Business Mentor NY – a program of Empire State Development

Program Update

Mentees and Mentors,

We appreciate your interest in mentorship. Please be advised that after March 31, 2024, the Business Mentor NY Program will cease to operate. However, you can continue to access mentoring services by contacting Entrepreneurship Assistance Centers in your area at esd.ny.gov/eac-directory to obtain one-on-one counseling with your current business idea or small business.

If you would like to continue offering pro bono mentoring services to entrepreneurs or small business owners, please email us at nylovessmbiz@esd.ny.gov with your core business skills, experience or education and your preferred service area.

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Naming your business is probably one of the most important decisions we have to make. Your business name tells a story about you and your business. So my question is, why is it so difficult to come up with that awesome name?

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3 answers

I believe you first need to have a shared picture (maybe even literally a picture) of the bright future that awaits for your company if all goes well. Every founder may contribute to this picture or list one at a round. Allow discussion after a few rounds. Let creativity bloom!

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Hi Vicki. If it was so easy to develop an awesome name, branding/marketing experts wouldn't exist. In addition to the good advice offered by @Merrican Usta to brainstorm ideas with your team/supporters, I recommend doing research. See what naming structure is used by competitors. Make sure your name idea isn't already being used or too similiar to others or potentially confusing in the market place. Test customer reactions to your top name concepts to make sure customers don't see something negative in the word or wording that you and your team missed. Discuss ideas with a good designer who can provide valuable feedback non how it make appear or come across in a wordmark or logo application.

Report Brenda's answer

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I've always said, brand the name...don't name the brand...

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