Need a business name
 

I'm going to do some occasional commission work for an interior designer and while she is willing to put me in her books under my actual name I thought it would be fun to have a business name. So far my husband and I have come up with: A Quilted Home..........East Hill Quilting (we live on east hill)......Quality Quilting (also known as Q Squared) ........but we seem to have run out of creativity. Now you folks, on the other hand.........help me out!

I like the sound of East Hill Quilting!

Don't forget that you have to check to see if the name you want is already taken before you can register it. And there may be a recurring fee to get a business name.

East hill quilts sounds more sophisticated.

I agree with this.

east hill quilt studio

When considering names, think of the long term effects of a name.
(It's kind of like auditioning fabric for quilting!)

Eg. #1 ... a potential client may reject your abilities, unknowing of your skills as s/he thinks of the kind of quilts Great Grandma had and does not want that! Meanwhile s/he has no concept of updated modern styled quilts, or the different applications of quilting techniques in the modern world.

Eg. #2 ... is it only quilting you will be doing? While I know you are proud of that, it might be worth considering the other things you may branch into such as accessories (place mats, tablecloths, curtains) or other craft and art work. Yes, they may have quilty connections, but perhaps not seen as such to the clientele. Possible options I can see are East Hill Creations, Quality Creations, Creations by Paulswalia etc.

Eg. #3 ... inclusion of geographic meanings are nice, but what happens if you move? I know several businesses that took the street name for their business and now are no where near that location. Another is called "The Spa in xxxxxx" .... and has moved from xxxxxx village to a different town about 10 miles away. Yes, confusing. Just a tad! :)

Eg. #4 ... say the name many times over, as though introducing yourself, or answering a phone, or when making a call. Make sure it is not a tongue twister! Also, check that the words can be easily recognized and pronounced by others.

Just some thoughts, from my own experience. My personal story is #4 ... I created somewhat of a tongue twister, even for myself. Also, I soon discovered that the business name while obvious to me, was not one that was pronounced "right" by many people! Plus many who got the pronunciation right, then switched up the spelling to match what their minds turned it into! OUCH! :D

How exciting for you to have the new opportunity.
Good Luck!

Good luck on your new venture! Hope you find that special name that suits perfectly.
As mentioned above, make doubly sure the name you want is not already claimed. I've known a couple different people whose business name was challenged by another company (each time it was from out of state) and had to (or chose to in order to avoid litigation) change the name of their business even though they had the name over 20 years! The best way to begin the search for possible duplicate name is to do a Google search for that name.

My parents had their own incorporated business and just called it "last name Enterprises"

That way it could include anything that they did to raise money and still fall under the title. I noticed my sis did the same thing. That is, if you aren't going to use it to advertise with--if it is just between you and the interior designer for the books. if you are going to start to market yourself, then one of the above mentioned suggestions sounds more "crafty".

Some advice from a bookkeeper and a sewing business as a vendor at craft shows. Keep your name for the business so you don't have people giving you checks in other than your name. If the checks are in the business name then you have to open a different account for the business name. I have my sales tax license in my name and use my own bank account and if you want another name for the business you pout your name and the DBA ( which means ) doing business as and then the name as (EAST HILL QUILT STUDIO) THIS IS ALSO IMPORTANT FOR TAX REPORTS. USE YOUR NAME AND YOUR SS # AS A SOLE PROPRITOR.THESE things are important.

Sounds like everyone has given you great advice. I like the East Hill Quilts (or Creations), hope its not taken.

East Hill Quilting sounds classy. Once you have that name established it doesn't matter where you are or live, people will identify with it.

We had a business a while back (before retirement) and we called it last name Creations. This covered everything we did which was several things.

I can see a logo for East Hill Quilting with hills drawn and different quilt patterns filling in...

I like East Hill Quilting.

If your main business is quilting I'd leave that in the name. When we travel we put "quilt" in our GPS and see where it takes us. The shops that don't have that word in the name get left out. That is - if you will have a physical location. If not then "Creation" does cover all.

East Hill also gets my vote - it sounds very sophisticated and classy.

I have a peeve with wonderful shop called "Beefore it's a quilt" - the double ee is for their logo which is a bumblebee. It's a wonderful idea, but before I found the trick of just putting in "quilt" in my GPS I couldn't find this place because I wasn't spelling BEEFORE correctly!

