Conceiving and starting a new business is exciting and maybe a little scary for even the seasoned business veteran. Of course they have done the research, but they are never 100% sure it will work. The spirit of the entrepreneur fascinates me the way they strike out on their own and do something new, despite the risks.

If you are that entrepreneur you’ll have lots to think about, but if you can get good help, you’ll have a good shot at success. You have to have a solid business plan and financial backing, good accounting and legal help and the legality of everything is probably the most intimidating aspect of a new business venture. There are numerous issues that need to be covered and choosing a business name is one we don’t always think about as being important.

That business name is going to show up on your business cards, your web page, at your corporate headquarters, in your advertising if that is appropriate and many other places. It will be how the world references your business. You want to be proud of it for sure. But even more than that, it is important that name belongs to you.

You have already done your marketing research and you know and have proof that your product is needed and you will need to have a plan that will get that product into the hands of that needy market efficiently and quickly so you can cash in on your business concept. Try to think of a catchy name that will fit your business as soon as possible, but remember there will be some legal issues to be considered when picking that name that is going to become your corporate identity to the world.

The trademark law is the legal area covering business names. The problem comes up if you happen to pick a business name that could possibly be the same name of a competitor in your field. This is not just a concern for your local community and the state you live in.

If you are using the same name as someone on the other side of the country or even on the other side of the world, technically you can run into problems if that business decides to call you out about it. It has happened numerous times. There are stories around of how a big powerful company took issue with some small mom and pop business who happened to have the same name and used all of their legal muscle to force someone to change their business name.

It may even have been their own family name, but because it was covered by the trademark claims of the larger firm they had to abandon it. So it’s a good idea to make sure that this name you are about to create will be yours from the start and not find out down the road when your business becomes a large success that you have infringed on the trademark law.
It’s necessary to make sure your business name belongs to you. Trademark lawyers know what they are doing and should be able to do a trademark search fairly easily so you will know if there is any reason for concern. Once you get that okay from your legal help, then you can launch that name as your business knowing you covered your bases.

I found a site during one of my searches that will give you an estimate of what your site is worth. They register domain names and recommend web hosting among other things, but the appraisal caught my eye so for fun I checked my sites.

They of course for a fee will give an in depth appraisal, but since I don’t want to sell my domains I don’t need that service. I was very disappointed with some of the appraisals. It said my 2 blogs are worth $12. each and 4 sites were under $1oo. each, but then it got a little better for 2 others, 1 was valued at $7,267. and the other at $45,084 now that’s more like it.

However I know something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I understand there were a lot of people way back in the day that made lots of money selling domain names not sure it’s such a big deal now a days, but I’m sure some people still make a profit buying and selling these domains.

I enjoy my sites and doubt I would ever sell. I only pay around $270. a year for 2 blogs and 7 sites so to my way of thinking that’s pretty good. I don’t like free hosting sites even though some people do very well with them. I want to be able to advertise what I want not what they want. I like making money for me not them.