Business name ???

[rhoffart]

Did you use your personal name for your business name?

Do you regret the choice of your business name?

I’m having tons of arguments going on in my head about this subject … :-)

[Tom]

Personal name. No regrets. Not sure how long I could live with some cutsie name, and I sure don't want to go through rebranding because the name got stale. Nice for people to easily be able to find my through my name.

[HeatherLou]

I had Nix Pix Studios when I first started. Though cute and a good play on my last name, no one could spell it. Most people thought it was Nicks Pics Studios. So I changed to Heather Nix Photography 3 years ago and I love it. Wouldn't have it any other way now.

[LANCE B.]

I'm re branding to my personal name right now (just getting underway). I kept a separate entity for a few reasons but I've since decided that more exposure on my personal name, the better. If you are a DBA, then the requirements for company names other than personal names to register in each county in which you do business is a major pita. If you want more liability protection and form another way, then this part is irrelevant. But, back to your question, you just can't go wrong with a personal/business identity being the same in this field. JMHO.

Lance-

[rhoffart]

One of my objections to “same name” is … what if one day I want to get out of the business, like pass it down to my daughter or sell. I can think of a few way to get around this … but it seems the easiest is to have a DBA other than your name.

thanks for the feedback ...

[rhoffart]

Another one … if you were busy enough to hire a second photographer … would the client have an issue if “Joe” came out to shoot from “Rick’s Photo Co.”?

[Tom]

Originally Posted by rhoffart

One of my objections to “same name” is … what if one day I want to get out of the business, like pass it down to my daughter or sell. I can think of a few way to get around this … but it seems the easiest is to have a DBA other than your name.

thanks for the feedback ...

You'd have to be pretty spectacular to be able to sell a photo business. Something like Gittings would work. But that is still a name, and a very trusted one.

Another one … if you were busy enough to hire a second photographer … would the client have an issue if “Joe” came out to shoot from “Rick’s Photo Co.”?

No matter what, you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you booked a shoot and sent someone else and the client didnt know that was a possibility. That would be a pretty ****ty thing to do.

[rhoffart]

Originally Posted by Thomas Campbell

No matter what, you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you booked a shoot and sent someone else and the client didnt know that was a possibility. That would be a pretty ****ty thing to do.

I think you missed the point … as a company grows they hire employees. Under your assumption you would never grow beyond a one man shop. There are a lot of photography companies that employee multiple photographers.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by rhoffart

I think you missed the point … as a company grows they hire employees. Under your assumption you would never grow beyond a one man shop. There are a lot of photography companies that employee multiple photographers.

I didn't miss the point at all. The companies that hire multiple photographers and farm out work tell their clients up front that they are using an associate photographer.

Not a real big deal for someone to work under someone else's name, as long as the clients are aware.

[suerenee]

I started my business right before I got married so I knew my name would change. I chose Robinwood because that was the name of the property my grandparents had when I was younger. Many people send me emails starting with "Dear Robin". It helps me weed out the telemarketers. LOL.

My name is now hyphenated since my MIL is Suzanne and I am Susan so I think "Susan Wolfer-Lennex Photography" would be too long. I like that I have a different name for my biz. The story of how I came to my business name is a good ice breaker.

[rhoffart]

thanks Susan

[Howard Barlow]

Originally Posted by rhoffart

I think you missed the point … as a company grows they hire employees. Under your assumption you would never grow beyond a one man shop. There are a lot of photography companies that employee multiple photographers.

Rick,
A very common thing is two price levels. The owner is the name the business was built on. His/her name is a premium product. Then, they have associates. Their work is at a lower price. You select which way you want to go. In some cases, the owner does a certain line, the brand the business was built on, while the associates do a different brand.

[ChristopherCoy]

I don't want to use "Christopher Coy Photography" because everyone else has "First Name, Last Name Photography".

A lot of mentors have said that photography is like a room full of noisy people, and in order to get the business, you have to be louder than everyone else. My thought on the matter is that it starts with the name. Everyone is so used to seeing 'First Name, Last Name Photography', why not set yourself apart from the get-go?

[mercphoto]

I started Mercury Photography because I've had a life time of learning that nobody can correctly spell or pronounce "Jurasz". :) Especially in this part of the country. Hint.... the name is not hispanic...

On the other hand I chose "Mercury" because its the fastest planet in the solar system and I started this specifically to shoot motorsports. But I think if I were to branch into other photographic realms I'd be ok using the same name. That is what I see as the biggest problem with not using a personal name is having the business name lock you into a particular genre of photography. Such as "Bill's Motorsports Photography". Nobody would buy portraits from that guy. :D

[JosShavaughn]

I decided to use my personal name because I couldn't think of anything else. Plus everyone else I kept seeing was using their personal name.