After you earn your fitness and nutrition certifications, you are likely wondering what to name your fitness training business. You may be asking the most common question. Should you use your own name or have a creative name that expresses the type of service or result you offer? We will answer this pressing question, and many others, so read on and take some mental notes.
Your business name will be with you (and associated with you) for a long time. Because of this fact, it’s important to carefully consider your choice before you invest in starting your business, setting up a blog, and creating signs and other marketing materials.
First, let’s go over some basics when it comes to making your business.
Should your business name be literal or fun/creative?
We (humans) have an affinity towards the unique or special. This also applies to a name. Creativity can be a good thing. It can also get so esoteric that people lose the logic of the name. They may think, “What does that mean?”. If it’s confusing, people may not take any action.
Humans like repeating sounds.
Tic Tac, Tik Tok, M&M, Kit Kat, Coca-Cola and Lululemon and Tostitos and just a few. Hearing repetitive sounding brand or company names positively affects how consumers perceive and choose products and services and decide where to buy them, according to a study titled “The Sound of Brands” published in the Journal of Marketing.
Of course, you do not need to have a repeating sound in your name, but if it works, it can be helpful. Don’t do it just for the sake of the sound. It should make sense as well.
Don’t Pick a Name That is Too Similar to a Competitor
There are a few reasons why this matters. First, it could set up the grounds for a legal battle. Even if your intention is NOT to confuse the consumer, you still could be accused and sued for various legal reasons. It’s just not worth it. Also, why cause confusion? You want clarity. Thirdly, it could make it much more difficult for you to rank your fitness business on Google due to this potential confusion. Be unique.
Brainstorming Business Names
Start with the concept that there are no bad ideas. You can always modify, eliminate, or conjoin ideas later. You can write ideas on your computer, a sheet of paper or a white board. They all need to be considered at first. You may also consider inviting a couple friends to offer input and help make sense of all the ideas.
Use Online Business Naming Tools
These tools let you pop a few words into a dialog box and create a whole host of business name ideas. Here are a handful of business name generators to choose from:
- Namesnack.com – Namesnack.com claims to be the ‘#1 free business name generator’. You just type in your related keywords and receive more than 100 possible company names in seconds. Pretty cool, huh? The generator displays the domain names available for each option.
- Looka.com – The Looka Business Name Generator helps you brainstorm ideas, check availability, and see logo ideas instantly.
- Wordoid – If you’re looking for a distinctive and clever fitness business name, you will want to visit Wordoid. The cool tool helps develop made-up, yet very catchy and meaningful terms to use as a business name. It’s also linked to the GoDaddy, to make it easy to buy a domain name if you like.
Considering Your Ideal Customer
Who are you serving? You need to be able to describe this person in detail (their biggest challenge, gender, age range, location, social status, lifestyle considerations, etc). How does your ideal customer view their biggest issue that YOU are positioned to “fix”?
Geographic Names
What is your long-term plan? Are you a local business? Do you plan on expanding outside your geographic area? If you want a nationwide or global business, you DO NOT want to start with a local name. In contrast, if you are specifically a local business, using a “geographic modifier” to the name can be helpful on Google and to help the customer feel that your product or service is special and/or specific to them in that community. Examples: Your City Personal Training, Your County Fitness Boot Camp, Your City Weight Loss
Check to See if the Name is Available
Imagine if you went through all the processes of finding a great name only to discovery it is already legally taken, and you cannot use it. So, you do you check to see if the name is available? Google it. It’s always a good place to start. You can also check with your local Chamber of Commerce. You can also check. www.uspto.gov This is a database of patents, trademarks, and similar registered names/businesses. Do not invest time or money in a name which can – and likely will – cause you a legal headache later. Move on to something else.
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Using Your Own Name
We’ve often said that YOU are the fitness brand. And, in many cases, this is true. There are exceptions. You will want to use your own name for your health, fitness, wellness, nutrition, coaching or personal training business IF you don’t have any intentions of selling your business in the future. “Sally” will not want to buy “Bob’s personal training”. It’s too connected to Bob. It’s not very transferable without rebranding and losing clients only dedicated to Bob. There are exceptions, but not many. Using your name for your business works best if you have a local gym or studio and people know/relate to you. You can use your name/brand online if YOU are always the face of the business.
You won’t want to use your own name for the business if you want to license the business, franchise the business, or build the business with the intent of selling it in the future. Sometimes people associate a person’s name with something more intimate, customized, personal, and local. In general, people often associate a “company name” with something bigger than an individual, and something that you “belong” to.
Choose a Memorable Name
The company name is an asset for any fitness business owner. It can help potential clients and customers easily remember you, find you, and quickly understand what you do to solve their problem. Avoid making your business name so obscure that customers can’t determine what it means and how they benefit.
Registering Your Name
You don’t have to incorporate your business, but we suggest you do. The benefits are numerous. You get huge tax benefits. It’s easier to sell your business if/when the time comes. It can reduce liability exposure as well. Talk to your CPA. Registering is simple. Be certain to follow the rules for your business structure and check trademarks. Primarily, this is all done at the state level. If you live outside the U.S., check your local laws and regulations. You can file Articles of Incorporation with the relevant state authorities. If you wish to trademark your business name, though, you must file an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Registering Your Domain
As soon as you choose the name of your business, you will want to register all relevant domains. There are lots of domain registrars, including GoDaddy. You may end up using only the dot com domain with your exact company name. That would be preferred. Registering the other similar alternatives prevents other people from buying them. This brings up another valid point. Do your best to avoid a name with a common misspelling or anything that causes confusion.
NESTA is always here to help you with the education, certification, CEUs and fitness business development.
While you are here, you will want to learn about our NCCA-accredited Personal Fitness Trainer Certification and our Spencer Institute division which offers you more than 12 coaching certification and business models.
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