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- [Narrator] Coming up with a business name is one of the most important steps in forming a business. Your name affects your branding and your image as a company. Let's get you started on the right path to picking a solid business name in Illinois. Illinois is an excellent place to start a business. Illinois has the fifth largest economy in the country with great access to venture capital. Every state has slightly different requirements for naming a business. Follow along closely to learn the required steps for naming your business in the state of Illinois. In this video we will go over how to name your business based on your business structure, branding and brainstorming business names, and how to check your name's availability. Be sure to ask yourself the seven essential questions we provide before you make this critical business decision. One, choose a business structure. You'll need to determine your company's business structure before deciding a name, as different business structures have different naming requirements. There are formal business structures like LLCs and corporations, and informal business structures like sole proprietorships and general partnerships. In this first section, we'll talk about the naming requirements of each. Informal business structures. If you are operating under a sole proprietorship, your company must operate under the surname of the owner. In order to use a different name, the owner must file a DBA, or Doing Business As, also known as an assumed name, fictitious name, or trade name. General partnerships are similar to sole proprietorship with the difference being that partnerships consist of two or more people. The general partnership's name must consist of the surnames of all the partners. Like a sole proprietorship, if you want to operate under a different name, you need to file for a DBA. LLC or limited liability companies. If your company is an LLC, your name must include the phrase "Limited Liability Company" or one of its abbreviations. LLC or L.L.C. with a period in-between each letter. Restricted words such as attorney, law office, etc. may require additional paperwork and may also need a licensed professional to be a part of the LLC. Your name cannot include words that could confuse your LLC with a government agency such as FBI, Treasury, or State Department. Here are some state specific requirements for Illinois LLCs. Your name cannot include any of the following terms. Corporation, Corp., Incorporated, Inc., Ltd., Co., Limited Partnership, and L.P. The name may not contain any word or phrase that is restricted by any other state statute. For example, LLCs are not permitted to operate as banks or insurers in Illinois. Your name cannot contain any word or phrase such as trust, trustee, or fiduciary that indicted or implies that your LLC is in the business of a corporate fiduciary unless permitted by the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation. If the LLC is organized to accept or execute trusts, the name must contain the word "trust." Corporations. If your business is a corporation, or a C-corp, your name must include the words corporation, company, incorporated, limited, or an abbreviation of any of these. Here are some state specific requirements for Illinois corporations. Your name cannot include any words that indicate that the corporation is in the business of banking, insurance, or corporate fiduciary without authorization from the State Commissioner of Banks and Real Estate. The name must contain the word "trust" if it is organized to accept and execute trusts, must contain the word "pawners" if it is organized as a pawners' society, and must contain the word "cooperative" if it is organized as a cooperative association for profit. When choosing your business structure, you may hear the term S-corp, which isn't actually a business structure, but a type of tax structure used by an LLC or corporation. If your business is taxed as an S-corp, follow Illinois's naming requirements for the business structure you chose. For all business structures, your name must be distinguishable from other existing businesses in Illinois. A couple examples of names not being distinguishable would be Auto Store Inc. versus Auto Store LLC. The only difference in the name is the business structure. Change the words "the," "and," or "a" in front of your business name does not make it distinguishable. For example, The Auto Store Inc., Auto Store Inc., and An Auto Store Inc. are not distinguishable from each other. Using an ampersand instead of "and," or vice versa, such as Smith and Smith is not different enough from Smith & Smith using an ampersand. Your business name can't have words that sound identical to another business with a different spelling. Boys Inc. with an "s" and Boyz Inc. with a "z" are not distinguishable. Two, branding and brainstorming. When picking your business name, you'll also want to consider whether your legal business name will be your brand name or if you will have a separate brand name. Your legal name is what is listed on your formation documents. This includes words required based on your business structure such as LLC, Corp., or Company. Your brand name is the name you use to market your company, and the name that clients and customers see in use. When deciding what to name your business, decide on your branding strategy using these three options. Do you want your business legal name to also be your brand name? Such as Tiffany