Know-How Exchange : Taglines/Names

If you're well-known already, by all means use your name. If the office is basically just going to be you, then you can use your name and add a tagline ("Fitness & Health Consultant"). If you're going to have partners, then you'll need to determine if having your name is a plus or minus to them. Looking forward, if you sell the business, you'll lose your name in the process - it'll be hard for you to create another fitness business with your name in the title.

Jay has put his finger on the core issue: What is your goal for the business? Is it a vehicle for you to earn a (comfortable) living, or is it to build equity in a company so you can sell it some day? Do you expect to have multiple locations and lots of partners/associates, or is it mostly just you?

It would be nice to keep your name either way since you are already known by the target audience as an expert in the field. But you can do that with an "umbrella" or a tagline. For example, if the business name is "Fit For Life," you can call it "Ashley Brennan's / Fit For Life" or "Fit For Life / An Ashley Brennan Wellness Company." Over time, you can minimize the "Ashley Brennan" part, or lose it altogether once the base name has become a well-accepted brand.

The first step is to figure out what your goal is. THEN we can deal with the name.

Firstly you say " I was wondering if I should just keep my name as the business name per say and what i offer for tag line" - whatever results we give you, let your existing customers choose the ones they like (and they may even come up with something better too). They are the ones who like you, and the ones who respond like you even more: trust them!

If they are already looking for you under your name, that means you have a business! That means your name is worth having (= genuine quality) and it most definitely should stay in your company name somewhere. So in a word, keep your name!!

What do you think? M