Business Name vs Own Name

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Anybody making the transition to self employment has most probably toyed with the decision whether to use their own name or a business name.

I briefly once operated under a business name however the best decision I made was operating under my own name. This goes against all conventional wisdom and ‘guru’ advice. Ultimately there’s no right or wrong answer.

When making the decision I initially sat down and ‘defined’ my goals as a freelancer and self employment in general. Freelancing is approximately 40% of my working week alongside my other business interests so I wanted a solution which worked across both avenues. You may want to do the same.

Ask yourself the following questions to define your goals:

1. What do you want to achieve?
2. Is client work all you want to do?
3. Do you want to scale & hire more individuals?
4. Do you want a personal online identity?
5. Do you see yourself working in the specific industry forever?
6. Do you have other business interests which growing a personal brand may facilitate?

Having answered the above questions it was clear to me that my own name was the best solution for what I am wanting to achieve in the short, medium and long term. I wanted to break the questions down a little to provide context and maybe help you with the decision?

What do you want to achieve?

My goal when freelancing was to have a small group of trusted clients who allowed me to grow their businesses without constraints. I wanted to be that friendly face available for those who have been burnt by low cost services or overwhelmed by the agency set up. To this day (1 year freelancing) I am still in single digits with clients – I am proud to say I have maintained relationships with all of them.

Secondly I didn’t want to become just an agency overflow freelancer. I wanted my own clients, large or small, who I could work with, grow and mould into exceptional online businesses. Personal branding felt correct for this.

Is client work all you want to do?

As mentioned above 50% of my week happens to be spent growing my educational business. Client work forms just around 40% of my working endeavours. I knew this before ‘going freelance’ and knew that digital marketing services were not going to be the only avenue I may want to pursue long term.

Think about what you want to achieve long term. Choosing the right branding is important as a result.

Do you want to scale & hire more individuals?

From the beginning I never had an interest in scaling and hiring. I’m a digital consultant and always will be a digital consultant. I measure growth very differently to hiring and chasing as many clients as possible. Growth for me is becoming a trusted digital consultant with a small, enjoyable client base. Growth is becoming a sought after freelancer and having rates to reflect this.

Sure I could achieve this with a business name but my personal name felt more compelling and real.

Do you want a personal online identity?

Personality is what draws interest. We follow people on Twitter as we like their personality (or dislike but still), we socialise with those we are comfortable with. I strategically chose to brand as me, and hopefully my personality.

This is an online screening process before any enquiries arrive. No corporate about page, no business jargon, business suits tossed to one side and proudly home based. These were strategic actions I drew on.

They also provided an instant vetting process. Clients who land on my site and want less of a personal feel most likely won’t contact me. So far I have picked up some great clients by having this warm, personal online identity. Most have said they loved that there was a face behind the brand and that I seemed ‘normal’. People work with people.

Do you see yourself working in the specific industry forever?

At the moment my personal brand is focused around digital marketing, predominantly covering SEO & PPC. Recently however I have been doing more and more general business consulting for one of my clients. My focus and direction could ultimately change in the next 12-24 months where general business advice could be the main offering on my services page. Granted this is unlikely to happen yet having a personal brand allows me to easily craft and mould my offering.

I have seen a number of agencies go through a rebranding process due to their core business being focused in one area but the business going in a completely different direction. Using your own name allows you to be more agile in your approach.

Do you have other business interests which growing a personal brand may facilitate?

This was touched upon in my ‘Is client work all you want to do’ question yet more context is always good.

Brand is everything online and growing a brand which may assist future growth or direction was one of the main reasons around my decision to go with my own name. I’m actively investing time into the domain name. Writing content, providing insight, gaining links and improving domain authority. It gives me a solid online presence for whatever life throws at me.

What if client work and the business fail and I require a full time job? I have a website ranking for local digital marketing terms.

What if I want to offer more ‘training’ as opposed to consultancy? I’m building authority, trust and a reputation where people want to use me over someone else.

Bigger is not better:

Many use a business name as a strategy to appear ‘larger’ or give the perception they are an agency. I’ve seen countless one man band types running ‘full service agencies’ or ‘design studios’. Now I’m not one to knock ambition but it lacks authenticity and credibility.

What type of businesses would you want to work with? A personal, real business or one trying to be something it isn’t far too soon? I will reiterate the point again.

‘People work with people’

Now I’m not suggesting you are automatically faceless if you go with business branding. Profoundry by Colin Skinner for example has done this very well as he maintains a personal touch whilst still using a business name. Colin’s website is optimised and pitched towards him being a digital consultant. Not an agency. Not a studio. A digital consultant.

Colin is a real exception though. Most fall into the trap of appearing like an agency and then just become another part in an already crowded market.

Freelancing is about differentiation; offering something which the traditional agency doesn’t offer. Many clients are quite frankly overwhelmed and want to work with a friendly face who can mould their business direction. Freelancing for me is about working with people, learning their business and relieving their pain points.

If you are looking to scale your operations and hire others then sure a company name is probably the way forward; but perhaps follow Colin’s strategy and be authentic and true to the people you want to attract.

Personal touch:

Personally however I have found people want to work with me. Digital marketing is a terrifying world and there is a lot of really shit people and quite frankly the majority of my clients have been burnt by a ‘Google Partner Agency’ or an over selling cowboy.

Think about your future path and direction and how you want to be perceived within the industry you work in and by the people who want to pay you money. There’s no right or wrong answer just one which is right for you.

I know I made the right decision.

Worth a listen:

Paul Jarvis – Business name or your own name