公司起名10大黄金法则

    6. 提供线索，说明主营业务。为公司取的名字要清楚地说明企业从事的业务。把园艺绿化公司叫做“草坪整修”恰如其分，但是同样的名字并不适合用于修理业务。公司名称应该符合业务特点，提醒客户公司所提供的服务类型。

    7. 确保名称可用。这一点看起来显而易见，可是取名失误会导致高昂的代价。公司名称和互联网域名应该保持一致，请在全国公司网站（State Incorporation）查找中意的名称，登录网络解决方案公司（Network Solutions）查询对应的网络域名，并向美国专利局（U.S. Patent Office）咨询商标问题。

    8. 采用通用后缀。所有人都想当然地认为，公司网络域名去掉".com"或所在国域名后缀就是公司的名称。如果你喜欢的名字没有采用这些后缀，最好起一个新名字，而不是仅仅满足于使用".net" 或 ".info."等其他后缀。如果可以的话，最好同时注册三个不同后缀的网站。

    9. 不要作茧自缚。不要选择那些限制公司拓展其他业务或扩展产品线的名字。这意味着避免在公司名字中使用地理位置和具体的产品名称。如果名字含有这些特定细节，在其他地区开拓业务，或者增加产品种类时，公司名字会让客户感到迷惑不解。

    10. 咨询潜在客户。想出几个不同的备选名字，咨询潜在客户、投资者和同事的意见。不要向家人朋友咨询，因为他们知道得太多内情。拿着这些名字去问这些人，看看它们是否达到了你想要的效果。

    如果依然没有把握，应该知道市场上还有很多专业的公司，比如Igor 公司和A Hundred Monkeys公司。你的钱都是辛辛苦苦挣来的，他们要不了100万美元，就可以帮你起个合适的名字。我倒是想知道他们自己公司的名字花了多少钱？

    本文作者马丁•兹威灵是初创企业专业咨询公司（Startup Professionals Inc.）首席执行官兼创始人。

    6. Give a clue. Try to adopt a business name that provides some information about what your business does. Calling your landscaping business "Lawn and Order" is appropriate, but the same name would not do well for a handyman business. Your business name should match your business in order to remind customers what services you provide.

    7. Make sure the name is available. This may sound obvious, but a miss here will cost you dearly. Your company name and Internet domain name should probably be the same, so check out your preferred names with your State Incorporation site, Network Solutions for the domain name, and the U.S. Patent Office for Trademarks.

    8. Favor common suffixes. Everyone will assume that your company name is your domain name minus the suffix ".com" or the standard suffix for your country. If these suffixes are not available for the name you prefer, pick a new name rather than settling for an alternate suffix like ".net" or ".info." Get all three suffixes if you can.

    9. Don't box yourself in. Avoid picking names that don't allow your business to move around or add to its product line. This means avoiding geographic locations or product categories to your business name. With these specifics, customers will be confused if you expand your business to different locations or add on to your product line.

    10. Sample potential customers. Come up with a few different name choices and try them out on potential customers, investors, and co-workers. Skip your family and friends who know too much. Ask questions about the names to see if they give off the impression you desire.

    If you are still unsure of yourself, you should know that there are many dedicated firms, like Igor and A Hundred Monkeys, that can relieve you of $1 million of your hard-earned funds to come up with just the right appellation. Hmmm. I wonder how much they spent on their own names?

    Martin Zwilling is CEO & Founder of Startup Professionals Inc.