Social Networks (Pt.3)

Good evening everyone, we have come to the conclusion of our three part series on sales and social networks. I hope that you have enjoyed it and feel free to comment on the subject matter.

Now a social network site works better for those who are selling services and or consultation because you are selling only yourself (meaning your experience and/or expertise) so its VERY important to be sociable. However, when you are selling a product you have to sell yourself and the product so its more than being social its about getting them to buy. On the social site they can view your profile page and ge to know you and visa versa to spark conversation, view your website and any videos about your services and/or consultations.

Overall, when you are on an online network (be it social or e-Commerce), you will recieve more traffic than by just having a blog and/or website (my business partner and I have three blogs and are on multiple social networks,  an e-Commerce site and our own website).  On a network there are  more people who visit than on a typical blog or website and that is because of the content that is on networks.  The content is produced by the members, the more members the more content; content is important in the search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing and others have "crawlers" or "spiders" that search for good content (by content I mean: blogs, videos, photos and profiles). The members also live links to any sites that they have be it professional or personal, which is searched by those "crawlers" or "spiders", where people can find and/ or follow them.

See more related articles:
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-they-dont-tell-you-about-sales-and.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/10/what-they-dont-tell-you-about-sales-and.html 
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2012/04/5-tips-for-resurrect-your-business.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2011/11/give-them-more-of-you-how-to-build.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/12/10-ways-to-get-your-business-organized.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-to-start-online-business-101.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2011/02/be-dressed-for-party-learn-how-to.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2012/02/black-history-of-entrepreneurship.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-to-start-online-business-101.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2012/01/new-customer-service-for-2012.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/10/7-tips-to-great-profile-picture-your.html

What They Don't Tell You About Sales and Social Networks (Pt.2)

Hello everyone and welcome back...as promised I will be continuing our discussion on sales and social networking with the part two to the discussion.

Starting off, let's first define the term "social network" by breaking it down into two separate words. Webster defines the term social as being: " marked by or passed in pleaseant companionship with one's friends or associates tending to form cooperations, interdependent relationships with others of one's kind" and a network as an interconnected or interrelated group, chain or system.  Now that we know what a social network  is will it work for your business?  It will only work to a certain extent depending upon the type of busines you own.  If your business is a service than social networks will work great for you because you can network with people that have an interest in your service that you offer.  Push them to your website which (because it is a service business) probably will not a have a lot to download, this can cause you to loose a sale if you have slow or long downloads.  Your website should basically have information about your services and your contact information (general rule: K.I.S. "keep it simple").  However, if you have products to sell then an e-Commerce network website would be the best choice.  Why is that? An e-Commerce network is know for selling merchants / sellers (that is you the online small business owner / entreprenuer) products, with your products being setup to make immediate sales safely.  You can sell to members and non-members of the e-Commerce network.  Some social networks say that they have a marketplace but all that you can do is place a link for your company and a picture / image and hope that they go to your website.  Then they have to navigate to your site and find that particular item.  "Time is money", if it takes to long to find it the sale is lost.  Most people from social networking sites will only visit, they won't buy because they are just about soicializing. If they do visit your site that may be there just to see what it is that you do so that they can sell their products and/or services to you.

The atmosphere on an e-Commerce networking website is unlike that of a social network, in that it is an marketplace (a marketplace: is a place where buyers and sellers meet to exchange money for goods and/or services).  When non-sellers come to an e-Commerce network they come to buy, not to socialize (unlike on social networks), they same is true for sellers (small business owners / entreprenuers) they come on the site to sell not to socialize.  Also e-Commerce networking sites are ready to handle an order in a speady and secure manner because they know that a sale can be lost in two seconds.
* The e-Commerce website isn't to replace your existing personal website if you already have one, but can be an additional arena to sell your products.
The sellers have a secure account on the e-Commerce network with companies such as: PayPal and Charge.com to properly handle the transaction and to keep your and your customers information confidential.

Thanks everyone for reading our blog...part three is coming this Friday October 15 so be sure and read it! And please subscribe to this blog and our sister blogs: http://www.uniquic.blogspot.com/ and http://www.hwheeler06.blogspot.com/. May GOD bless and keep you in JESUS name, Amen.

