Starting a new business as a limited liability company?
Obviously, you'll need to come up with a good name.
Unfortunately, the process is trickier than you might
realize in today's business environment. You've got legal,
marketing and even internet-related issues to ponder.
Fortunately, a handful of tips can make the process less
stressful and more likely to produce in the end a good name.
Tip #1: Google Your New Name
Here's a first tip. You should Google your new limited
liability company name, putting the entire name into
quotation marks, to see if somewhere someone already uses
the name you've selected.
If you're thinking about opening a new drycleaning outlet
and want to use the name "Riverside Drycleaning", for
example, Google on both "Riverside Drycleaning" and the
full legal name you're likely to use such as "Riverside
Drycleaning LLC."
You want a name that isn't already being used... obviously.
Tip #2: Verify Your New Name Is Different Enough
All states require new limited liability company names to
be enough different from the names used by existing limited
liability companies registered in the state so that no
confusion results.
You probably can't name your business "Advantage Property
Management LLC" if someone else has named their business
"Advantage Properties Management LLC," for example.
To check out the names of existing limited liability
companies in your state, visit your state's secretary of
state web site and find the web site's directory of
existing corporations and limited liability companies.
Then, search that directory for names similar to your
desired name. Make sure no existing name is deceptively
close to what you want to use.
Tip #3: Identify Your LLC Status Correctly
Within your limited liability company name, you'll need to
include words, phrases or acronyms that identify your
entity as a limited liability company. For example, you
might append the acronym "LLC" to the end of your business
name.
Different states have different rules about which words,
phrases or acronyms you should use. But typically, you can
use the phrases or acronyms, "Limited Liability Company,"
"Ltd. Liability Co.," "LLC," or "L.L.C."
One factor you should consider, however, is whether there's
a chance you'll operate in another state. If that's a
possibility, you want to make sure your LLC name works both
in your home state and in the other states in which you're
likely to do business.
Note: The acronym "LLC" works in all fifty states.
Tip #4: Consider Your Future Web Site Name
Even if you're not currently planning on setting up a web
site for your new business, you may want to do so in the
future. Web sites can often become powerful marketing tools
for small businesses (because so many potential customers
and clients now use the web as a replacement for the yellow
pages directory).
This means you should consider your web site name as you
think about your business name. You may want a business
name that works (at least reasonably well) as a domain name.
You need to be careful about making a domain name too long
or hard to spell. That said, domain names that resemble the
phrases that potential customers might Google or Yahoo can
be very useful.
If you're opening an landscaping business in a town named
Arlington, for example, a web site name like
ArlingtonLandscaping dot com will help your search engine
marketing--which means you may want to name your business
Arlington Landscaping LLC.
Tip #5: Consider Your Email Domain Name
And a related point about Internet domain names: What makes
for a good domain name for search engine marketing purposes
sometimes doesn't make as much sense for email addresses.
For email addresses (which you'll be giving out all the
time verbally) you want something that people can easily,
correctly interpret, and not unintentionally misspell.
In the early days of the Internet, I decided to use my full
name (middle initial and all) for a domain name I now use
both for my CPA firm and for my email addresses.
Unfortunately, my parents picked as my first name one that
has several possible spellings. And my middle initial can
easily be missed or misread as a number. Predictably, I
have had endless troubles with the domain name and web site
address stephenlnelson dot com. Ugh.
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Stephen L. Nelson is tax accountant and the publisher of
the http://www.scorporationsexplained.com and
http://www.llcsexplained.com web sites.
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