Naming, Researching and Company Description | Ep 001

John: Thank you so much for joining the Business Project podcast. We love that you're joining us today. As a matter of fact, following our journey in this particular episode, we're going over naming your business, researching the industry that your business is going to be in, and also creating a company description.

These are three very important parts in creating your business effectively and doing it right. We're following the business project in their creation and seeing how they did it as well. It's going to help you. 

Kacie: Let's go.

John: Let's go. 

Kacie: Our very first episode. Woo 

John: I love it. 

Kacie: We're so glad that you're here.

Our business project podcast. Business can be complicated. We break it down so regular people like us can understand and find success. I'm John Crespo, accountant, and consultant. I'm Kacie Bryant, marketer, and event planner. If you run a business or want to run a business, welcome to the show.

John: How's everyone doing today? Thank you so much for joining us as we go on this journey that we're bringing you along with on how the business project was created. I think this is going to be a really interesting conversation topic. It's going to be a series of conversations. So And just the way that you went about creating it and the first steps from beginning to where you are today, I think it's going to help a lot of people.

Kacie: Yeah. So we're hoping to take what we've done here with the business project and apply it as we go through how to start a business. So we're going to go step by step by step over the next, I think like 15 or 20 weeks on all the things that you need to do in order to start a business, and so we are so excited to have you guys here.

If you're interested in starting a business or if you are brand new to business, this is a good opportunity to dive into all of these topics. Make sure that you did everything properly and see if there's any room for improvement in your business. 

John: Yep, I love it. So follow along with us. Subscribe so that you can get notified when we release the weekly episodes so that you can follow along and utilize some of the techniques and experiences that, we've gone through incorporated into your business as well. 

Kacie: Yeah, for sure. This is exciting. You going to get started?

John: I'm ready. 

Kacie: All right. 

John: So what's the first thing that has to be done when creating the business? 

Kacie: The first thing is picking a name. Picking a name is your very, for me, that's my very first step that I like to do because I feel like nothing starts until you have the official name of the business, right? 

John: Very true, very true. And I think that that can be very hard. Right. Because you want to make sure you're picking the name that is, is going to last.

Kacie: Yep. 

John: Right, and something that people can relate to maybe. So there's a lot of there's a lot of research that goes involved in picking a name 

Kacie: Yeah and making sure that it is scalable also. That's a really important thing. One of the examples that I like to use is bait and tackle. And so we're here located out of Clarksville, Tennessee, and as you're thinking about picking your name, say you're  starting a bait and tackle company, right? Mm-hmm. Selling fishing supplies. We like to fish out here in Tennessee. 

John: Yes. Yes, we do. 

Kacie: Yeah, so making sure that it's scalable. So if you are in the future wanting to open, you know, bait and tackle stores all over, then you obviously don't want to name it Clarksville Bait and Tackle. Because then if you do that, you know, open in Nashville, then that would be weird, so making sure that your name is scalable. And then another thing to consider is if one day you want to also sell boats and you name your business bait and tackle and then you want to add boats.

You know, so those are all things to think through as you're thinking about your name is make sure that you, you have a bigger picture vision and that your name follows that. 

John: Yeah, I think that's important. So the scalability that you mentioned for a business name, you want to make sure that it, you know, it, it resonates with the actual product or service that you're offering. And I think a lot of people, if you're watching this podcast, you're, you're probably looking at your business as something that you want to grow to be outside of your normal environment anyway. So having a name that can grow with that is important in the process. 

Kacie: Yeah, for sure. A couple other tips I know that we kind of considered as we are going through starting the business project is making short. So there's two things that you can do. You can either name the business based on describing the business, right? The business project, that's what we do, is we help you with your business project.

So our name describes what we do, right? So that's one strategy that you could take. Another strategy is to come up with something that's catchy and, you know probably the most famous example of that is Google. Like Google doesn't really describe anything, but it has become a verb. You know, they created a name and a brand and that is really challenging to do because to come up with just a name and have it be catchy and describe what you do without anybody having any idea about you and your business as you start up. So that's a little bit more challenging way to do it. 

John: Oh, yeah. You know, to make a name like Google. Integral in the conversations of people when you can't find something, oh, let's Google it. 

Kacie: Yeah. 

John: You know, or just Google it. Google it. Google what business you want to go to.

Kacie: Right.