Good suggestions. My only addition is to make sure you include quilting in your name so folks will know that is what you do. "Creations" could be anything....but, then again, maybe that is a good thing too? I know there is a store here in town called Creative Corner. I have no idea what kind of store it is. Guess I have never cared enough to find out. :)

Dina

I also agree....

All great suggestions for the business part of it and as for name my vote is East Hill Quilting. The name is about you and your quilting which makes it better to me.

If you want to leave the door open for things other than quilts then do something like Quilts by East Hill Studio. Focus the brand on East Hill and then add whatever you are creating to it - Silk Screen Prints by East Hill Studio, Fashions by East Hill Studio etc. I agree it is important to have quilt in your name somewhere as that is a key word that people would search for and Creations is too broad unless it is defined in some way. You could also use Quilts by East Hill Creations.

I'd suggest you file a DBA with your county and get a sales tax number. That number gets you wholesale pricing from the fabric warehouses and even regular quilt shops.

[QUOTE=JanTx;6127061]If your main business is quilting I'd leave that in the name. When we travel we put "quilt" in our GPS and see where it takes us. The shops that don't have that word in the name get left out. That is - if you will have a physical location. If not then "Creation" does cover all.


"East Hill Quilting & More" would be another idea to consider.

I agree with citruscountyquilter, good luck with your new business!

Thanks everyone - looks like it's going to be East Hill Quilts with a logo of a hillside draped in a quilt with a sunrise over it. Now off to make 20 inch square samples of quilts I'm willing to make so she can travel with them when visiting clients. Ah, retirement............

Hi,I know you have already selected a name, but I want to suggest you a name that suddenly struck me,is "ENTICE QUILTING",to attract quilter towards your quilting.Please check before registering , if the name is already taken or not.

I think this a bigger problem if you have a physical store that people will be looking for, like a restaurant. Katie Lane Quilts was named after a location and the seller has moved to another state but it hasn't caused any problems since she's selling online. I'm sure if anyone needs to contact you, they'll either be given your address or you'll go to them. I like the East Hill Name, whether it's East Hill Quilting or East Hill Designs or East Hill Creations. It sounds sophisticated.

I like East Hill. "A Quilted Home" sounds too " folksy" and unprofessional. "Quality Quilting" sounds like a restaurant that would call itself "Really Good Food" - you'd wonder whether they really had good food. East Hill sounds very classy and professional. And even if you moved, as someone suggested, you could still keep the name because you started the business when you were there.

I have a small machine embroidery business. I name is Jo Ann Ivey, so I named my business Jivey Stitches and on my business card have like a New Orleans style jazz band in black on a white card. You'll think of something unique, I'm sure. Have fun.
Jo Ann

East Hill something does sound nice - sort of non-specific as to location

The suggestion to say it out loud several times - and to different people - was an excellent one!

My DH worked for a company called Quickie Transport. Would you want to answer your phone with "Quickie Quilting"

On second thought - if you had super-fast turn around time - it might be a not-so-bad idea! :rolleyes:

Good luck on whatever name you choose.. mull it around before you definitely choose

I haven't read all the responses, so this may already have been mentioned. If you are going to set up a website or an email account with the business name, make sure it reads like you want it and not in some weird way. I got an email once showing a list of the businesses and their email addresses, and some of them were downright obscene. It wasn't planned that way, but they had to live with it.

Quilting Commissioner

I like East Hill Quilting, but you might want to check with your state to see if the name has to be registered and if there is another business with the same name. I don't remember the state agency where I had registered the name for a previous business, but there should be a directory of state offices that can help you. Be prepared to have some alternates, a quilted home would be a good alternate name. Hope this helps.

I like this name also. The only thing I could add is to possibly add Arts. East Hill Quilting Arts. It would cover any creations you would want to sell. Good luck with the business!

mckwilter has a good point - to check how the email or web address will look/sound. My son-in-law is Brian Scott Moore. Wonderful, strong, manly name. When he was in the Marine Corps all email addresses went to last name, initial, initial. So all his mail came to MooreBS. Read that out loud and see if it doesn't make you giggle! I LOVED it. He wasn't so pleased. A friend's name is Sandra Hopper. Nothing wrong with that. Her school district uses first initial, last name. So she is forever more "shopper".