Choose (and clear) your business name

Your business name is the first thing customers meet — and picking one that's actually available saves painful, expensive do-overs later. The trick is to check it's free to use — in your state, as a trademark, and as a web address — before you print a single card.

Do this

1. Brainstorm names that are easy to say, spell, and remember — and that hint at what you do.
2. Check it's available with your Secretary of State; another business in your state can't already have it.
3. Do a quick trademark search at uspto.gov so you're not stepping on someone else's mark.
4. Grab the matching web address and social handles before someone else does.

Name availability check

• Say it out loud — easy to say, spell, and remember?
• Available on your Secretary of State's business search
• Clear on a USPTO trademark search (tmsearch.uspto.gov)
• The web domain is available (or a close, clean version)
• Social handles are free on the platforms you'll use
• It still fits if you grow beyond your first service or town