Naming your company is not a job for a Friday night and a six pack. On this episode, Susan breaks down the naming mistakes she runs into constantly with DIY clients, names nobody can spell, names so long the URL wraps around a football jersey, and taglines that are just template filler nobody bothered to replace. She walks through real examples, including a flower shop called Petallica and a fish and chips stand called Frying Nemo, plus a client who brought in a domain without checking who already owned the .com. Susan covers what to check before you fall in love with a name, trademarks, state business licenses, WhoIs lookups, and why your tagline needs to come from a mission statement, not a mood. If you have not locked in your name yet, listen before you print anything.

Spell it out loud test If someone can't spell your company name after hearing it once, you've already lost them.

Length kills the URL A name so long it barely fits a domain is a name people will never type correctly.

Check before you fall in love Trademarks, state business licenses, and WhoIs lookups all happen before you commit, not after.

Vague names say nothing A name that could belong to any industry does the opposite of what a name is supposed to do.

Domains carry hidden risk Not checking who owns the .com can land you next to content you never wanted your brand near.

Taglines need a mission first A real tagline gets derived from a mission statement, not pulled from a template.