The hardest Part of starting a business

[pboychuk]

You know it is, picking a name. I am currently trying to brainstorm a business name for my LLC which will preside over all my ventures. Thus, the name should be non-descript and inpersonal.

I was basically wondering if anyone had any strategies for thinking of a business name. I am looking for something catchy yet complex, I feel the best way would be to look at other business names and go from there, but even finding a list of businesses is difficult

[BusinessAdviser]

If you're merely looking for a name for a holding company, why does it need to be "non-descript," "inpersonal," "catchy," or "complex?" I typically think of a holding company having simple names, while their subsidiaries which interact more with customers having the more creative names.

[pboychuk]

Yes, I think you are correct. I think what I was trying to portray when I said complex, inpersonal and non-descript is a name that sounds professional. Something like PEX holdings, I dont know where I got PEX from, but I kinda like it. However, I would like it to be catchy, something like fidelity holdings which has a professional feel, and is not just letters.

[mbolton2181]

I would say the hardest part is finding a market, finding a product/service for the market, finding your target audience, finding out how to best introduce your product/service to the target audience. Name... eh not so much.

Holding companies arent made for marketing, it's made for legal purposes. The name is damn near irrelevant.

[pboychuk]

It is irrelevant, but id like to like the name. haha, Also how exactly do you operate other companies under the holding comany. I will register it as an LLC, basically I dont want to have to get a new business license etc. everytime i start a new business, Im not exactly sure how the whole concept works, but I feel it is something I need to look into and do.

[JLeezer]

Well, you've got a couple options, at least until your fledgling businesses are generating some revenue (and subsequently, involving some risks with vendors, customers, etc). You can simply have all the businesses started as part of the holding company, which will only require that you file a DBA (doing business as) document with your secretary of state (or whichever state agency handles corporation and LLC formation). This will protect you personally; however, it will leave all of the other businesses operating within the LLC open to lawsuits against the actions of only one of the businesses.

The other option (and the one that I highly suggest, especially once revenue and risks are involved) is to register additional LLCs or corporations with your state, one for each business. When registering these businesses, list the holding company LLC as the sole owner/shareholder/partner. To fully protect each business and to gain the most in tax savings (this depends on the form of the entity), you will need to go this route.

Definitely consult with a tax strategist and corporate attorney before proceeding if you are investing a substantial amount of money into these businesses.

BTW, my holding company is Leezer Corporation. I find it rather fun to see my last name on all our documents. Believe it or not, picking the "right" name won't help with your reputation. Fidelity holdings sounds good because of the reputation Fidelity has built. Deloitte surely didn't sound like much when the founder named his accounting firm after himself, but it sure does sound good 175+ years later.

Hope that all helps a bit. PM me if you have more questions about holding companies and general business entity structuring.

[2gould]

There are a lot of options. You could use your own name in some way, a combination of your name and another or you could simply use the name of your first business and make that the holding company, similar to Birkshire Hathaway.

I would suggest not fretting over it too much and just use the family name or something, i.e. John Smith = Smith Holdings, Inc.

Good luck

Charley

[BusinessAdviser]

Yep, you're better off using your time in some other area of your business than trying to think up the perfect holding company name.