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Name vs Business Name
I've been thinking hard about changing my business name. I came up with Clockwork Beauty about a year ago when I threw myself into making up business cards and everything else, and I love the name--it reflects my personality and style--but I've been thinking in the real world don't makeup artists usually just go by their name when they're trying to promote themselves? I see plenty of MUAs on here with business names like I have, but is that how you refer to yourselves when you're getting jobs? If someone I've worked with mentions me to someone else for a job or something they aren't going to call me Clockwork Beauty, they're probably just going to call me Arielle, so should I just simplify it and simply drop the business name all together? I'd really appreciate any input on this. Feb 11 14 07:24 am Link I've always thought that using your name is always more professional unless you have a huge studio with multiple people working for you. Feb 11 14 07:33 am Link It depends on your goals as a business owner. Being you have essentially already branded yourself with your business name for the past year, to re-brand and market yourself under a different name at this point would be like starting over again honestly. It depends if you plan on doing this long term too. Sometimes folks like a business name over a personal name as a buffer for their personal life. On the other hand, sometimes re-branding can give you an opportunity to re-launch your business with something new and exciting. A lot of companies/business owners often throw launch parties, put out exciting new promotions, and use it as an opportunity to get out there. In the end it is your call, but there are pros and cons to both. If you have a successful business now, you have to ask yourself why you might want to re-brand short of just being tired of a name. good luck Feb 11 14 07:33 am Link Trisha May Photography wrote: That's what I've been thinking too. Maybe if I had a couple other artists I was using when I got overbooked, but I'm just starting out and no where near getting overbooked. Feb 11 14 07:34 am Link Charlie-CNP wrote: At this point honestly it wouldn't be that big a deal, I don't have a huge client base yet, and mostly everyone knows me by name even though I hand out my business cards with the name Clockwork Beauty on them. I definitely want to do this long term, its my passion. Feb 11 14 07:36 am Link I am in the process of launching a new brand using my name. I use a business name for commercial work, but I am going to be focusing more on working with individuals for family portraits, maternity etc. and I want that to be more personal. whether that kind of distinction in the makeup business is important I don't know. Perhaps you might want to consider updating your logo/business card etc. to say Clockwork Beauty by Arielle - it will cover you both ways. Just my $0.02 Feb 11 14 07:53 am Link On my cards, facebook, MM account, and Tumblr it all says Clockwork Beauty Makeup and then I introduce myself by name. The business cards say the business name and then Arielle Williams - Makeup Artist. But I don't know if that enough or if I should just drop everything but my name  Feb 11 14 08:03 am Link To be frank "Clockwork Beauty" is a ridiculous name that sounds both pretentious and amateurish. I would be very hesitant about hiring a MUA trading under such a name. Use your own name, or if you feel it's too boring/unmemorable, make up a memorable but real-sounding name and use that instead. Ash. Feb 11 14 08:49 am Link Ash Photographic wrote: To be frank I find your statement ridiculous. Feb 11 14 10:34 am Link Use your name. That's what people will remember working with you - that's who they'll recommend you by. They won't remember your fictitious business name. And branding a fictitious name is definitely more of an uphill battle than branding your own name. If for instance, you are going to sell your own beauty products, that's when you might want to consider your clockwork brand. But use your own name for your makeup services. Feb 11 14 10:39 am Link I'm kinda an Internet pioneer -- I was a comp. sci. grad student in North Carolina in the mid-to-late 1970s. We cobbled together an electronic bulletin board, which was the predecessor of the Usenet Newsgroups and of forums like this. Back then, there was no such thing as Internet security or network security -- we had to protect ourselves. I got in the habit of minimizing my personal information on the Internet (long before it was even called "the Internet"). You might be able to find my name, but you'd have to work for it (and please don't). You can do a WHOIS to my web site, but you'll only find my web host's info. So, maybe I'm paranoid, but the less information on the web, the safer I feel. ====================================================== There is a second consideration. If this is your business, you should consider forming a corporation like an LLC. The "LL" stands for "limited liability" -- thus, if someone sues your corporation, they awards can be limited to the assets of the corporation, but if you don't separate yourself from your corporation, your liability can potentially be extended to include your personal net worth, too. You sue a business, and it might go out of business. You sue an individual, and you could lose your house. In order to protect yourself, you need to keep your business and your personal assets totally separate. You would need to have separate bank accounts, etc. That's how you protect your assets. But if your business shares your name, that could be one step towards "piercing the veil". I know it's an outside risk, but... Feb 11 14 10:59 am Link Northbee Photography wrote: I guess you would feel obliged to defend her. Feb 11 14 12:43 pm Link In my career, I can't think of one individual business person, relative to my business world, that used a pseudonym for their business name. I can't say the unfortunate use of the term ridiculous applies, but I am aware of professional prejudice when confronted by a pseudonym. My first impression of anyone that uses a pseudonym, whether fair or not, is that they aren't well traveled in my circles. Unfortunately, I consider things like that when thinking about expanding my freelance base. You may be a wonderful makeup artist, but by using a pseudonym, you make me worry about the other things that name might imply. Things such as lack of experience negotiating fees, understanding the importance of communication and punctuality, job site etiquette, cleanliness. I don't shoot weddings, nor family portraits; my comments are strictly limited to my experience as an ad shooter for ad agencies. Depending on your target market, I would encourage you to make the change sooner than later. Feb 11 14 02:25 pm Link Thanks for all the comments (even Ash), your opinions have been helpful. I decided to change it to just my name because I can see why someone would assume a MUA using a business name was an amatuer. I'm gonna use Clockwork Beauty for other things instead because I do truly love the name. Feb 13 14 02:02 pm Link Why not Arielle Williams for/owner of Clockwork Beauty? This way your name starts to become attached to Clockwork Beauty. Makes you and your company sound more impressive. You can always drop the Clockwork Beauty if people respond to your name, or if and when you add artists to the business in the future, your company would sound larger. Personally I think the name alone doesn't really explain what you do. I use hair and makeup by Rick Lesser. Or sometimes I'll reverse it. Either way people always know my name and what I do. R- Feb 14 14 01:25 pm Link |
