Published:
02/07/2014 03:32am
Should You Brand Yourself Or A Company Name?
One of those big hairy decisions you'll need to make when creating your brand is whether you want to brand your name or a company name.
The natural tendency for a coach (and really anyone in general) is to shy away from branding their name because they feel like that would be too self absorbed and that they aren't important enough that people will be searching for them.
My answer to that is simple: No one knows who you are right now whether you use a name or a company name.
Even if you brand your company, system or product. No one knows what it is until you start marketing it, so they aren't going to be any more likely to be searching for your company name as they would be searching for you yourself.
Which is why it's up to you to build your brand into something people will be searching for.
There are distinct advantages to branding your name instead of just the name of your company, system, or product.
The biggest one is that being a coach and entrepreneur, chances are you come up with brilliant ideas all the time. If you lock yourself into a company name then decide later to change your direction you'll have to rebrand and start from square one.
On the other hand, if you brand your name then you can build credibility for yourself (while co-branding your system or product) and you can take that credibility with you as you grow on your entrepreneurial journey.
Your brand is an asset and if you handle it right it will support you through all of your future endeavors.
And if you think you know exactly what you want to do right now you're wrong. Your business is going to be constantly changing throughout it's life. Not necessarily drastic changes, but enough that having your name behind you is going to be a good thing.
The bottom line is, your focus and keywords may change. Your name never will!
Holly Chantal is the founder of The Land of Brand, a website design and branding company for coaches and solopreneurs. Go to http://www.thelandofbrand.com and download a free video training on how to use your personality to create a unique brand - because your mom was right when she said you were special.
