By Bert Zethof

Let's say you want to start a new consulting business and you are a sole practitioner. One of your first decisions is choosing a name for the company. It's an important decision because it affects the branding effort.

You are faced with two broad options: name the company after yourself or choose a neutral word. There are pros and cons for each choice.

When I was faced with this decision, here are the thoughts I had:

Use my Own Name (or combine partner names):

Pros
- can leverage existing name recognition and reputation (assuming it is favourable)
- hopefully can win my first assignments more quickly through my network of contacts and referrals

Cons
- may be difficult to get buy-in from other consultants that I wish to join as partners in the company
- may not translate well into corporate identity material like logos and word marks
- may not "scale" well geographically
- will take a long time to build name recognition outside my locale

Use a Neutral Word:

Pros
- have a universe of possible words to choose from (although it seems the whole English vocabulary is already tied up by others)
- can choose a name that will work well for marketing and branding and for recruiting partners, employees, sub-contractors etc.
- gives me a fresh start
- it is more likely that the name (and hopefully the business) will live on after I retire assuming the business is sustainable without me

Cons
- it takes considerable time and resources to build wide recognition of a new name

I've had to go through this thinking process for myself twice. The first time I chose to go with The Zethof Consulting Group Inc. because I needed to transition quickly into new work and income (I would say it was the right choice at the time).

Then, when Delaney Tosh and I co-launched The Surge Strategies Group Inc, we chose to go with a neutral word and then brand it because we wanted to build something that was bigger than ourselves. We are happy with the choice but know we need to be patient and have the resources to nurture the name and the business.

The decision is easier if you are clear about whether you wish to be self-employed or whether you wish to own and grow a business. Which camp are you in? Although, having said this, there are many large successful businesses that were named after the founder, e.g. Wal-Mart and Ford.