I know I know, I have had so many questions already. Sorry to keep putting them out there, but feedback really helps me as I am just starting out.

I just wanted some of your opinions. My business name is currently called Hayashi Photography. Hayashi is the Japanese word for Lin, my last name. So I guess my question is.. Should I keep that name or change it to Lin Photography.. I only have a DBA for Hayashi Photography. I didn't want to continue with getting my business license, business cards, etc., until I had my company name pinned down.

Here are my thoughts:

1) Hayashi Photography - might be hard to remember (not sure since I am pretty familiar with the word), does not contain my name for recognition, I have an DBA for it already, a bit unique.

2) Lin Photography - contains my name for recognition, would need to file another DBA, simple and to the point, easy to remember, but if you do a search there are a billion [name] Lin Photography sites out there, might be too boring.

3) Scrap both and come up with something else.

Any suggestions? Thank you!

Edit:

Is Hua Lin Photography too umm. I guess asiany, or too hard to pronounce?

I'd recommend going with a name where the URL is still available as a .com. It's just a bit nicer to have your business name match your website.

I did a search on http://www.bustaname.com and www.linphotographer.com is still available.

As a kid I listened to a lot of music by the band KISS. As an adult, and an occasional viewer of the reality TV show "Gene Simmons' Family Jewels"...I've come to realize what a smart businessperson Gene Simmons is.

On an episode of the show Gene was advising his son's band when they were trying to come up with a band name...he said "keep making it simpler...once you can't make it any simpler...you've got your band name."

Same could be said for business names...

(just my opinion...over-priced at free...)

I totally agree! Your presence on the web is critical, and you want to be sure that people don't spell your name wrongly when trying to get to you.

Lin is certainly easier to remember, but linphotography.com is already taken. I do agree though that your URL name is very important.

Good luck.

Hugh

Just in case it gets lost in the shuffle... linphotographer.com ("er" on the end) is still available. Just a thought.

Hello Everyone.
Thank you for your replies. I think I am wanting to specialize in pet photography. Would it make sense to choose my name that would still give me recognition, or a name that would be, I guess, 'cuter' and more 'fun' for pet photography...

Sorry I didn't clarify that before.

I see "Lin" as fun, cute, playful, and yet -- common; "Hayashi" as artistic, classy, clean, and also -- special.

Just a thought Lin.... what's your middle name? Perhaps you could use 'Lin....middle name' so you have name regocnition, but you get away from what's already common.

Also, I may have missed it...but what's your surname?

I wouldn't advise using anything 'pet' related in the name. You might want to move away from pet photography in the future, or at least start doing kids and people as well. (Pet photography is a small and specialised field...and probably very hard to build a bussiness on all on it's own.) If you had spent a long time setting up for and building name recognition.... it would be a real killer to have to change the name again in the future. I guess I'm trying to say I think you should choose a name that's versatile for the future.....

Oops... I just re-read your post and realised Lin is not your first name, but your surname. Can you tell us your FULL name? We might be able to work some cool suggestions from that.

Are you from Japanese origin? What name are you most commonly called...what name do you introduce yourself to clients with?

A little more info might help with suggestions....

Annie

Hi Annie.
I actually do not have a middle name. My first name is Frances. And I don't really like Frances Lin Photography (bleh). You are right about keeping it more general. I initially had that idea at frist. At the very beginning, I was hesitant to even use my full name or part of my name as part of my business (call me paranoid or something). My last name is of chinese decent. In fact the chinese character for Lin is also the same character in Japanese (they also both mean the same thing - bunch or group of trees).

I really like the meaning of my last name, so that is why I initially thought Hayashi would suit me (not to mention that I love animals, nature, am a tree hugger, and am trying to stay green with my business). It means my last name, but isn't specifically stating my last name. My concern is is that Hayashi would be too hard to remember. But like I said in my earlier post, I am not sure if it is hard or not to remember since I have a solid connection with it already.

I hope that post made sense. lol. Thanks!

Hayashi doesn't seem hard to remember to me. I think it would be harder to get people to spell Lin correctly.

Hi there...

As another new photographer I might have some insight. It is hard to find a name that is familiar to you as well as unique.

I agree that you should exhaust the website search with your business name choices to make sure it is available. It is key that your business name and website name are the same or almost the same just simplicity.

Also, I would think bigger than DBA. I do not believe they are nationwide, but only state or county wide. And just because you choose a name and get your DBA does not mean there is no one else in the world with your business name. And at some point you might think of getting your LLC, or something beyond a DBA to protect your company. You can do a search of LLC's also to make sure your name is available.

As for the name itself. I love both choices. Hayashi and Lin. If you want to specialize in pets that great! Throw Pets in there to make the name that much more unique. But don't stop at a DBA, I made that mistake and had to change my name after a few months in. Which created all new problems.

