If you’ve decided to take the entrepreneurial plunge and start your own cleaning business, there are a lot of tasks on your plate.
One of the most important is creating a name for your new cleaning business.
Since you’ll be investing time and money in growing your customer base, you’ll want to be careful to select a great cleaning business name that you’ll stick with for the long-term.
When you opt for a great business name, it will grab people’s attention. Your name is what will communicate to the general public, the purpose of your business normally (however of course there are exceptions to this).
For example, Smith’s Landscaping communicates to consumers that the business does landscaping.
Your business name also dictates the value that people perceive from your company. There’s a lot riding on a business’s name, which is why you must select it carefully.
It Needs To Be Catchy
There are a ton of commercial cleaning and janitorial businesses in every town across the country.
This large amount of competition requires you to pick a unique and catchy title that will stop people in their tracks.
Try to keep it short and easy to say out loud. There’s nothing worse than having a long business name that takes forever to get out.
Be sure to include a prominent word that communicates what your business is all about. Some great examples include:
- Clean
- Vacuum
- Dust
- Freshness
- Shine
- Maid
Take A Look At Your Competitors
You don’t want to end up copying the same words that your competitors do, as this could make your business fade out in the background.
Instead, take some time to research your local competitors.
Do yourself a favor and write down the names of companies with a name that you believe is creative.
Once you have a list of 5 or 10 business names, then review it. We’re sure you’ll start to notice the commonalities among all of them.
When looking at your competitors, pay close attention to their wording.
Those targeting more luxury clients and charging more will have a name that ends in agency or services.
Cleaning companies that are targeting more residential and non-luxury clients will have more catchy names with words like home cleaning.
Some examples include Busy Bee Cleaning Service and Two Maids & A Mop.
Depending on the clientele that you’re looking to obtain, you’ll need to select your words carefully.
The Debate On Adding Your Personal Name
When it comes to picking out a cleaning business name, you may want to add a personal touch by including your first or last name.
This can be good or bad, depending on the image that you’re trying to portray. If you’re looking to create a more casual cleaning business, then using your first name is a great way to establish your reputation.
For example, June’s Cleaning Service is a great way to use your first name.
If you’re looking to establish and promote a family-owned business, it’s best to stick with your last name.
A great example of this is Smith’s All-Star Cleaners. One rule of thumb that you must follow when it comes to using your name is that it must be simple and commonly recognized.
An over complicated or very long name can be difficult for customers to remember or even pronounce.
Consider Adding Your Town Name
Adding a town name is a great way to promote your business and share with customers what area you service.
People tend to give more credibility to companies that have a town name in their business name.
Subconsciously, they attach the town name to meaning that your business is official and likely town-approved. You know that’s not the case, but it can capture you some new clients.
Be mindful of what name you use. If you live in a large city, then choose the city name.
Avoid picking a specific small suburb. People may only link you to that area and believe that you don’t work outside of it.
Try to be general with your name pick.
Even choosing a county name to encompass multiple towns in your area can help your business to appear more official to customers.
Run Your Options Through Your State’s Website
Once you get your list narrowed down to a handful of potentials, it’s time to see if they’re available.
Each state will only allow one business to hold a specific name. This is to keep confusion to a minimum with taxes and for the public.
To check your business name ideas, you’ll need to visit your state’s website.
Each state will have a section about business formation. In this area, there should be an option to perform a business entity search.
You’ll want to enter each name that you’re thinking of using and search for it.
The entity search will reveal if there is another business in the state with that particular name or if it’s open to use.
Ensure The Domain Name Is Available
So much traffic these days is received via the internet. Therefore, it’s vital that any business owner take the time to verify that a domain name that matches their business name is available.
You can find out if a particular domain name is available by visiting any domain buyer, such as NameCheap or GoDaddy.
As a general rule of thumb, it’s best to stick with only the .com domain name. You may think that .net or .org is okay. However, that’s not true.
Consumers who are looking for information on your business will always enter yourbusinessname.com.
If another company already has the .com domain address, then a customer looking for you will end up on the other business’s website.
To prevent this confusion, always opt for the .com domain address.
Another great tip is to avoid adding INC, LLC, or any other entity abbreviation.
Consumers aren’t going to remember to type that part of your business name into the website browser. This means that they’ll end up not being connected with your website.
Avoid The Temptation Of Using Character Substitutes
One trend that many people continually try to use with little to no success is substituting characters for words.
For example, using U instead of you or 4 instead of the word for are some of the most common.
While this may seem like a great tactic at first to make your name appear easier to remember, it’s actually not.
Many people get too confused deciphering what the abbreviation means. It’s best to stick to words that are at least three letters long.
