The Principles of Successful Freelancing

Creating Your Brand: the Preliminaries

We’ll talk more about branding yourself in a later chapter; however, it’s very important that you carefully consider the business name you plan to use, when first kicking off your freelance career. There are two typical approaches: use your personal name, or create an entirely new trading name.

Let’s look at these options in more detail.

Using Your Own Name

Using your own name is a fantastic way to build a personal brand. Taking this option depends on what your vision of the future looks like—if you plan to hire staff at a later date, you may want to avoid using your own full name, but there are still options available even if you do; for example, Burke Design & Development; Miles Burke & Co. On the other hand, if you have every intention of remaining a one-person show, giving yourself a name like “XYZ Corporation” can be considered misleading, as it won’t take long for your clients to realize that you’re a solo worker.

Note: Anything’s Possible!
Many people start off never expecting to take on staff. Don’t rule this out, unless you feel strongly against it. I once couldn’t picture myself hiring employees ... and at the time of writing I have 16!

This theory assumes your name is unique enough to be memorable, and that it’s easy for your clients to pronounce. If your name is Bob Smith, you may find that it’s too common for business registration and other registrations, such as domain names or intellectual property.

To recap, the advantages of using your personal name include:

• it builds a reputation around you
• it’s normally easier to recall, since clients already know your name
• it can avoid misleading clients if you plan to stay solo
• it looks far more personal and (depending on the uniqueness of your name) can make you easier to find on the Web

Disadvantages of using your own name include:

• it limits you in terms of hiring staff and possibly even selling the business, if you reach that point someday
• it can make it harder to rank on search engines if your name is very common
• it may be hard to pronounce if your name is very uncommon

Using a Fictitious Name

Irrespective of the business structure, having a business name unrelated to your personal name has a number of considerations that need taking into account.

A business name which when read phonetically is still pronounced correctly is perfect. Pfizer could be a challenge; Sigma is fairly unambiguous. Don’t get too clever with creating crazy business names—most people would regret having to answer the phone with the greeting “Smelly Shoe Design” before long.

Having your main service as part of the name makes sense as well, although be warned against making it too specific. For example, perhaps you’re a designer whose short-term plans are to design web sites only. You’ll need to consider whether you plan to expand into other forms of design in the future. Having a name like “XYZ Web Design” when you’re pitching for a logo design project may not help you beat your competition, so beware of suggesting that you’re only capable of providing one service.

A good business name should be easy to recall, evocative, pronouncable, and unique. You’ll want to register the domain name, so run a WHOIS on your shortlist to rule out those already registered. Don’t just consider your own country extension—register as many extensions (including the top-level domains, .com and .net) as possible.

Warning: Unexpected Domain Names
Take a step back and look at your domain name carefully! There’s been more than one business that has come up with a great trade name and bought the (in)appropriate domain name to match:

• Experts Exchange: expertsexchange.com
• Therapist Finder: therapistfinder.com
• Powergen Italia: powergenitalia.com

The advantages of creating a new name for your business are:

• It keeps your personal and business lives further separated.
• It allows infinite choice of business name.
• It allows you to tailor the name according to domain name availability.
• It’s easier to sell your business or client base in the future.

Disadvantages of using a custom name include:

• You’ll need to exert some energy to get a new name to stick.
• You could have issues finding one that you feel comfortable with and fits you well.
• It’s not an easy process to change the name later on.