A stellar name helps your coaching business stand out from the crowd. It catches clients’ attention, sticks in their minds, and draws them to your practice.
Building a business takes a lot of work, and landing on a name is just one small task of many. But crafting the perfect title is time well spent: your business name informs potential clients’ first impressions and establishes a unique brand.
The good news? You don’t need to be a marketing expert to pen the perfect title for your business. With some careful thought and a dash of creativity, you can come up with something amazing. Read on to learn what makes the best names for coaching businesses and how to create one of your own.
Help clients identify with your brand
Your brand is what distinguishes your coaching business from the rest. It consists of the name, logo, and all other visual and written elements that inform clients about the company’s mission. When executed well, clients recognize a business’s brand wherever they see it—just like how a person might perk up when they see their favorite sports team's logo or colors.
A strong business name helps potential and current clients understand your work's nature at a glance. It’s the cornerstone of your brand—so it needs to be perfect. After all, a client might decide if your practice is right for them in a matter of seconds.
How to choose a coaching business name
Grab a pen, flex those fingers, and get ready to brainstorm. Here are five tips for choosing a great business name:
1. Choose a type of brand name: There are four categories of brand names: literal, descriptive, abstract, and referential.
- A literal name describes your company in simple terms. This name type effectively captures your business’s essence, but you may have trouble standing out.
- A descriptive name infuses personality into a literal description of your business. It adds a level of flair without getting too wild.
- Abstract names are catchy, but don’t specifically link to the scope of your services. For example, the word “apple” doesn’t have much to do with tech, but the fruit is now synonymous with Apple’s products.
- Referential names are the “inside jokes” of branding. They might be a fun pun or a reference to your kids’ names. You understand why they’re important, but your clients may not.
2. Define what makes you unique: If you’re struggling to find a place to start, write out a list of your company’s values, qualities, and goals. Chances are you’ll stumble on a word or catchphrase that could be the perfect name for your business.
3. Dig deep: If you’re still coming up dry, turn to the encyclopedia, dictionary, and thesaurus. Take inspiration wherever you find it, whether it’s a favorite movie, book, or song—just don’t include words in your final name that aren’t yours.
3. Don’t settle: You may come up with the perfect company name on the first try, but give yourself a chance to explore others. If that initial instinct was right, you’ll come back to it. Come up with a long list of possible names because you want options—your business will live with this name for a long time.
Choose a name that sticks
Once you’ve drafted a name that represents your services and embodies the voice of your brand, run it through the following filters to see if it holds up:
- Keep it short: Since business names should be memorable, you don’t want to create a title clients mix up because it’s too long. If your company’s name is many words, clients will likely forget a few or shift them around.
- Make it stand out: Perform an internet search for your business name and see what comes up. You may want to reconsider if other businesses pop up with similar or identical names. If you choose something too common, potential clients may wind up on another company’s socials or website.
- Stay away from trends: By the same logic, if a term is trending, chances are your business’s name will get lumped in with others—at least online. The other reason to avoid trends is that they burn out. Try to pick a name that’s evergreen and doesn’t just sound catchy today.
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Get inspired by these coaching company names
Sometimes it’s helpful to see an example of what works to get the creative juices flowing. Here are some made-up company names and why they’re effective:
- Uncoachable. Clients are unlikely to forget this provocative name, which references a new client’s feeling that they may be tough to change. The title also implies the coach behind this practice can help anyone reach their goals, no matter how “uncoachable” they worry they are.
- Coaching for Life. This name works well for a life coaching business. Clients infer the coach’s niche, and the play on words reminds people that coaching is about making long-term changes.
- A Way Forward. Coaches guide clients around roadblocks and help people see brighter futures. This name taps into this aspect of the work with an inspirational phrase.
- No Mountain Is Too High. This moniker suits a motivational or high-performance coach. It relies on a snappy, easy-to-remember metaphor about pushing further.
- Beyond Coaching. This name lets clients know the coach will go above and beyond from the jump. The dual meaning also suggests clients will progress past any limiting beliefs.
A good business name is just the start
Once you reel in clients with an excellent name, you have to manage them. Actions like streamlining communication and keeping data safe remind clients they’re in good hands. Don’t fret—we can help.
As coaches ourselves, we know what it takes to run a coaching business. Practice can assist you in staying organized with our customer relationship management (CRM) platform. You can store client data and documents safely, receive secure payments, manage bookings, and gain access to coaching tools like templates.
