Choosing a business name

Video transcript: Choose and check a business name with ONECheck

[Audio/Visual: Gentle music starts playing with a shot of the presenter in the centre of the screen seated at a desk in a grey room. Music continues to play throughout the entire video.]

[Visual: A graphic of a dollar sign inside a lightbulb inside a pink circle appears on the right-hand side of the presenter and disappears after a few seconds.]

So, you've thought up a great business idea and it’s now time to give it a name. It's an important step because nowadays your business name is a big part of your brand and can go a long way in to telling your customers who you are. A business name that is on brand, memorable, unique, rolls off the tongue and tells people what you do is what you'll want to aim for.

[Visual: The screen changes to show a person staring blankly at a computer screen. The screen changes to show the presenter in the centre of the screen. A graphic of a checklist inside a pink circle appears on the left-hand side of the presenter and disappears after a few seconds.]

If you're feeling stuck and needing a bit of inspo, to get those creative juices flowing try this. List out every single word you'd associate with your business, all of them.

[Visual: The YouTube logo appears on the left-hand side of the presenter and disappears after a few seconds. The Trade Me logo appears on the right-hand side of the presenter and disappears after a few seconds.]

Now see if you can join any of these together, say like YouTube did, or maybe there's a short, sharp phrase that could be a good fit, like Trade Me. You could keep things simple and use your own name, for example, S. Smith Plumbing.

[Visual: The Häagen-Dazs logo appears on the left-hand side of the presenter and disappears after a few seconds.]

Or an invented one like Häagen-Dazs.

[Visual: The Google logo appears on the right-hand side of the presenter and disappears after a few seconds.]

Or you could even make up your own word, like Google did. And once you found a few potentials that could fit the bill it's worthwhile to test the names out on friends and or family, ideally, members of your target market. Perform an A/B test to determine which of the two, three, or four potentials they like best. And once you've got your top pick, you want to check if it's available to use, and hasn't already been claimed by another New Zealand business. Luckily, MBIE make this super easy for all of us. 

[Visual: The ONECheck logo appears on the left-hand side of the presenter and disappears after a few seconds.]

Their online tool ONECheck, lets you check if a business name, trade mark, web domain or social media handle is usable.

[Visual: The screen changes to show the ONECheck tool start page and the name suggestion “tanactives” being typed into the search box. The screen changes to show the search results for “tanactives” in the ONECheck tool.] 

Simply head to their website and insert the name into the box. And within seconds you'll know whether it's in use or something similar is, how original it is, which web domains, if any, are free to use and which social media platforms have a free handle with that title. 

[Visual: The screen changes to show the in-depth information for the search results “tanactives” in the categories “BUSINESS NAME”, “TRADE MARK”, “WEB DOMAINS” and “SOCIAL MEDIA”. The screen changes to show the results of the “Check your trade mark” button in the “TRADE MARK” category.]

Click through to each of these categories and you'll be presented with more in-depth information allowing you to judge whether you will be at risk of any legal action if you use your chosen business name. If the name is being used by a business in the same or related industry, it's a real risk that you could be.

[Visual: The screen changes to show the presenter in the centre of the screen. A graphic of a computer screen with the word “Register” and a mouse icon inside an orange circle appears on the left-hand side of the presenter and stays in place. A graphic of a trade mark registration inside a pink circle appears in the centre of the screen and stays in place. A graphic of a laptop screen with the Facebook “Like”, a “#” and “@” inside a green circle appears on the right-hand side of the presenter and all three graphics disappear after a few seconds.]

But if you're in the clear, click through further, then ONECheck links you through to the sites, where you can reserve your business name, register your domain name, your trademark or something and claim that social media username you're needing.

Wow, jeepers. How easy was that?

[Audio/Visual: The music intensifies. The blue outro screen appears with the words “Make your move to digital” in white text in the centre of the screen. Under the words is the white Digital Boost logo and the URL “digitalboost.co.nz”. The screen changes to show the words “Brought to you by” in white text and The Mind Lab logo in the centre of the screen.]

[Video ends.]