Choosing the RIGHT Business Name
At the request of a few of our Smart Studio Blueprint Members I’d like to give you the BEST formula for choosing a personal training business name. Remember, you only really get ONE shot at this and there are ONLY 2 ways of going about this. In this post I will explain what those 2 choices are and an easy way to choose the right business name for your company. Here’s how...
There are really only 2 choices you have when deciding on a
business name.
1. You can either choose a
business name with “your name” in it, or…
2. You can choose a more
corporate business name
There are clear benefits to both
and the pros and cons that I’ve outlined below should help you decide
which way to go when naming your new business. Personalized
Business Name Benefits:
When you choose to use your name in your company you are personalizing your business to let people know who is ultimately
running the show. This allows your current and future clients the subconscious
peace of mind of knowing that an actual person stands behind the business
itself. It lets people know who they can turn to with questions or if anything
should ever go wrong with billing , etc.
I think a lot of people like the
idea of buying into a personalized philosophy, system, or concept and by
placing a name and face with the business it puts their analytical mind at
ease. To me, it just
seems like people enjoy doing business with other people.
I think people are also more willing to part with their money
when they know it’s going to a small business that is trying to fit in and
improve the community… instead of it going to “the man.”
There are some downsides to having a business in your
name though.
For
one, now that my studio business has grown and is doing over 700 sessions
a month in our small studio I am not able to personally speak with every client
who works with us. Often times after the initial complimentary session time set
up with a member on my training team I may not see them again ( if they are training at times
when I am not at the studi
o). Of course, I do check in by email,
but I must rely on my qualified CPT team to implement our style of training and
keep them happy.
Also, when your name if is synonymous with the
business you may have a slightly more difficult time selling the business
if that is your end goal (more on that
in a minute).
And, while I don’t think you’ll
have any issues with expansion and owning multiple studios under your name, you
may find that people will still want some type of access to you since you are
the person running the show. The way I
combat this is by holding events, seminars, workshops, client appreciation
parties, and sending out weekly video/content newsletters where people can
still interact with me.
It’s
not always ideal, but if you want to continue to grow and help more and more
people you have to come to realize that you must just keep developing systems
and putting them in place so that you can expand. Here’s another
interesting tip
: If you do include your name in
your business name just be ready to become known as “THE Personal Trainer” in
your city. Whether it be good or bad, whenever I go to a restaurant or event in
Boston someone always recognizes me and says, “Hey, aren’t you that
personal trainer who…” Some final notes:
Now that my studio has been
opened for 3+ years and we were able to take right off since we opened I can
happily say that I would keep the studio name exactly the way it is if I were
to do it all over again. I will say, though, that if people (store cashiers,
wait staff, etc) just see my credit card that reads “Stephen Cabral
Studio” they often think I own a photography company… that’s why I make it a point to always include my tag line
under my studio name in ALL of my
marketing and business pieces.
It reads: Stephen Cabral
Studio
“Inspired
Personal Training & Weight Loss”
Alright, so now that you’ve seen
the pros and cons to naming a personal training business under your personal
name, let’s talk about the “2nd choice.” Corporate
Business Name Benefits:
When consulting with gyms,
independant health management companies, or franchises I always recommend to
them that they structure their business with the end in mind – and this most
definitely includes the name of their business. If I were to name my business “
Results-Only
Personal Training Solutions
” instead of “
Stephen
Cabral Studio
” I would have achieved a few
things.
1. It would give off the
impression that I am well established and professional (of course, your message
and marketing must match that)
2. I am poised for easy expansion
and roll out within my area, state, or world wide
3. Corporations like to work with
other corporations (they feel like you must have your act together) and you may
have an easier time getting into large businesses to do bootcamps, wellness
seminars, etc before you become established.
4. It will make it easy to
replace yourself with a manager and systems that run the show
5. Once the company has grown to
the size you’d like you can sell it Those are the big
benefits to creating more of a corporate name
and
now let’s talk about a few of the downsides. The cons basically include all the
pros of the personalized business name. For example, with a corporate business
name you lose the small business appeal and the sense of doing business with
another person (instead of with a corporation).
To me, the bottom line is
that if you ever plan on walking away
from your business by either selling it or not coming in on a weekly basis I
would go with the corporate name. However, if you’re like me and love to train
and see yourself doing it for the foreseeable future then there’s no reason NOT
to name it in your own name (you could even just use your last name).
I hope this post shed a little
light on how to choose the right name for your personal training company and
how important it really is depending on your end goal. P.S. One last note…
Although
I do have Stephen Cabral Studio
as my main training hub and studio
location I did develop an in-home and corporate identity separate from the
studio called “Personal Trainer Boston.”
As you’ve read in my other online marketing posts
I did this for SEO purposes, but you
can also see how it is more of a corporate name and structure. In a way, it
allows me to appeal to a larger audience by 2 very different means. The great
thing is I can tie them both together and let people know (when they visit the
Personal Trainer Boston website) that they can train with our partner, Stephen Cabral Studio
, or with Personal Trainer Boston
for their in-home and corporate needs.
Yours in Fitness Business Success,
Ben Dulhunty
