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personal branding

Friends,

I warmly welcome thoughts shared on my following quandary:

I am interested in the concept of personal branding; so much so, that I have registered jasonallenwright.com. However, I'm not sure how Jason Allen Wright LLC would sound. Ostentatious? Silly? How would Jason Allen Wright LLC look on my door? On my card?

I presently own and singly manage BodyWright LLC. I also have bodywright.net registered - .com is not available. However, as I am a one-person business (and intend to stay as such), I feel silly saying things like "Sorry we missed your call," or "Our office will be closed for the holidays." I want to be more personal, more direct, without (what feels like) the false front of a named practice.

Thanks for reading!

Jolly everything!

-Jason

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Lee Edelberg on December 23, 2012 at 3:33pm

Jason Allen Wright doesn't convey anything about the nature of your business. BodyWright gives a good clue. I'd stick with that one.

"LLC" also isn't really useful info for a consumer, though you may have to list it in advertising because of legal reasons. Can you leave it off the sign on your door and list your massage credential (LMT or whatever it is in your state) instead?

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Permalink Reply by Jason Wright on December 24, 2012 at 1:42pm

Thanks, Lee

I believe that including the LLC is necessary for legal reasons. I've read that it is a good idea to include because it puts the public on notice that it is only the company that will be held liable in the event of litigation. Perhaps it's a mute point. I hear that lawyers get around these sorts of things every day. But I do believe consistency is necessary, so it would be on my door sign, business cards, and all.

As to the Jason Allen Wright LLC vs BodyWright LLC - that's the personal branding thing. Do I want to make a practice name as if my studio had a proper name, or as if my business was a multifaceted operation with several working members or employees?

There may be a simple solution for me, inspired by my friend massagebymarissa.com But I looked into bodyworkbyjason.com to see if it was available and was pretty disappointed by what I found. Any thoughts about what I could name my business that is both personal and gives an idea about what I do?

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Permalink Reply by Jason Wright on December 26, 2012 at 7:55pm

bump

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Permalink Reply by Amanda Barp on January 2, 2013 at 5:14pm

Hi Jason,

I agree with Lee that you should stick with BodyWright LLC. It seems like you might be a new practitioner based on your question. One thing that I've learned is that it's nice to have options down the road. If you end up needing someone to work with you, or want to hire someone, it's going to be a lot less awkward if you hire them under BodyWright LLC than Jason Allen Wright LLC. Also, you might look into getting a dba (doing business as), which will allow you to be an LLC but not have to put LLC on all of your signage. You'd be BodyWright LLC dba BodyWright.

As for your question about whether to say "we" or "I" - it seems like "I" works better for you, and you're more comfortable with it.

Hope that helps!

Amanda

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Permalink Reply by Jason Wright on January 4, 2013 at 6:17am

Hi Amanda,

Those are interesting points. Thanks for sharing!

I have read the blogs of a few attorneys who say that LLC does not always have to follow a business name, and certainly does not have to be in a logo. They wrote that as long as the 'Example Company Name LLC' appears in full on all forms, receipts, and official correspondence with a client, and as long as the clients payments are spelled out to 'Example Company Name LLC', then the LLC will be treated as such in court.

As for my recent quandary, I have gone half and half with personal branding and a conventional practice name. JasonBodyWright LLC will be my new name!

Cheers,

Jason

Amanda Barp said:

Hi Jason,

I agree with Lee that you should stick with BodyWright LLC. It seems like you might be a new practitioner based on your question. One thing that I've learned is that it's nice to have options down the road. If you end up needing someone to work with you, or want to hire someone, it's going to be a lot less awkward if you hire them under BodyWright LLC than Jason Allen Wright LLC. Also, you might look into getting a dba (doing business as), which will allow you to be an LLC but not have to put LLC on all of your signage. You'd be BodyWright LLC dba BodyWright.

As for your question about whether to say "we" or "I" - it seems like "I" works better for you, and you're more comfortable with it.

Hope that helps!

Amanda

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Permalink Reply by Carrie Patrick on January 4, 2013 at 4:35pm

BodyWright is a very good business name, in my opinion. It combines your own name with something that makes sense and sounds good as the name of a massage therapy business. And there is no reason you can't say "I", no matter what your business is called. As a client of any business, this does not make any difference to me when I contact a business. I expect them to say "we" if it has multiple employees or "I" if it is a one-person business, but to me there is nothing about any particular style of business name that would make me expect one or the other.

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Permalink Reply by Irene Diamond, RT on January 4, 2013 at 6:11pm

Use of "I' is fine, as it is just you, and as far as your name, I advise therapists to also think in terms of an 'exit strategy'... what will you sell down the road if it is just your name. This was the problem Oprah had when she wanted out... who could buy Oprah's show, so her new one is OWN, which anyone can acquire if she sells.