Julie was so excited to start real estate investing. She knew she had the right personality type for the industry and really craved the lifestyle flexibility it would give her. But she was stuck on the first step—picking a name for her real estate investing business. It seems like a simple thing, especially given all the complexities of starting a business. But she was really stuck! So, in a moment of desperation one evening, she gave me a call to brainstorm ideas. I was happy to tell her about my thinking behind my own real estate investment business’ name.

Choosing a Brandable Name for Your Real Estate Company

It’s tempting to play it safe when choosing a name for your real estate investing company. We see companies all the time that simply use the owner’s name, like John Doe Real Estate Investing. But, unless you’re already a known public personality, people are not going to be drawn to call you. You are just another faceless investor in a pool of other investors they could work with.

So, you have to decide: Do you want to fit in with the rest or stand out?

If you want to stand out, you’ll need to come up with a business name that conveys your company’s distinguishing characteristics. It’s the foundation that shows your company’s identity and value, separating you from all the others. If you select a business name that resonates with home buyers and sellers alike, it can do a lot of the heavy lifting of marketing on its own. But how do you find one?

Inspiration for Your Business Name

Ideas are everywhere. Probably the most common starting place is online. You can find business name generators with a quick Google. But many of them produce low-quality or even downright wacky names based on common—but kitschy—strategies like swapping a letter like S for an X. These automated offerings know nothing about your industry or who you are trying to appeal to with the business name, so expect the results to be just a starting point for getting your creative juices flowing.

You’ll need to go into brainstorming mode with a clear picture of some key concepts. What exactly is the value that you will bring to home buyers and sellers? How is your real estate investing business different or unique compared to others out there? Can you translate your answers to some industry lingo or words that your prospects will relate to? Drilling down these three questions should steer you in the right direction for coming up with a good real estate investing business name.

Of course, if you have more startup cash than creativity, you can always hire a branding company. You’ll find lots of freelancers out there who are willing to sell their already-conceived packages pretty cheaply. But that often turns out to be somewhat like fitting the foot to the shoe instead of the shoe to the foot. Otherwise, you can hire a professional consultant or agency to not only come up with your real estate investing business name but also some branding and strategy, starting at $15,000 and going up to $50,000 or more.

Once you have an idea in mind, you’ll want to run through a short checklist to make sure the name meets some basic criteria:

• Easy to spell and pronounce. The business name should feel natural to say. It goes without saying that if choose a name that is difficult for people to write or talk about, they probably won’t.

• Memorable. You want the business name to beat the forefront of the minds of home buyers and sellers so that you are the first they think about when the time arises to engage in a real estate transaction.

• Culturally appropriate. You don’t want to offend or alienate any cultural groups or market sectors—they could be your next real estate deal!

• Available domain. The online space is getting more crowded by the minute. Just because you found a name that has not already been taken by another business, doesn’t mean the domain is available.

The most important thing to keep in mind is to choose a business name that is not already being used. You could find yourself on the wrong end of a trademark lawsuit.

A Winning Name in Real Estate Investing

Like Julie, I went through the arduous process of trying to find a business name that could be leveraged for growth and got caught in a state of decision paralysis. If a name met some of the criteria, it didn’t meet others. Nothing seemed to fit just right. Then, I happened upon the opportunity to become an independently owned and operated HomeVestors® franchisee and was won over. HomeVestors® is the nation’s largest home buyer and their “We Buy Ugly Houses”® brand is a household name in 47 states and D.C. It’s a real estate investing name with proven value for bringing in leads. When I joined, I knew it fit just right and had no problem picking a business name for my HomeVestors® business. Perhaps it’s time to go with what works and get in touch with HomeVestors® today.

Each franchise office is independently owned and operated.