Congratulations, you have decided to start your own fashion line! The name that you select for your line should be one that can carry you from the launch date of your business to several years in the future. Ideally, once you select a name for your brand, you will not have to change it as doing so can be quite expensive, frustrating, and even confusing to your customers.
That's why you should consider a few things before registering your apparel brand and business name. Specifically, we recommend evaluating the following five factors before making your name official and launching a branded Instagram account, designing a logo, or printing your business's name on your clothing's custom hang tags.
1.Plan Which Fashion Products You’ll Sell
When starting a fashion brand you should set goals for the future of your business. Say you start off just selling luxury purses, then later want to expand to shoes. Avoid naming your brand something specifically about handbags or footwear. Be flexible with your name, while staying on brand.
Then comes the question of whether or not yours will be a personal brand, named after yourself. If so, the brand will then be an extension of you. That means that you will have to market and sell yourself alongside your brand. For some this may come easy, however if this isn't your style then it may be best to pick a name separate from your own.
2.Define Your Ideal Customer
Who will likely buy your products? Will you sell the latest trends or will you be selling something like classic men’s business attire? If your clothing line is geared towards Gen-Z, it should sound, look, and feel different than a line intended to attract an older, established businessman. Make sure the name options you select will attract rather than repel the end customer who will shop your brand in-store and online.
3.Keep it Short and Simple
Keep your brand name brief, unique, and memorable. You want your brand name to stand out in a line-up of competitors, and you don’t want your name to be so complicated that customers can’t remember it.
4.Brainstorm and/or Use a Name Generator
Whenever you begin to brainstorm names for your brand, get creative. Having fun should be a part of the process. After all, this is an exciting new journey for you.
Make a list of names you like, ask yourself, friends, and family their opinions. Then narrow down your list of choices from there. If you still find yourself having trouble, you can always use a name generator. Shopify, Namelix, and Oberlo all have name generators that you can easily access and use with no fees. You will simply put in your brand specific item or name into the generator and a list of potential names will come up.
5.Check Your Name Availability Online
Last, but certainly not least, once you come up with a name you love, you must make sure that you can actually use it. You wouldn’t want to use a name that another business already has. That would lead to customer confusion and potential legal issues. You may start to use the name and later find out that it already has been copyrighted or trademarked. You can go here to search trademarks or apply to trademark your brand name.
Assuming you will have an online website, you will also need to make sure that you have a domain available for use. While some URLs only cost a few dollars, there are others that sell for well over $20,000 due to having a high desirability. GoDaddy and Shopify offer a free domain search along with domain options to choose from and their prices.
Following these steps will help you make sure that you are starting off your business on the right foot and protecting yourself legally and creatively. Just remember: while creating a fashion brand name should be fun, it’s important to remember the logistics of it. Stay true to yourself and the brand, and everything else will fall into place.
This article has not been edited by Fibre2Fashion staff and is re-published with permission from makersvalley.com
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