John: That name became, the whole business, everything you think about Google is Google it. I like that you brought up the business project. Right. So when you were, and you were talking about kind of like how you came up with the name. What really did you go through? to really come up with that name. 

Kacie: Yeah, that's a good question. We did a lot of things. It took probably a couple weeks of brainstorming different ideas and coming up with a list and then talking to people. Also, another stuff that you need to take is making sure that it's not being used by somebody. Especially if you want to do something national, you have to make sure that the trademark is available. And it's probably very smart to talk to an attorney because what you don't want to do is pick a name and get deep and dirty with it and spend all this time and money on it, and then have to change your name later. That is the worst. 

John: I like that. What's a good way to find out if a business name is not being used? 

Kacie: Well, you can go to the trademark search online. You can also talk with a attorney. Another great way. First step before doing any of that is to see if the, do the domain name is available. Because a lot of times, if the domain name is available, then the name is not being used. Specifically, the dot com because that's the most popular. That is actually one of my biggest tips also is you want to own the domain of what your name is. 

John: Love it. 

Kacie: Yeah, because that's where people are going to go first. They're going to go to the business project.com, right? To find the business project, it makes it easier. And there's some ways around that, like you could, another kind of word that we use is rooted in business. So, you know, you can kind of work around it and find other domain names, but that's the best way. I feel like the first step in figuring out if your name is taken or not. 

John: Where do you go to figure out if the domain is available? Do you just type in like, the name dot com and see what comes up?

Kacie: You can do that. You can also go to any domain, like Domain.com, Godaddy.com. And just type in the do domain name search. There's a really great tool that we use, and we will put it in the show notes of this. But it will, it'll tell you even if like the Facebook handle, Instagram handle domain name, it'll like, you just type in the name, and it'll tell you a list of all what's available in that. So we'll put that in the show notes.

John: Yeah, this is good information because remember, we're going through the process of actually starting a business, and the first step is figuring out what you're going to call your business, what you're going to name your business. And it's not just oh my God, this, I'm calling my business this. There's research that goes involved and making sure you have the right name for your business and making sure that it's, it's a name that can stay with your business, you're not going have to give it up because there's already a name, a trademark on it or whatever it may be. So there is a lot of research involved. So following this, is going to help you understand those processes. 

Kacie: Yeah. And a couple more tips when coming up with a business name is to make sure that it's spelled correctly.

A lot of these, people try to be clever with their business names, right? And, that just like coming up with, you know, a trendy word or whatever, it's just harder because it already takes a lot of work to get people to come to your website and to recognize your name or to find you on Facebook or whatever. But if you're making it even more complicated by coming up with making it spelled different or coming up with a word that nobody even can pronounce, then it just makes it harder for them to find you. And that's not what we want at all. We want to make it as easy as possible for people to find us. 

John: Yep, yep. I love it. Yeah. The easier you can make it for somebody to find you, the easier you can sell something because people lose interest very quickly. When they're trying to look for something or look for you and they can't find you, they'll lose interest. Go to somebody else. 

Kacie: Yep, exactly. 

John: We don't want that.

Kacie: No, we don't want that at all. 

John: Make it easy. Make it easy. 

Kacie: Yeah. 

John: So Kacie, let me ask you, what are some other tools that a business can use when trying to figure out how to name their business? 

Kacie: The cool thing about the world of internet this these days, right? Yes. Is that it makes it so much easier. You can use it thesaurus, that's one of my favorite tools because if you know there's something that you want to describe your business, but you don't want to use a word that is very common, you can go to Thesaurus, and it'll give you a whole bunch of other ideas. There's a ton of name generators online. If you just Google name generators. 

John: There you go, google it. 

Kacie: Yeah, then you'll be able to find all types of resources online to be able to help you come up with a name and just get a whiteboard or get a piece of paper and just anything that comes to mind. Anything that you know you think would be good or relevant, just write it all down and sit with it for a little bit. Don't be in a rush to pick your name. 

That is the first thing typically that people see about you and your business. And it is really, really important to have a good name that's going to last a while. 

John: I like the thesaurus thing because there's a lot of, a lot of words out there that are very common. Right, but the thesaurus will actually help you find the similar word written out differently. I think that's pretty cool. I did that as, I did that pretty much for, for my business is I went to the thesaurus and I said, okay, how can I make the business sound the way it sounds with the little, with the little difference to it. And it, it was, you get a lot of options that way.

