First impressions count, so it’s important to select a business name that reflects the right image for your food business.
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS INGREDIENT CARDS
Ingredient 1: Keep Within the Law
Question:
How to select a business name?
Answer:
Selecting a business name is an important step in the establishment of your new business. The name you choose will become the identity of your business by:
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- creating an image for the business
- informing customers of the nature of your business
- helping customers recall your business
- giving your business respectability
- differentiating your business from all others
Make sure that it doesn’t limit your potential for growth. If the name reflects a specific product or service it might make it harder for you to diversify when your business is up and running.
Basically, you’ve two choices; your own name or a business name.
The advantage of using your own name is that you do not have to registerer it as a business name. The disadvantage is that when you go to resell, a buyer might claim that some of the goodwill depends on your name and will want to negotiate a lower value for goodwill.
If the business is operating under a name other than your own, it must be registered as a business name. Once your selection is approved, you will be issued with a Certificate of Registration which should be promptly displayed at the registered office or place of business.
Make sure that the name doesn’t already belong to one of your potential competitors. Check Google and your local online Yellow Pages to see what comes up. Next check that the name is available to trade under and is not a protected or registered name. A solicitor will be able to help you with this.
At the time of registration, the name you have chosen will be checked to see if it is available for use; hopefully from your own research as mentioned above it will be available, but it is always wise to have several alternative names in mind in the event that your preferred name is not accepted for example:
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- Louise’s Home-cooked Foods
- Louise’s Kitchen
- Just Like Grandma Used to Make
After a business name has been registered, it must be used on all stationery. The name must also be displayed in a conspicuous position outside every place of business operated under that name.
You should choose a name that reflects the type of image you want to project because that is what will draw in your customers and that is what they will initially remember about your food business.
Example
If Louise decided to run her business under her actual name, Louise Smith, she would not need to register the name. However, if she wanted to use some other name, such as Gourmet Cakes, or even Louise Smith’s Gourmet Cakes, she would have to register the name with the relevant authority, If Louise opted for a company structure, she would have to add the words ‘Pty Ltd’ after the name so that anyone dealing with the business would know that the legal liability of the owners was limited.
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