• Survey of Rural Challenges
  • Small Town Speaker Becky McCray
  • Shop Local video
  • SaveYour.Town

Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

A row of small town shops
  • Front Page
  • Latest stories
  • About
  • Guided Tour
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • RSS

How to choose a business name

By Becky McCray

Naming your business is important.

Sometimes, businesses end up with names that can project a bad image. Examples:

  • George E. Failing Company. Despite the Failing name, they are celebrating 75 years, after having changed to the initials GEFCO.
  • Glitsch Construction.
  • Greif Brothers Trucking.
  • Quality Prevention Company.

I used a couple of these examples before, and I don’t mean anything unkind. My point is to consider what your business name means before you get stuck with it.

Chris at Shotgun Marketing is talking about this, too. He feels stuck with Shotgun Concepts and often has to explain it to customers, much to his irritation.

Or you can intentionally pick a name that requires explanation. My antiques business was M County Antiques. I chose that name because it gave me instant interaction with people. When customers would ask, I could explain that during the land run, our area was surveyed and the counties were lettered instead of named. It gave me a chance to build a bit of rapport with people.

small biz rural entrepreneurship business names

  • About the Author
  • Latest by this Author
Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.

www.beckymccray.com
  • Start smaller: Any local business can be your incubator
  • Should I ask competitors before I start a business in a small town?
  • Will trendy axe throwing and escape room businesses last? More experience-based retail: the Hat Bar

May 3, 2006 Filed Under: marketing

Wondering what is and is not allowed in the comments?
Or how to get a nifty photo beside your name?
Check our commenting policy.
Use your real name, not a business name.


Don't see the comment form?
Comments are automatically closed on older posts, but you can send me your comment via this contact form and I'll add it manually for you. Thanks!

Comments

  1. Becky McCray says

    May 8, 2006 at 5:55 pm

    Carnival of the Capitalists

    Welcome, Carnival visitors! We’re honored to be included in the roundup of best Business and Economics posts.

    Loading...
  2. Becky McCray says

    May 8, 2006 at 7:42 pm

    Carnival of Marketing

    Welcome! What a double honor to also be in the Carnival of Marketing and #1 at that.

    Be sure to check the sidebar for the Best of Our Writing, as well as the Best Things We Stole from Someone Else!

    Loading...

Howdy!

Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.

We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.

Meet our authors on the About page.

Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.

If you would like permission to re-use an article you've read here, please make a Reprint Request.

Want to search our past articles? Catch up with the latest stories? Browse through the categories? All the good stuff is on the Front Page.

Partners

We partner with campaigns and organizations that we think best benefit rural small businesses. Logo with "Shop Indie Local"Move Your Money, bank local, invest localMulticolor logo with text that says "Global Entrepreneurship Week"Save Your Town logotype

Best of Small Biz Survival

A few people shopping in an attractive retail store in refurbished downtown building.

TREND 2025: Retail’s Big Split: what small town retailers can do now

99% of the best things you can do for your town don’t require anyone’s permission

Three kids in a canoe

Get started as an outdoor outfitter without breaking the bank

A shopkeeper and a customer share a laugh in a small store packed full of interesting home wares.

How to get customers in the door of small town and rural retail stores

Rural Tourism Trend: electric vehicle chargers can drive visitors

Wide view of a prairie landscape with a walk-through gate in a fence

Tourism: Make the most of scant remains and “not much to see” sites with a look-through sign

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2025 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in
%d