Kacie: You do. Yeah, for sure. And don't get frustrated in this process. Have fun. I know it can be a little frustrating because you get through, you spend all this time, you think you have the perfect name, right? And then you go on and you see that it's taken by somebody else. Don't get frustrated. I promise you that you keep working through it and you're going to find something that works and just enjoy it. Enjoy the journey with, with the whole thing of business. I feel like part of it, I mean, if you're not having fun, Then it just makes it so much not fun.

John: Yeah. I mean, it's a process. You know, it, it's not something that happens overnight. And I think that we, a lot of potential entrepreneurs tend to have this misconception that it can be done overnight, but it can't. Yeah. Right. There's a lot involved in making sure you're creating something a business that's, that's meant to last. You know, not just a little hustle. 

Kacie: Yep. Exactly. 

John: It's a big difference. 

Kacie: It is. So get to work if you don't have a business name yet. Hopefully these tips helped you. If you do have a business name, I hope that you implemented all of the tips in your name that we suggested. And we are excited to talk about the second topic.

John: Oh yeah. This is a good one. 

Kacie: Yeah. Let's get into it. 

Now we're getting into topic number two for the day, which is researching your industry. This is my least favorite. Yeah. I, well, accounting too. Accounting is my least favorite, but this is one of my least favorite is the research. because I feel like I have a vision, I know what I want to do, I know where I want to go. Why does it matter what other people are doing? 

John: Right. But you know,researching is important, right? Because what if you're putting a business or think you have a business idea in mind, but there's no one interested or there's nothing out there about it, you know.

Kacie: Or there's already a thousand people doing it 

John: Right or a thousand people doing it. 

Kacie: Yeah. 

John: Or may maybe there's a lot of, there's a huge cost involved in starting that business that you weren't aware of. So I guess doing the research is something that will help in making sure you understand everything that's involved in creating that business.

Kacie: Yeah, for sure. And I, I think, don't be intimidated if there are a lot of other people doing the business in your area. The whole point, and the reason that we're doing this step is to figure out how you can be different and exceptional and rise above the rest. 

John: Yeah, I like that you said that because you're right, there's a lot of, let's use restaurants for an example.

John: In Clarksville, we have a million Mexican restaurants. 

Kacie: Clarksville loves Mexican restaurants. 

John: Clarksville loves Mexican restaurants, But you know, those Mexican restaurants are all pretty successful. They're all, if you go to one, you, there's a lot of people in them. Just because it's a Mexican restaurant doesn't mean that they're blending in, that each has their own little unique offering that sets them apart from the next one. So if you see it, if you're doing research on the business that you're wanting to open and you see that there's a lot of them, you can set yourself apart from that by, you know, adding your little twists to what you're, to what you're bringing in. So, don't get disheartened when you see that there's a lot of businesses doing the same thing. 

Kacie: Yeah, for sure. And if there aren't any businesses or very few doing that, you probably need to do some research to figure out why. So maybe there's not a lot of demand, or the cost is too high or Yeah, there's not a lot of potential for profit. So the researching part of this journey is a very, very important part because just like picking a name, you don't want to put all time and money and energy into starting your business and then have it all be to waste, because there, it just isn't going to work, you know? 

John: In creating the business project, obviously you did a lot of research.

Kacie: I did. 

John: You had to, right? What, what kind of processes did, did you go through? What kind of tools did you utilize to help you research? So give us a little bit of what you went through. 

Kacie: Yeah, so we researched for probably like three or four weeks. And, and not just online, but asking people what made us come up with the business project is I work a lot day to day just like you do with businesses, and I was spending a lot of time one-on-one with them, you know, they were asking me questions that, everything that we're going over in this podcast. How do we pick a name, how do we register our business? All of those things. We decided that instead of spending time with each individual, we should create a course for it which is where we came up with our first course for the business project, is getting started in your business. I knew that there was a demand for it, right? Because there was already people that were asking for it. But then I went online and I searched everywhere, obviously college, college, there's business colleges and things like that, but the problem with that is it's very, very expensive. And I went to business school and quite honestly, when I graduated, I still had no idea how to run a business. I knew what a balance sheet was, I knew the basics of it, the accounting part of it. As far as like leading and managing people or registering a business or creating a name or all of these things, I still had no idea.

John: School doesn't teach that. 

Kacie: How do it, it doesn't.

John: That's the school a hard knocks. 

