Check your state rules on how to name a biz - it may not matter to you, but here in PA to be "Joe's Photo" (if you are named Joe) takes no paperwork. To be "Studio J Photography" requires paperwork, research, ads in the newspaper - time and money in other words. Adds to the startup costs, and you have to do it so you can get a "DBA" - doing business as, so you can open a bank account and take checks. Same for being a sole proprietor - no paperwork, vs an LLC or corp or partnership.
Having a 'name' is like everything else in life - a compromise. Why pick a name at all? There must be some tagngible reason, like it will make you more money - by making you appear larger, or making you stand out from everyone else, making you more memorable, etc. You do lose the personal/artistic bit if you become "Big J Studio", but you can compromise a bit if you want to be a specialist "Weddings by Joe"
A big thing these days is having a webname that is easily findable, memorable, etc. Some hyphenated hard to spell name may be worse than none at all. And many many many many many names are taken, web wise.
|