Picture this 👇🏼 You’re all ready to jump into the world of online coaching. You’ve finally got it all planned out and you’re SO excited! But there’s just one last thing holding you back...

You just can’t seem to come up with the perfect name to announce your big arrival on the scene.

*Sigh*

Naming your coaching business and program can feel a huge, overwhelming task.

There are so many things to think about.

Is it catchy enough?

Is it unique enough?

Does it represent your business in all its glory?

To be completely honest with you, friends, your business name has the power to make or break you.

I’m not saying this to scare you. But I DO want to motivate you to dig deep and put some serious thought into how you label yourself in the online coaching world.

Luckily, I’d never make you do that alone. As always, I’m here for you!

I want to share my top 10 tips for naming your coaching business and program.

10. Brainstorm

I want you to start by listing off all of your business name ideas.

The good, the bad, and the reeeeally bad.

Set a timer for 10 minutes and just let your ideas flow.

Don’t judge what comes out! This is just a complete braindump of every spark that comes to mind in the process of landing on the perfect name.

Trust me, some really silly things will pop into your brain. WRITE. THEM. DOWN.

It’s all part of the process so don’t put a filter on your genius. Something good will come if you let it all out!

9. Say It Out Loud

The next step I want you to do is to say all the names out loud. Say them to yourself or speak them to a friend, but let them out into the world.

There will definitely be some serious doozies. No judgment!

It’s all part of the journey of naming your coaching business and program. What you’ll find is that some of the names you thought were brilliant on paper will sound silly out loud and some of your least favorites on paper might actually be promising!

Circle the names that roll off the tongue and fill you with joy and scratch any ideas off that make you cringe!

8. Go for Something Meaningful

I know this sounds like a lot of pressure, but you’d be surprised how many new online coaches choose the most boring names for the most exciting programs!

Your name should be catchy and memorable.

Give your potential clients a sense of excitement for the transformation you’re offering. Don’t turn anyone away by choosing a name that makes your product sound like a snoozefest.

A name that makes clients eager and excited to do business with you can go a long way in helping book your first batch of coaching clients.

A good name can be a helpful tool in giving your prospective clients the sense that you are creating a mission or a movement that they can get excited to back.

Your name needs to attract clients whose values align with yours and are in need of the specific transformation your business delivers.

When all else fails, stay positive, simple, and clear.

You’ve got this. 👊🏻💥

7. Make it Easy to Spell

This might seem obvious, but if your prospective clients have trouble spelling the name of your business after hearing about your services you might be losing some serious business.

You don’t want potential clients getting frustrated trying to find your business’ website or social media. This will immediately make a bad impression on them - or worse, they might just give up and move onto the next coach with a name that’s easier to spell. For real!

Make it easy for people to sing your praises and share your business name.

When in doubt, keep it simple and it will help bring the business to you! ✅

6. Do Your Research

Once you’ve got your shortlist of business names you need to start doing your research.

Get online and start figuring out if any businesses have the same or similar name to yours.

Figure out what industry they are in or what products and services they are offering.

You don’t want any mixups with other businesses that don’t align with your brand.

Let me share a story to share why this is something you *must* pay close attention to👇🏻

I was recently helping a client develop a name for his new aircraft. Pretty exciting right?

We landed on what we felt was the ideal name. It was catchy, simple and authentic to my client’s unique product.

Or so we thought...

A quick google search told us that unfortunately, this name was already taken.

Not only was it already taken, but it was taken by an adults-only website selling adults-only products if you know what I mean.

We just decided right then and there that we did not want to have any confusion between the two VERY different products.

So we went back to the drawing board and came up with an even better name.

Let this be your lesson to search BEFORE you launch your business name!

5. Keep Trademarks in Mind

Even in the beginning stages, you must remember: your business has SO much potential to grow.

You need to start thinking now about if you might consider trademarking your business name or program as you scale.

Whether you want to do it right away or many months or years down the line, this is something to factor into the business naming process.

Head over to USPTO and search what trademarks are already out there. Figure out if any of them conflict with the name you are choosing.

That way, when and if you decide to trademark your business or program name, you have that option.