and Co. Do you want your legal business name to be different from your brand name? Hewlett Packard is HP. Do you want to have a legal business name and several different brand names? Gap Inc. is their legal business name, but their brand names are Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic. While you're thinking about how to brand your business, start brainstorming some business names. You should start by brainstorming at least four to five potential names. The goal is to come up with a few catchy and creative names, then check to see if they are available. A good brainstorming session should last 15 to 45 minutes, and it's important that you're comfortable. Think snacks, water, a comfy place to sit, and your favorite pen. Use a timer and don't stop until it goes off. If you need more time, take a 15 minute break. Walk around a bit, grab some more water, and start again. After doing some brainstorming and coming up with a list of a few business names to choose from, ask yourself these questions to help pick a name or refine some of the names you have. Is my name simple, and shorter rather than longer? A simple name will be easier to remember, easier to talk about, and easier to write. You can avoid some hassle by having a simple and short name. Shorter business names are easier to remember and generally simpler than long business names. If your business name is too long, there's a possibility that your clients call you by a nickname that you have no control over and doesn't do your business any favors. How does the name sound when I say it out loud? Don't just read the name, actually say it out loud. Say your name slow, fast, and with a different emphasis to make sure it doesn't end up sounding like something else. Is it easy to pronounce, spell, and does the acronym look okay? Along the same lines as having a simple name, a business name will be more memorable if it's easy to pronounce and spell. Another important thing to keep in mind is if the acronym of your business ends up spelling something. You don't wanna choose a name for your business only to find out the first letter of each word spells out "FLOP." did I include a geographical location in my name? By including a location in your name, you may limit your business and growth potential. Customers in other states may not consider contacting you if they think you are only trying to do business in a specific location. How does the name compare to other businesses in the industry? Look at your potential competitors' names. Does there seem to be a format that other businesses in the industry follow when naming their businesses? Does your name standout in a bad way? You want a name that's unique and grabs attention, but not one that will make you seem unprofessional compared to other companies. Did I avoid trends? Naming your business based on trends might give you a small boost in initial customers, but you'll end up dating your business when the trend fades away? What may be a funny joke or reference at the time, will fade away and no one will understand. Is my name memorable, or is too narrow or literal? Although you want a simple name and one that describes your business's mission, you don't want one so unoriginal that it won't stand out in a crowd. You want to convey your niche, or your uniqueness, and your name is a great place to do that. Three, complete name searches. Once you've narrowed down to just a few names, you'll want to check to make sure the names are available. The first and most important search is Illinois's business database. If the name is not available, you'll have to adjust your name or use a different one. We provide instructions to search your business name in Illinois on howtostartanllc.com linked below. Searching is free. To learn more, visit Illinois naming guides linked in the description below. After confirming your name is available in Illinois, we recommend doing a domain search to see if your name is available as a URL. Even if you don't plan on making a website today, we recommend buying your domain in order to prevent others from acquiring it. Next, do a quick search on the US Trademark electronic search system and see whether someone has already trademarked your name. Once you know the name is available, you can choose to apply for a trademark for your business. But the cost is between $225 and $600, which may be more than you want to pay for a startup. Naming your business can be one of the most important and one of the most fun steps in starting your business. When deciding on your business name, you'll want to first determine your business's structure to make sure you are following all naming requirements of your business type. You'll also want to check the naming requirements that are specific to Illinois. Think about your branding, how your name will affect your brand, and if you want to have a separate brand name from your business's legal name. After brainstorming some ideas, you'll want to check and see if they are available in your state, and do a quick web search to see if they are available as a web domain. Once you've searched on the state level and online, look to see if any of your brainstormed ideas are trademarked. Now you know all the steps to name your business. For a more detailed guide, visit our website at howtostartanllc.com. Give the video a like of you found it useful and subscribe of you'd like to see more. And if you have questions or encounter any roadblocks, leave a comment below. Good luck in starting your small business.