Should I change it?

[melissa bell]

I used to make jewelry when I was still in college, and I used the name

Mississippi Made Jewelry, which I transferred and used for my DVD slideshow

making "business", Mississippi Made Productions. It was cute for the jewelry

while I was in college, and covenient for the DVD's, but when I get the

photography underway, as that is much more important to me than my past

attempts at making a few extra bucks, should I use Mississippi Made

Photography? I don't think I like the sound of that, but I'm also not sure

that I like the sound of Melissa Bell Photography or anything with Bell in

it :) And is Memories by Melissa too cheesy :) I don't know what to do, and

I know there is not a very big hurry, but since I already have a few "free"

projects lined up, which is mostly a "marketing" move, then I really want to

have everything in place, and that kinda starts with a name :) I will give

some other helpful information, and maybe someone will have a good

suggestion. My Maiden name is Bryant, so nothing spectacular to work with

there, and middle name is Sue, after my grandmother, and while I love my

grandmother :), again, nothing catchy there. I do have twin daughters,

Madison Leigh aka Maddie and Emma Grace aka Gracie, so there might some

combination name or something there to work with. Any suggestions are

welcome, and I am very open to honesty. I know that my work is not at the

level to shoot weddings yet, and probably not even to shoot portraits, but I

want to do weddings and portrait work in the future, so I need a name that

would cover all grounds.

[gulnara]

Grace Madison Photography- I like that.

I know what you going thru. When I was about to open my business I didn't want to use my name ( who would ever remember?). And as much as I liked my name I called it Bloom Weddings photography. People ask me who is Bloom but I just liked the meaning of it and the fact I could use two Os as wedding bands:-). But it doesn't really represents me or my style so I may change it.

[bruce_rubenstein]

I sometimes think that people "over think" their business name. If you just use your name + photography/studio, then you probably get a unique name, associated with you and an unambiguous understanding of what your business is. With anything else you have the potential for having a non unique name, or one that is very similar to someone else's. One also has to be careful connotations with a business name that isn't your own name. "Mississippi Made....." sounds like a company that makes a product, and I wouldn't want to associate photography with a product. Gulnara, I think has a problem, because Bloom is a common last name and it's not hers. When I saw her URL I thought she shot for a studio named after someone named Bloom.

[katieontario]

Hi there!

 

I really think "Mississippi Made" is cute. But I tend to think of the ice cream flavour "Mississippi Mud" right after for some reason!

 

Friends of ours are fine home builders and have combined their daughters names for their business name. One of the girls is named Isabella.

 

You could use your name "Bell" in that context. i.e. Belle Photo, Belle Photography, or Bella, with any of these, and it can be a play on words, with the word Belle refering to something of beauty,beautiful, etc.

 

In regards to a logo, you could use the M in your first name between the two words in a larger and more transparent font. (See Aaron Lee's post from 2007-01-08.

 

Good Luck!

[roxyandkaidotcom]

Emma Madison Photography ... but then people will think your name is Emma. I named my

business after my two babies - Roxy and Kai Photography - and people always think my

name is Roxy. After I tell them who Roxy and Kai are, though, they think it's cute and

remember my real name. I started out doing children's photography, which is why I went with

my babies names. They were such an inspiration for me, so I loved the idea of Roxy and Kai

Photography.

 

Whatever you decide, good luck!

[Matt Laur]

It can be hard to think past your current expectations, business-wise, but is there any chance that you might find yourself doing a little product work here, some real-estate work there, etc? Or perhaps more importantly, any chance that you might find another photographer working under your wing or as a partner at some point? Now, think well down the road... what about eventually selling the business? You can broaden your horizons and maintain more eventual sale value in a business if it isn't tied to your name, per se (all Martha Stewart jokes aside, of course).

 

Not making any specific recommendations, other than to think outside of your immediate plans for the type of work you're thinking of doing, and asking yourself if the names you're considering lend themselves to adapting to a changing business climate or shift in professional interest or business structure down the road.

[aaron l]

The advantage to using your name is if you want to file for sales tax, business licenses and such, you don't have to make an announcement in the local paper and do other work. The dissadvantage is if someone decides they don't like you and they smear your business name, your personal name is attached to it. If you create a ficticious name, you can just let that one die and creat another one.

[michelle jones]

I had a hell of a time deciding on what to call my business. I started out with "Michelle Jones Photography" Which I still kinda use. however after alot of conflab and thought I came up with "Catkin Studio" which is named after the catkins that are on my silver birch tree most of the year. The kids love them and so do I they're great for making 'confetti' but I digress.

<BR><BR>

My input is : "Little Miss Photography" Reffering to your two daughters and to the fact you live in Mississippi :)

[marcie m]

I'm going through the same thought process myself. I have my old photo business name that I can use but am not sure if I want to switch it to my own name. Also, my dh and I incorporated ourselves under a fun name a few years ago to cover our various small business activities. That being said, you could incorporate Missippi Made Productions.

 

Then with your photo business you can be Mississippi Made Productions d/b/a Melissa Bell Photography (I like your name). You advertise as Melissa Bell Photography and put everything as Melissa Bell Photography. The only time clients will see Mississippi Made Productions is in your contract: Mississippi Made Productions d/b/a Melissa Bell Photography.

 

Not only will you have the benefit of having an incorporated business, you can also make your corporation encompass your other profit-making activities.

[roxyandkaidotcom]

Oooh, I kinda like that Little Miss Photography idea. Cute!

 

Reminds me of Little Miss Sunshine, which is a GREAT movie!

[melissa bell]

Thanks for all the input guys. I do agree with Mississippi Made implying a product, and it was when I came up with it (the jewelry). I do like the "Little Miss Photography" but I am not sure that it would work; I tend to think of a pageant or of children only, and not weddings or portraits (other than children). Does anyone else think that, too? I do have a friend who wants to assist, and maybe even partner eventually. She makes cakes, and is learning about wedding cakes, so it may be that we would be working together. She is interested in the photography, as well as the cakes, so I'm just not sure to associate it only with my name would be the best idea. She has a number of ties in the community, as do I, but I don't want to have a bigger emphasis on either one of our names. I am going to do some more brainstorming and see what I come up with, but the feedback I have gotten from you all has been very helpful. Thanks!

[jaimie blue]

Maddie Grace

or Madison Grace.