Kacie: Yeah, exactly. Yes. So, , I knew that there was a demand for it. I knew that there was not a whole lot of things being offered out there. And I also, so not only did I research what else was out there online and by asking people, but I also the things that were out there that were very similar to what I was doing. I researched the products and the pricing and the quality and their website and just all of those things just to get a bigger picture on what exactly they're doing, so that I can kind of pick and pull the pieces and fill a gap, fill a void that wasn't already being offered. 

John: Yeah. I mean, I would say unless you're inventing something chances are the idea is being utilized somewhere else, right? So in the research, it's good to see what other people are doing in their particular business or industry and seeing how that can fit into what you're trying to create.

John: And I like the fact that you talking about interviewing people. Because those are the ones that are going to be utilizing it, or, Hey, did you know that? During Covid, the country's never had so many people start a business except during that time, I think it was like over a hundred, there was a over a hundred percent increase in the amount of businesses that were created or started during Covid.

Kacie: Yeah. 

John: So there's a lot of need.

Kacie: That's when we started The Business Project. That's where that whole came from, is It was, yeah. It was a whole influx of people starting businesses. 

John: That's crazy. I think it's great that people felt the entrepreneurial bug during that time. When you're confined in your space, you start thinking, you're like, oh my God, something's gotta change here and so a lot of people decided to, to start a business. So the fact that you created a a tool to help them through that process is awesome.

Kacie: The downside though to that is how many of those businesses are still in existence because they don't have, they have a passion, they have something that they love doing. They love sewing or they love making tables or whatever but as far as the business part of it, coming up with the name, doing the research, creating the description, getting it registered online, setting up the accounting setting up your HR, bringing on other people. Like all of that is so much and so intimidating. 

John: You're right, the over 95% of businesses fail well in the first five years or something like that. The reason for that failure is the fact that the proper steps weren't put in place to make sure your business is going to last and be successful. Yeah. So the research part of it is very important. You want to make sure that you are providing a viable product or service to the community that's going to make you some money and take care of people's needs. 

Kacie: It's a big, big deal. 

John: Research. 

Kacie: Do your research. 

John: Do your research.

Kacie: Yeah. Don't skip this step. I know it's going to be, if you're not a research person, there's two types of people, right? There's the type of people that love the research that like, this is all you do and then you won't start your business because you get so involved in the research or intimidated or whatever. It's like the, the actual implementing scares you. And then there's other people that are like, I just want to implement it. Let's just get up and running. Like, who cares about all the other stuff? So no matter what person you are, Number one, make sure that you're sitting down and researching. 

John: That's just a necessary evil again. Like you have to do some serious research. That's the only way or be part of that 95% . 

Kacie: Yeah, exactly.

John: We don't want that. 

Kacie: No, we don't. 

John: That's why we're doing this. 

Kacie: All right, so that closes section number two of this podcast. 

John: Yeah the researching.

Kacie: You guys learned about creating your name and now you know, to do some research and you're going to do it right. And then we're going to get into creating your company description. 

John: Yes. A company description, 

John: what's a company description? 

Kacie: A company description is basically who you are, what you do, how you do it, and why you do it. Who, what, when, where, why and how

John: I love it. I think on that free video that we did when we talked about doing your pitch. Your business pitch. 

Kacie: Yep. So 5 Things You Can Do to Market Your Business for $0. 

John: Yeah. For $0. 

Kacie: We'll put that in the, the show notes too. 

John: Yeah. It's an awesome video. But we go into the pitch. And the pitch is a 30 second. Just being able to tell someone what your business does, describe your business in 30 seconds.

Kacie: That's hard to do.

John: It's very hard to do. But you create, when you create that business description, you're able to really think about it, say it to yourself several times, and really make sure that it's right and it fits your business so that then you can talk about it. 

Kacie: You don't want people's eyes to be rolling in the back of their head whenever they're listening to you. Like short, sweet, to the point. What problem are you solving for them? That's what your company description should include is what problem are you solving? Because really that's all they care about. In the end anyway, they're like, how can you help me? 

John: And that's important for like your website, for social media and, and all of that. You don't want like a 10 page novel as a business description. Nobody's going to read that. 

Kacie: Yep.

John: You know, you want to be able to hit the main points of what your business is and what it does, and, and who you're supporting. So people get a good understanding of your business and then they move on to the next step.

Kacie: This is where the research comes into play too, because you can research your competition, whether it be locally or nationally, whatever and get some ideas on what their company description is, what they're doing, what their website says at the very beginning. And that can help you kind of create yours. 

