ReInventing myself and marketing plans

My personal opinion (newbie that I am ) is that people do business with people that they know and trust. I decided to go with my name instead of business name because I believe strongly in relationships.

This may sound odd (and I really don't mean any offense) but your user name does not inspire confidence in me, except that I know John Durham knows you well and you have commented on a few of his threads.

Di

Actually it's really easy to get your user name changed. Just submit a ticket to the help desk and they will change it for you.

Awesome! I am going to get on that right now. Again thank you so much!!!

I can only speak from experience from doing business on linkedin but I started using my name this year on there and it has worked great. People as Dianne said relate better to me rather than a nameless business. I think especially when you are trying to be different from the big corporate boys out there!

Rich

What have you all done as far as domain names. I cant get a domain name with my name its already taken. I did however find one available with my middle name and last name. Should I promote myself with my middle name and last to stay consistent with my domain name?

I think most of us are still trying to identify ourselves and businesses. With the industry changing and adding new concepts each day you got to re evalaute and identify yourself and what you want to do to evolve

I am in Moore... Never thought about that.

You can use your name and that would work, if the domain is taking try adding your middle initial.

However it really depends on where you want to go with your business. If you are trying to scale your business large I would go with a branded business name. That way you can create an asset for yourself that you can sell later on down the road.

A brandable now is a valuable asset if you build it out.

I was thinking this also a while back but my damn name is so long, so domain name would be just like typing a novel.

Wondering if using Initials would be a better to use may also help with the selling if needed later on.

I just put in my request to change my name. Thanks for the responses guys. Now I just need to figure up what I want to do for my site. I think im gonna go ahead and create a site to brand myself and name. I will create a separate site for my business to go along with a name to brand that I could sell possibly later

If your name is not available try just your first initial or a _ between your first and last name. Hope that helps.

Pat

As you can see my name has officially been changed. Thanks for the advice Diana

Those of us late to this thread have no idea what your previous WF user name was, so George Pitts is genuine. The suggestion on business name for resale potential was a good suggestion.

As for your domain, if you're concentrating on business in only OK, perhaps consider a domain name with a keyword and local connector in it. GetSalesOklahoma or LocalMarketingOklahoma. Never hurts to get more local traffic that way.

Do register your own formal name just to have it for sure. Your business name if it's not your personal name should have your purpose in it so people know what you do. Your main domain name should be in your "elevator speech" or one minute intro about you and what you do for business.

If you do website development with mobile, social media, email, SMS, and youtube, I found churches to be a really good niche with incredible referrals. Helps with their visibility, fundraising and membership building. WP Themes easy to mock up and install.
Churches will invest if it helps get members and raise $.

Cheers to your success!

my previous name before was gmoney38

George is better than gmoney38 but I've seen much worse user names on WF.
swilliams09 post is solid advice.

This was good advice just recently change mine too.

Yea the advice giving on these threads including mine are priceless. Before I got into offline marketing advice you get on offline was someones ebook they were selling for online marketing.

A business name does not have to be a person's name in order to be great. There are lots of people that have built successful empires under a company name. I mean, who ever heard of a Google, before they came on the scene?

What is brandable is the value you bring to whatever niche you specialize in. So, you could be George Pitts from XYZ company who is known for giving clients that personal touch, or awesome small business websites that make real money, etc.

Even if your company name becomes George Pitts, Inc. It doesn't mean anything unless you create a value behind that brand name.

I think the personal touch is always better...especially online. When people see a real person and get a sense of who you are, they will be more comfortable doing business with you.

Thanks fun and steve this is just what I needed to get me off the fence time to take action

Reinventing yourself. Hmm..That may have different meanings but I suggest that you better reinvent yourself in a way that you'll be improving and not be pretending like you're someone else. Businesses especially partnerships really give too much importance on trust. Whoever comes your way, as a businessman, you should befriend him before you ever dare to introduce that you have a business like this and that. This way, you make more opportunities for yourself and for them as well.

I agree with Fun to Write and others. Although, there are some cases where it is better to have a different name that will help BRAND you in a certain niche. Take mine for example (i know, i'm such a "heel" sometimes), it helps differentiate me from others who would be doing the same thing. It is the value i can offer in the form of information. I don't have to be an expert per say but have a general knowledge most people don't know about that would make them say, "hmm, i did'nt know that, tell me more". Ask yourself this question, what could i imagine myself being with this name? It may not come to you quickly but it's just a thought. Your name is good. It's simple and you can still do something with it if you choose to in the future. ex: moneypitts or oklahoma pitts
btw-George, a stupid question is a question that's never asked! Glad you asked.

Thanks libidoguy glad I asked to as I got wonderful feedback. I wasnt looking for any sugarcoating just the real deal facts. I am confident that is exactly what i got.