036 - Should you use your personal name for your business?

I love naming things — business, products, campaigns. I get a thrill out of coming up with a name that is clever and communicates the value proposition. 

But when I decided to do a personal branding podcast, finding a name I liked stumped me. 

I went back and forth. Should I use my own name or come up with something more descriptive. I couldn’t find a descriptive name I liked, so I went with my own name. 

Have you ever wondered if there was any benefit or drawback to using your personal name as your brand?

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Why is this important? Your name is often your first impression. Many people will see your name and make a decision about you and your brand long before meeting you. 

So what does your business name tell them?

A good name should begin the process of defining your business, product, or service and begin educating your customer.

If it doesn’t you should plan to spend extra time explaining what you do to potential prospects.

Do you want to spend any of your marketing and education capital just telling people what your name means?

If you are still going back and forth on your personal name vs a descriptive name, here are some questions to consider:

• Are you the face of the business? The main person delivering the service?

• Do you plan to grow it to have other people delivering service? Are you comfortable with other people delivering service under your name?

• How do you plan to exit the business? Would you like to sell it one day? What happens to it when you want to leave?

• Do you want the flexibility to pivot? Are you sure this is your final focus?

• Will you have a descriptive tagline?

• Is your name available in URL & social media? Can you make a clever version of it?

• Is your name easy to say, spell, and pronounce? Gary Vee
  

If your name is generic, then you need a descriptive tagline.

If you can choose a descriptive name that stands on its own, use your tagline to position yourself.

How can you use your name to begin the branding and marketing process.

Back to me. The introvert in me cringed every time I saw my own name on the podcast. I know, it’s weird. The marketer in me bristled that it was such a wasted opportunity. But it was time to launch, so I grabbed my name and the topic area and moved on.

Now that I am niching down to photography-specific personal branding, the old name is too generic. It doesn’t speak to the focus area in a way that someone would know at a glance.

So I am updating the podcast name by using the focus area. And that's how Photographers On Brand was born. It says who it’s for — photographers — and our aspiration — to build a business that is on brand. 

You might say, but it doesn’t specify a personal brand. True, that’s why it’s in the tagline. Personal branding conversations for professional photographers.

So that’s my story. Would love to hear yours.