DBA stands for Doing Business As and is interchangeable with the FBN or Fictitious Business Name. DBA or FBNs create a legal name for your business to operate under. There is no national requirement for, or agency to govern, FBNs. Instead this falls to the state in which you are opening your business. The state of California, like many other states, requires an FBN when you operate a business under any name except the owners’ legal names. California then turns the rest up the various county clerks offices. [Read More]
How to Road Test Your New Business Name
When you first open a new business, knowing what to call it and making sure that the name you have chosen works is half fun, half deflating, and 100% hard work. Once the dust settles, road-testing is absolutely essential to a sound and brand conscious start to your new business.
- Choose a good, sensible, product or service-relevant name. One of the pitfalls new business owners often make is to assume that people will “get” your in-jokes, or that they’re interested in your personalized name. Naming a business after your first name will only work if you’re famous and interesting. Last names work for professional partnerships such as lawyers, accountants, architects, etc. but are rarely ideal for marketing goods and services nowadays – gone are the days when that was suitable. It’s also much harder to on-sell a business with a personal name, so bear this in mind. [Read More]
