Question

Topic: Taglines/Names

Help Me Name My Painting Business!

Posted by Anonymous on 4/14/2010 at 4:19 PM ET 250 Points
My name is Lacey Grant, I am a 27 year old painter and i am seriously considering going commercial. In order to do this properly i need a catchy name for my business. I am usually really good at things like this but for some reason i am drawing a blank. i do interior paining but am not opposed to doing more artistic work such as textures and murals. I am also flirting with the idea of organising peoples homes for them as well. I want my name to be catchy but fun at the same time. could you please help me??
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 4/15/2010 at 4:04 AM Accepted
    Lacey

    In order to do this properly, you don't need a catchy name. You already have a name - your name - and unless you have a plan for global domination of the house painting market, your name would do just fine.

    What you really need is a PLAN. A plan to attract customers who will come to you for their painting work.

    So don't spend too much time dwelling on the name, and start thinking about how you're going to bring those customers in the door, how you'll charge them for the services you perform, and how you'll control your costs so as much as possible of their money sticks in your bank account.

    Now that would be catchy!

    Good luck

    ChrisB
  • Posted by mgoodman on 4/15/2010 at 8:02 AM Accepted
    "Catchy" is the wrong objective for a name. The objective should be to communicate what you do and/or what important benefit your customers can expect when they hire you.

    If it's "catchy" it could still be OK, but catchy shouldn't be the goal. ChrisB has it right. Take his advice to heart.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 4/15/2010 at 8:22 AM Accepted
    Dear Lacey,

    "Catchy" is not a selling strategy™.

    That's the first point.

    Second, mixing painting with home organization is a huge
    mistake. Seeing this done on a home make over TV show is
    one thing. Doing it for real is another.

    To become a commercial painter you do NOT need a catchy
    name for your business, you need a license, you need marketing material, you need word of mouth and referrals, and you need
    to sell to people's compulsions.

    Offering painting and organizing you'll be sending VASTLY different signals that confuse people. Confused people don't buy things.

    Stick to what you know best. Names: Lacey Grant—Painter, or Lacey Grant, Painting Services.

    These tell people who you are and what you do. Keep it simple and avoid "catchy" as you would a venomous toad.

    I hope this helps.

    Gary Bloomer
    Wilmington, DE, USA

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 4/15/2010 at 8:57 AM Accepted
    From a professional standpoint, it'll be much easier for you to target clients if you specialize - whether that be textures and murals ("Artistic Painter") or no-VOC painting ("Breathe Easier Painting") than simply being "another" commercial painter.
  • Posted on 4/15/2010 at 5:02 PM Author
    thank you all for your suggestions, i will take them all to heart and use them as tools to try to build my business. I have thought about all of this and done alot of research on the topic, but u guys tell me like it is which is great!

    as for my target customer, i dont really discriminate, i am willing to do any kind of painting whether it be someone's living room, or their place of business. right now i am in the process of painting pretty much an entire hotel all by myself in record time, and with great quality. you name it and i've painted it. i have been approach by many of the guests asking if i will come paint for them as they were very impressed with my work. The reason i was looking for a name was because i am planning on making some fliers and maybe even info cards to give to people and start out that way. you guys have given me alot of great ideas!

    i am not naive to the fact that there will be alot of paper work ahead of me as i plan to document every job i do specifically. In my research i have found that most painters charge 3 times the amount of paint plus 20%, and to charge half up front to be able to get the supplies i need so i dont have to pay out of pocket. then charge the other half upon completion, which i also intend to include in my paperwork. since i do not have a business license yet and i would consider myself an excellent painter, but since im technically still amateur, i probably wont charge as much until i do get a license and become offical. how much does it cost to acquire one because i do want to be considered professional and have the paperwork to back it up.

    the organisation thing mainly stems from the fact that alot of older people that can't physically paint their own homes, much less climb a ladder, also need help in the clutter department, and i would basically provide organisation as an extra service to people that may not be able to do it themselves. i dont mean scrubbing peoples toilets and dusting i mean more like decreasing clutter and finding a way to make things easier for them to find or easier for them to get around. also there are alot of other people that just dont have the time to organise their lives so i'd be there to help them with that if need be.

    since i have always been very artistic and have done alot of home improvement painting and non home improvement painting i would also like to have that as another option . i would like to have consultations with the customers and find out what they invisioned and if they want me to paint something sceneic in there kids bedroom, then by god it can be done. its not that i dont want to specialize in just one kind of painting, but i just want people to know that there are other options they can choose from if they'd like. im a customer pleaser so for the right price i will provide more than just painting there living room a solid color, and to David R. i am not talking about sex, hee hee, btw your # 7 suggestion cracked me up!

    i just want people to know that i am a perfectionsit at this craft, very precise and will do it in a timely fashion without the mess, and at a rate they can afford, and hope fully be able to make peoples lives a little bit easier by doing the tedious work they have been putting off for so long.
  • Posted by SRyan ;] on 4/16/2010 at 12:04 AM Accepted
    Wow. You've gotten a lot of great feedback, Lacey!

    Maybe you need to keep things simple:

    Lacey Grant
    Paint Perfectionist

    That would be a nice branding angle! Good luck...

    Shelley ;]
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