I hope that helps,

Kim

i think you should go wtih a cute and fluffy name. dont rush it, it will come to you. pet photography needs to appeal to the warm and fuzzy side of people and i really think the catchier your business name is the more likely people will remember it and pass it on to their friends.

think about it. if i wanted to get my pet's portrait done, i doubt i would choose a photographer named 'Stone Smith Photography' when there was a "Snails & Tails" photographer advertising right next to them. those are poor examples i know, but that's the best i can do right now.

What I did was sit down with a pen and paper and did a brainstorming session with word associating and tried not to censor myself.

I just started with photography and my name and then went from there with all kinds of things until 222 came to me (It's my mom and my special number) and it was exactly the thing I was wanting.

Sometimes word association can help a lot because it let's your brain just run without you trying to force something creative out of it.

Best luck, you'll find it!

Thanks everyone! Ya, since this seems like a special case with pet photography, I was unsure about using my name. Off the top of my head I thought of Blue Bells Photography. But will keep brainstorming for a while. Thanks so much!

Wow, it is a lot harder to come up with a cute and fluffy name!! I searched pet photography on the net and there are a lot of [name][name] pet photography. Kinda boring. Or 'pet + something photo related.'

I'd like to start networking with our local vendors, but am not sure if I should if I dont' even have a business name yet.

Bunny Tails Photography
Lin Photography
Hayashi Photography
???
???

fidofoto?
caninecandids?
caninecameos?
puppylove?
pupperazzi? (OMG, I love that one!)

Hmm. I kind of don't want to put the name of a certain species within the name since I would do photos of dogs, cats, ferrets, tortoises, and any other domestic animal.

Paprika Photography

I kind of like the name Paprika. It sounds fun and whimsical. Not too fluffy, not too childish, and not too pink!

looks like "hayashipets.com" is available..... just a thought. but not that i think of it that sounds kind of dumb.

i like hayashi... sounds cool... work on that one.

I don't think anyone looking for pet photography would see a name specific to a type of animal and automatically think you don't do other animals. Your marketing materials and website should immediately make it obvious what you do.

"Paprika" has nothing to do with pets, it's a spice. So I don't get that choice at all.

I don't think the name has to have anything pet (dog, cat, pet, pup) related in it. Most wedding photographers don't have anything wedding related in their business name; or portrait or commercial photogrpahers for that matter. It is more of the feel of the name. For weddings, sophisticated, classy, etc. For pets, fun, whimsical, cute.

I actually really like Paprika photography. While it is a spice, it makes me think more of the colour than the spice. It would also not limit you to doing pet photography, if you ever decide to move out of that.

why not 'hayashi foto'

Thanks for your suggestions! Right now I am still am unable to find the 'right name' for my pet photography. I would really like to get started buildling my business with a portfolio and such. So how bad of an idea would it be if I applied for my license and started advertising under my full name, and then changed the company name later? Too confusing, bad idea? I know some of you have done this before, and wanted to know how it turned out for you all. Good, bad?

More ideas.
Paprika Paws Photography
Phopawgraphy (husband's idea )
Paws for Perfection Photography
Dogwood Photography

Is Sage Paw Photography now out of the running? I really liked that one best.
I think it would really work well with branding (logo wise)

If not I really like Lynns "Pupperazzi" name...very cute and catchy.

I am still thinking about Sage Paw. I guess I am thinking that something will jump out and slap me in the face and then I'd know.. Am I being unrealistic?

I think people would spell Lin "Lynn."

I like the idea of using Japanese translations-what are the japanese words for "animal" or "pet"?

It might generate conversation...

In Japanese

Bunch or group of trees: Hayashi
Pet: Petto
Cat: Neko
Dog: inu
Animal: animaru
Cute: kawaii


I can check with my friend to see if there are any 'slang' words I could use too.

That is an awesome name. Love it.

pupperazzi! So cute.

I think I am expecting a name to really resonate with me and so far none of them have.

So even more brainstorming for me I suppose!

I do want to thank you all for your help though. OSP has been great and extremely helpful. \(^.^)/

I like Pupperazzi too!

Hello Everyone.
I had thought about going back to using just my name until I find another name. I dunno. I guess what I want to ask is, do you lose a sense of privacy having your full name out there like that?

ohmygod. that is perfect. pupparazzi - wow. adorable. catchy. memorable.

*sigh*

I took someone's advice and just used Linphotographer.com. It won't limit me to just pets, at least for now. I do photo shoots of babies too and figured I could just use my name until my pet photography business grows and a more whimiscal name came along and bopped me over the head.

Why the sigh? Well, I grew attached to Hayashi and now the change is well... a change! Hehe. I am sure time will help me cope, but for now, feels weird!

I do like pupperazzi, but I just felt like it wasn't exactly me. *shrug* Thanks for the suggestion though.

And thank you everyone else for your support. *HUGS*