Choosing a Name for your Business: Etsy 101

One of the biggest decisions you'll make about your business is its name. You may have nearly every single piece of the puzzle figured out already, but if you don't have a name, you're missing one of the most important pieces!

The name of your business is how people will find you. It's how they will remember you. It's synonymous with your products and you as the creator. It needs to be strong, memorable, and creative. It needs to be able to withstand the life of your business. No pressure, but this decision is probably one of the most important of your entire maker life.

So how do you choose a name? I won't say "it's easy!" but I do have a few tips that hopefully will help narrow it down.

1. Think about your craft. What's the business of your business? Do you knit? Crochet? Weave? Do macrame? Do you exclusively make one particular item? Including your craft in your business name will help steer customers your way because they know exactly what you're about.

One word of caution though-- adding your craft to your name may limit you. If you name your business ABCBeanies, your customers expect you to sell hats. What if you decide later that you loathe beanies and you'd rather make scarves? No one is going to look for scarves at a shop called ABCBeanies. Likewise, people looking for hats are going to immediately click away when they see nothing but scarves in your inventory.

I've also seen this several times recently with shops that have named themselves ________Crochet and then learn to knit and started releasing knitwear and designs along with their crochet. Not a huge deal, but at least two shops ended up changing their name to reflect their new styles.

Personally, I added "Designs" to my business name because it allows the flexibility of adapting my craft and expanding into different realms, since I sell both fiber wear as well as graphic design prints, without having to rebrand my name if my interests shift.

A few suggestions of craft related words to add to your name:

• Knit

• Crochet

• Designs

• Yarn

• Fiber

• Handmade

• Craft

• Creations

2. Find a personal touch. If you're struggling to come up with anything, try thinking of something meaningful to you. A personal motto or mantra, a name of someone special, a symbolic object, or a place that holds special memories. That personal touch will give you a warm fuzzy feeling about your shop, and will give you a good story for your About Me page.

I chose Willow because it is my favorite tree. I love the symbolism of them as a tree whose branches sway in the wind, not break. I paired that idea with the heart because while my craft may change, my passion for creating won't.

3. Make it memorable. You want to be sure that people will remember you and your name. Keep it short and sweet, and keep it easy to spell and say. You want a unique name , but you also want to be sure people will remember easily. Try to steer away from alternate spellings, especially for common words that may be used frequently within your craft community.

If they can't remember your name exactly, they're going to look you up, and they may end up being pointed in someone else's direction if they don't remember that you spell knits with a "z."

4. Think about branding. I know it's early on in the birth of your business, but branding is a big part of your identity. You want people to think of YOU when they hear and see your name. Can your name be turned into a symbol or an image? Will it look good as a logo on a business card or packaging? Your name will be on everything from product tags to websites, so you'll want something that's easy to visualize.

5. Be proud. Pick a name that you can be proud to tell people your name when they ask. This should go without saying, but I'm saying it anyway.

In a past life I was a food blogger. My boyfriend came up with a name and I thought it was funny, so I wrote as The Busty Baker. Hilarious when I was writing anonymously for the first part of my tenure. Not so hilarious later when I had to tell people in my real life, like my boyfriend's grandparents, what my blog was called.

6. Research. Research. Research. You've picked a name that means something to you. It's strong and memorable and looks great on a business card. Now it's time to make sure it's really yours. Google it. Spell it with every variation you can think of. Look for it on domain registration websites, Etsy, every social media site you can think of. Make sure it's free and clear and no one else has taken it yet. Again, you want your customers to find YOU, not be directed to someone else's site with a similar name. If your search comes up empty, great! You've found the one! If not, it's time to rethink.

Choosing your business name is one of the biggest decisions you'll make, and it's definitely not an easy one. But hopefully with these tips you'll come up with the perfect name to use for years to come!

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