What's in a name?In business, a lot. A good company name can do a lot of your marketing for you, provided you choose correctly. Some things to consider:
* Names that limit growth. Geographic names, for instance, can make it hard to expand your range, as can names that include the services you currently offer.
* Who else has it? Web searches, county clerks, your state's secretary of state and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (www.uspto.gov) can tell you who might have picked a particular name before you.
* Alphabet soup. Worrying about your spot in lists can go too far - "AAA Accounting" may put you at the front of the phone book, but it borders on nonsense.
* How do you pronounce that? Names that are too long, or difficult to pronounce or spell, are no good.
