Business Planning

Thanks for the Review ...

Thank you for your review of SaleHoo. We appreciate you sharing your opinion and doing the research needed to fairly evaluate the service. We have seen fit to link to this article in our independent SaleHoo Reviews section. Anyhow, keep up the good work spreading truth.

Yes, but...

Thanks for the plug, Mary, and thanks for writing about this very important topic. I have to take issue, however, with Ms. Lonier's advice about alphabet position, which is almost always irrelevant and leads to forced, artificial names. Straining for a meaningless name that starts with "A" won't do you or your business any favors.(Consider, on the other hand, Yahoo, Zillow, and Xerox, three end-of-alphabet names that represent powerful brands. And of course there's Ms. Lonier's business name...and my own!) Another thing: Internic is an inefficient way to search for domain availability; I always start with http://instantdomainsearch.com. And remember: just because the search engine says a domain is taken doesn't mean it isn't available for a price--sometimes a remarkably low price. Finally, the single most important step in developing a name, which Ms. Lonier doesn't mention, is knowing your objectives and criteria. Too many businesses put the horse before the cart: they expect an overnight name without first understanding what they're naming, what names their competitors are using, and what the sound of the name should suggest.

a great service ...

I just used BedBusters to get rid of my old mattress. Nathan called me back within moments of my submitting the form on their Web site, and he was at my house within the hour to collect the old mattress. What a great service!

My mattress was too old to be of much use to anyone else, so I'm relieved to be able to get rid of it by an eco-friendly means.

Thanks Stephen ...

At least there's "one of you" out there who takes the time to do it right. I bet you're successful too.

Easily Overlooked ...

Mary - your post is a good reminder to many small business owners about the differing state requirements with regards "Doing Business As".

And it's not just multiple employee businesses that need to consider state permit requirements. Even as an independent contractor or freelancer, if you operate your business under a different name (say, for example on your web site) than your own (even if you do all your official paperwork and banking under your name), you may still need to register than business name with your state.

There is more advice for the independent contractor, as business owner, here: http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-structures-ownership/11756893-1.html ...