It might seem a little early to think about this stuff, but your future self with thank you!

4. Secure the Domain Name

This tip is a big one.

You’ve got to make sure that your ideal domain name is available for purchase.

Whether it’s “YourBusinessName.com” or something exciting to use in conjunction with the name of your biz, you want to know for sure that you can own it.

Of course, you can always go with a “.biz” or “.net” option instead.

But - in general, the “.com” is a great indicator of high quality and professional websites. So if you can, I would highly recommend sticking with a “.com” domain name to help you gain authority in the online space.

Think of purchasing your own URL as an investment in your business. This is your chance to carve out your spot in the online business world, so don’t pick something without being certain that you can own the perfect domain name.

3. Keep Your ideal Client in Mind

Not only do you have to love the name of your biz or program, but your ideal clients need to love it too!

Whatever name you land on has to be something that they are excited about. Something that doesn’t make them afraid, intimidated, or embarrassed to share with their community.

Here’s what I mean:

When I built my first company with my husband we called it Team Luna Gains.

We loved this name for our fitness and nutrition business that focused on helping our clients gain stronger muscle, and most importantly, a stronger mindset.

We fell in love with the name Team Luna Gains and it was a HUGE hit in southern Arizona, where we were living at the time.

But then, pretty much out of nowhere we picked up and moved to southern California - and our ideal clientele did a complete 180.

All of a sudden, our client base had become celebrities and wives or high-up corporate executives.

It was a culture shock, to say the least.

Once we started developing relationships with our clients, some of them revealed to us that they almost didn’t reach out because they hated the name of our business.

Ouch!

The name we originally fell in love with was a huge turn-off for our new client base.

Our new clients were looking to build a lean, firm, flexible physique.

They weren’t interested in making gains! If anything they wanted to lose weight.

Although the name of our biz suited the southern Arizona culture perfectly, it was NOT helping attract our new Cali clients.

When I say that a name can make or break you, this is what I’m talking about.

If we had rebranded and reworked our name at the time, it could have helped us grow our community like crazy!

All this to say that if you AND your ideal clients are proud of the name of your business or program, that name will spread like wildfire and help you grow your business exponentially. 📈

2. Take it to Market

As you get closer and closer to naming your coaching business and program, I want you to get some feedback.

You need to know what people actually think of the name before designing logos, and a website and plastering it all over the place.

Go ahead and ask those ideal clients of yours for their honest opinion.

Does it get them excited?

Does it roll off the tongue like you thought it would?

Does it sound like something they’d be proud to post about?

Ask people you trust and that want the best for your business.

And more than that - use this as an opportunity to drum up conversations with people who might open up their wallets when the time comes to launch this well-named business or program.

1. Choose a Name that Can Grow

Finally, I want you to choose a name that can grow.

Don’t tie your brand to one specific location or service when naming your coaching business and program.

‘Cause let’s be honest, life happens.

You might have to move locations, or it might even take a while to figure out exactly what area of expertise you want to specialize in.

Switching your name because of a location change or change in the services you offer cost you the momentum of your marketing and sales strategies you’ve been building towards.

So - when you’re choosing your name, pick something that can fluctuate and grow with you.

As your life and your business evolve, your name should stay the same.

Here’s a great example of this👇🏻

You’ve probably noticed that I go by Molly Ann Luna.

It couldn’t get more simple than that!

I use my own name because I’ve moved locations and changed my area of expertise MANY times over the years. Using my name as the name of my business has helped me have the flexibility I need without losing the momentum I’ve worked so hard to build.

If you’re stuck on what to name your business or coaching program, just stick with your name.

That way you know that it’s true to you!

My hope is that this list of tips can act as a checklist for you as you come up with the perfect name for your online coaching business or program. Naming your coaching business and program is an opportunity to define your business for your ideal clients in a way that feels authentic and exciting for both of you.

If you’re on the hunt for even more tips for starting your online coaching business I want you to save your seat at my next FREE masterclass, Pivot Into Online Profits, where we chat all things business building.

Until then, I want you to remind yourself that so much of business building is a mental game. So keep striving to master your mindset and to live your legacy.

See you soon! 👋🏻

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