If you're looking for help or tips naming your clinic, you've come to the right place. Here are a few tips to help lessen the stress as you name your clinic.
Keep your team small
As much fun as it might sound (or not?) to invite a group of people to help come up with your clinic name, use caution.
People have opinions, and you're not going to make everybody happy — or if you do, you might not love the final name.
I recommend only including your most trusted family or friends, and not more than a couple others. Pick people that you can disagree with, push back on, and who won't be offended if you don't fully accept their recommendations.
Namestorm — there are no bad ideas
Brainstorm a bunch of names. Seriously, write everything down. Even the silly or dumb ideas — something great might come from it.
Here are some categories to consider.
Location-based
Having a location-based name ensures people know that you're local.
- Treasure Valley Care
- Johnson County Direct Primary Care
- Brooklyn Direct Care
The cons? Expansion might be weird if you end up outside of that location.
Founder-based
Including your name might seem boring, but it's instantly recognizable and easy to share.
- Johnson Family Medicine
- Thompson Direct Care
- Dr. Thomas Direct Primary Care
- Dr. Woods Clinic
Brand-based
It can take a while, but a brand name that's more abstract is scalable and is a clean slate to build a brand identity around.
I'll forgo the examples — it's best if you come up with some yourself!
The downside of an abstract / brand-based name is that it will take some time to build a reputation and association of that name for your community.
What's your style?
Now that you have some brainstormed names, go through and cross off any that aren't your "style." Whatever that means to you — no wrong answers.
You want to be proud of your name, not just choosing something because other people will like it.
Should "Direct Primary Care" be in the name?
Not necessarily. Direct Primary Care is starting to be a more well-known term (less so if you're in Direct Specialty Care), so I think if it's not in your name, it should be in a tagline or at least very present on your website.
What about a website? my-business-name.com is taken!
First tip: don't do a Google search for your desired domain name (thisisadomainname.com).
Instead, go to a domain name registrar (someone who sells domain names), and do a search for what's available there.
You do not need to have a domain name that's exactly your business name. It's better to have a domain that ends with .com or .org (maybe even .net). Endings like .health, .co, .rocks, etc. are either confusing for patients or may get blocked by some email services. If you prefer a domain that ends with .health, then consider using a different domain that's .com, .org, or .net for email.
If you haven't purchased a domain name before, then here are my recommended registrars:
More popular ones are GoDaddy.com, NameCheap.com, and others. I prefer working with smaller businesses, hence my recommendations above.
NOTE: you can purchase a domain name through a website builder like squarespace.com or wix.com, but I recommend using the above solutions as you'll have an easier time staying in control of that domain.
Should you trademark your business name?
My quick advice: no.
You'll spend more time and money than is worth it in the beginning.
Maybe after a couple years, and if you have a very unique name, then it's worth talking to a trademark attorney to have them help you through the process (be sure to ask about cost up front).
With that said...
Research conflicts before committing
After you've narrowed your options down to a couple, do a couple quick searches.
Your Secretary of State or business entity database search
You should find a free, searchable database somewhere on your Secretary of State website where you can compare your possible names to others in the state. You won't be able to register your business name if it's not "distinguishable" from other businesses in the state, so this is a good start.
Federal Trademark Database (USPTO)
USPTO stands for the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This is the place where official trademarked names are registered, so you can ensure you won't be naming your business something that someone else already owns.
Do a general search for your business name on this site: tmsearch.uspto.gov — and make sure you look for live / registered or pending results. Note: it's possible that someone owns a logo that's associated with your name, but not the actual name — do a bit of research before counting your business name out!
Try it out
Now that you've narrowed down even further, try it out. Say it out loud. What does it sound like answering the phone: "Johnson Family Medicine, this is Jason."
If you've landed on something you like, feel free to get feedback from JUST A COUPLE good friends who will speak honestly.
Why only a couple? Naming a business is like naming a baby. My wife and I chose to keep our children's names a secret before telling even our family. Why? Because before the baby is born, people feel free to give their opinions: "Oh, I don't like that name... it reminds me of..." or "Really? That just seems so..."
But when you tell them the name after the baby is born, they withhold judgment and are just happy to meet the baby.
So, treat your business name like a baby name — be confident and only ask for as much feedback as you really want, or you might get more than you need.
Commit: it's going to be OK
Once you've landed on a name you're happy with, have made sure you can purchase a domain name that's close enough, and are sure you're not stepping on other businesses' toes — go for it!
Need more info on how to structure your business for tax and legal purposes? Read our article on what business structure to use.
There are so many more decisions ahead — it's going to be just fine to decide on this and move forward.
Especially because...
You can always change it later
There are these neat little devices called "DBAs" (stands for "doing business as...") or "trade names" that let you operate a business under a name that's separate from what you've registered with the Secretary of State. And you can add them whenever you want (there might be a small charge — in WA State it costs $5 to register a trade name with the Dept. of Revenue).
So you can have your official business be "Jason's Famous LLC" but operate under the trade name "Larsen Family Medicine," only to later change your business to "Jason's Direct Primary Care" under another trade name.
You have more flexibility than you think! So go for it!
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