Choose to Be Great
To be an entrepreneur is to take on significant responsibility. The success of your enterprise is entirely up to you and the decisions you make. As Jim Collins, author of Good to Great states: "greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice".
Choosing a name for your venture is serious business. It is often the first thing a potential customer sees or hears and it can make your company stand out or disappear. The name of your business or product can also imply:
- Your field, for example technology, health and beauty, food manufacturing
- Whether the product is a low-cost, everyday item or a luxury item
- Whether the business is located in a high-end shopping mall or a seedy part of town
- Characteristics of your target market, such as income bracket, gender, and age group
To build something great, you first need to lay a solid foundation. Research is your foundation. Use internet search engines and the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO) database search function to:
- Establish whether your idea for a name has already been used and registered
- Learn the naming trends in your field
- Assess your competition
- Be sure that your name won’t be interpreted as an offensive term in another culture or language.
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