John: I love it.

Kacie: Look up some other businesses. If you search online for company descriptions for Amazon, for, you know, different big companies so that you can see some examples and then use those to inspire you to create your own. 

John: Yeah. You know, it definitely bleeds into the researching phase. Mm-hmm. , because while you're researching your industry, you're researching the business and you're researching the description. So research, research, research kind of like falls in there and, and you know, we don't like it, but it's something that is, has to be done. 

Kacie: Yeah. And use this platform you guys use, use us in our Facebook page. To brainstorm, use the comments of this video to brainstorm your company description and your name. We are all about building a community and loving and supporting each other. You don't have to do this alone. You don't have to do business alone, right? And so help each other, motivate each other, inspire each other, give each other ideas. Let's create a community around this podcast. A community of lifting each other up and helping. 

John: You're probably not the only business owner watching podcast right now. So if you put comments, if you comment on something you're struggling with or, or the industry that you're, you're thinking about getting into, you might find another business owner doing the same thing.

Kacie: Yeah. 

John: So yeah, it's building that community. I think that's, that's a great thing that the, that we're doing here. 

Kacie: Cool. Well, we went over today naming your business. We went over yes, researching your industry, and we went over creating your company description and we hope that these were very hopeful for you guys. Was it helpful for you? 

John: It was very helpful for me. I'm ready to start another business. 

Kacie: Yeah, let's do it. 

John: I just don't want to do the research. 

Kacie: Yeah. 

John: But I know it's important.

So if you like what you're hearing right now, if you, if you're enjoying the information, like, and subscribe because we're going to be doing these weekly. This is a journey. Starting a business is a journey. So you're going to be following us through that journey of starting a business and every steps in the process. So like, and subscribe to get that get that information. 

Kacie: There's going to be a lot more topics that we're going to cover. Like setting up your accounting system. How do you, if you're ready to hire, how do you hire somebody? Leadership. Yeah. How to register your business. Social media, that can be intimidating. We're going to go through all of this. And if you're looking for more tools, you can head on over to the business project.com. That is a, just a collaboration of a bunch of business owners that have come together to give you some tools to be successful.

There is a course that talks about, it's 15 lessons on How To Start Your Business, so kind of what we're going over here on the podcast, but a very condensed version. It gives you homework, it gives you links to resources, it gives you lots of tools. And so that,

John: That's awesome.

Kacie: Yeah, that is, that is available if you're like, I'm tired of waiting on this podcast to go through all of this. I want to do it now. 

John: Yes. 

Kacie: TheBusinessProject.com is your resource, and then there's also a $19 a month subscription, completely ad free. You guys like this is the best part is we don't want to waste your time and we want to be here to support you guys and help you get through this journey as quickly as possible and so the $19 subscription is brand new videos every week on all different kinds of things. How to organize your business with Trello, how to face fear we all face mm-hmm. moments of fear in our business. There's just lots of great tools in there. So head on over to TheBusinessProject.com for more.

John: You don't have to do a Google search for the information you're looking for. You're going to have a one stop shop where you can go get all everything business. As a business owner, I, I would love to have. I would love that. You know, it's just, it is. And for $19 a month, Just, it's a no-brainer.

Kacie: Yeah.

John: It's a no-brainer. 

Kacie: It's an investment in yourself and in your business. 

John: 100%. You will see the return on that investment. No doubt. 

Kacie: If not, just in your time, in your time.

John: Oh, sure. 

Kacie: Yeah. 

John: For sure. Less time searching Google. 

Kacie: All right. Thank you for joining us. Next week we're going to be going over your vision, your mission, your objectives and your strategies and some goals.

This is no, goals are later. We're going to do goals later, but these. Four things are another, just all of these are, wow, so important. Like every step I cannot even express is so important. 

John: That's going to be a good one. 

Kacie: Yeah. 

John: Mission, vision, objectives and strategies. Listen, if you don't have a, a vision or a mission for your business, yeah, you're, you're flying blind. 

Kacie: If you don't know where you're going, ain't nobody going to support you. 

John: Exactly. 

Kacie: Because they're not going to know where to go either. 

John: Exactly. So tune in next week, don't you don't want to miss that one. Mission, vision, objectives and strategies. We're going to have a great conversation around that. 

Kacie: We are. Thank you guys so much for joining us. We will see you next week. 

John: Take care. Love y'all.