See related articles:
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/10/what-they-dont-tell-you-about-sales-and_16.html  http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-they-dont-tell-you-about-sales-and.html 
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2012/04/5-tips-for-resurrect-your-business.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2011/11/give-them-more-of-you-how-to-build.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/12/10-ways-to-get-your-business-organized.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-to-start-online-business-101.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2011/02/be-dressed-for-party-learn-how-to.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2012/02/black-history-of-entrepreneurship.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-to-start-online-business-101.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2012/01/new-customer-service-for-2012.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/10/7-tips-to-great-profile-picture-your.html

What They Don't Tell You About Sales and Social Networking (Pt.1)

Welcome back! Just as I promised before we will discuss those statistics about sales and how to get the most of our social networking for your business. This blog post is a three part series, so I hope that you read all three in that each one picks up where the other left off.

So, you have a website  and now you need to bring in traffic.  You say, what must I do, hmmm network right? So you find as many people as you can and make friends with them on a large social network.  Then you tell them about your website (exposure, exposure, exposure) and sit back and watch the money roll in right...wrong.  When you join social networks you can make hundreds of friends, have your website posted with links to it, send them emails with coupons and discounts but the are catches to all those things. First of all, from all those hundreds of friends you will need a thousand people to see your site and from those thousands only 15 percent will buy from you. Secondly, make sure that your links work and that they aren't being seen as something that could be potentially harmful to the person's computer (some sites don't send people directly to the links that are posted on their site for fear that you could be viruses). Thirdly, people could get turned away from your company from the emails that you sent with coupons and discounts, seeing them as spam. I know what you are thinking, you say this is what everyone is doing, so it must be the right thing to do. But do you really know if they are making money from all "these" efforts?

Statistics state that out of every thousand visitors to your site you will only get 15 percent of those people to buy (which is 1.5 percent of those thousands of visitors). For example if you get two hundred friends in 6 months, then yu have picked up 33 people in a month and one person a day. That's not a lot of potential customers to visit your site. How many other sites do you have a membership? Do you make profiles and them leave them because of low membership on that site? All these are important factors in determining if you make sales because the more sites your on the better and inorder to generate traffic to your site you need a large number of visitors, so the site that you are on needs a large memebership base. In the political arena, they post campaign flyers everywhere from school yards to light poles and they post in areas of HIGH traffic (even if their is an abandoned building on the street, if it is a busy intersection, they are there).

See next blog for Part 2...

See related articles:
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/10/what-they-dont-tell-you-about-sales-and.html  http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/10/what-they-dont-tell-you-about-sales-and_16.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2012/04/5-tips-for-resurrect-your-business.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2011/11/give-them-more-of-you-how-to-build.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/12/10-ways-to-get-your-business-organized.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-to-start-online-business-101.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2011/02/be-dressed-for-party-learn-how-to.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2012/02/black-history-of-entrepreneurship.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-to-start-online-business-101.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2012/01/new-customer-service-for-2012.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/10/7-tips-to-great-profile-picture-your.html

Exposure...exposure...exposure!

Hello everyone, welcome to Uniquic Networking Online U.N.O. Blog. This blog will be a helpful tool to small business owners and also a means to inform everyone. We hope that you find the information that we give you to be helpful and welcome any comments or suggestions that you may have on a topic.

The old saying is "location, location, location" and location is very important but if you don't tell anyone that your business is at "that" location no one will ever know. That is where "exposure" comes into play. The definition of the word "expsoure" by Webster Dictionary is " the condition of being presented to view or made known" and that is what we MUST do as small business owners; present our businesses and/or make them known.

As an online small business owners many people may come to your site, but statistics show that it takes a thousand people to visit your site  before you will begin to see sales and you only get fifteen sales for every 1,000th person. Those are small numbers but they don't have to be...we will talk more about this statistic, sales and selling on social networking sites in our next blog entitled "WHAT THEY DON'T TELL YOU ABOUT SALES AND SOCIAL NETWORKS".