Many of your friends and family might be asking this one small question: “What are you naming your freelance business?” It’s a reasonable question, but it can cause newer freelancers to get stuck. They fall into a trap and stop making real progress on their goals.
Here’s the thing: you do NOT need a unique, bedazzled name for your business. Since our clients hire us personally, our given names often make the most sense for our businesses. For example, I am a freelance copywriter. Companies that hire me simply hire Nicki Krawczyk.
On the other hand, some freelancers have good reasons to name their businesses. One example is a freelancer starting out with big plans for down the road (think: owning an agency). In a case like this, it makes sense to choose a business name at the beginning.
It’s probably even more common for people to feel that a business name makes them seem more professional or serious. And there’s nothing wrong with that, either.
If you choose to name your freelance business, keep in mind any added paperwork involved. For example, in the United States, you may need to file a “Doing Business As” (i.e. DBA) form with the IRS. This will allow you, the person, to cash any checks written out to your business name. As always, talk with a tax preparation professional for more details.
You can, however, have a URL for your business that is different than your legal business name. For example, my URL for my copywriting portfolio is NickiCopy.com. But I use my name when filing out paperwork for tax purposes.
Having said all this, I want to make sure you’re aware of this one sneaky secret.
When Naming Your Freelance Business Has Nothing to Do With Your Business
If you’ve ever sat down and started thinking about names for your business, you’ve probably realized this is NOT a quick decision. Freelancers can spend days—or even weeks!—making lists of possibilities, polling friends and family, equivocating, second-guessing themselves, and so on.
Instead, they could have taken this time to do things that actually build their business! Things like building a portfolio, reaching out to their network, sending pitches.
The big secret is that naming your business can actually become a method of procrastination.
How to Tell if Resistance is the Culprit
Deciding on a name feels like forward momentum. You’re making decisions about your future! Becoming a real professional!
Unfortunately, if the decision is taking up a significant amount of time and preventing you from actually working on your business, it’s a big clue that you’ve been struck by resistance.
Resistance is the voice in your head that tells you, “This IS working on your business! Without the perfect name, what kind of freelancer are you? Let’s ask a few more people if they like this one.”
Wrong! You don’t even need a name in the first place! Resistance will try to prevent you from stepping outside of your comfort zone. It tries to keep you safe. But we all know that playing safe is a recipe for mediocrity.
You’ll probably see resistance rear its ugly head as you’re making other decisions, too, like:
- Dabbling with logos.
- Deciding on a template for your website.
- Choosing a URL for your portfolio.
So watch out for resistance. If the task you’re focusing on isn’t building your business, helping you land clients, or earning income for you, it’s not an essential task. It’s just resistance trying to keep you small.
Don’t give in! Do the important work—even when it’s hard—and you will succeed.
Your turn! What sneaky ways have you seen resistance popping up? Let us know in the comments below.
Last Updated on July 1, 2023.
