A guide to help you choose the perfect name for your dog walking business.
When starting your dog walking business, one of the first big decisions you'll need to make is choosing a name. Luckily, like most other aspects of starting your dog walking business, choosing a name is a lot of fun. That said, it's definitely easy to get hung up on selecting the perfect name. You want to pick a name that represents you and your business. Many professional dog walkers and pet sitters like to choose something fun, like a pun or something a little silly. You can also go with a name that is good for local SEO like "CITY" Dog Walker or "CITY'S" Best Dog Walker. A name with built-in SEO value can be a smart choice if you are in a city with lots of competition.
You'll also want to choose a name for your dog walking business that will look good on business cards, logos, invoices, and apparel. So as you can see, choosing a name is a critical step when starting your business. That's why we created this blog post to help you pick the perfect name for your dog walking company!
Step 1: Choose a name that suits you and your company
A name can help potential customers identify what type of business and which kinds of services you will offer.
Here are a few questions to think about:
- Will you exclusively offer dog walking? Then a dog walking centric name might make the most sense.
- How will you position your business? Will you offer upscale pet care services or other specialties?
- Do you plan to be the biggest and the best, or maybe a smaller and more boutique-type business?
- Do you plan to expand to other cities and markets? It might be harder to grow if you pick a very city-specific name.
- Do you want your name to be silly and playful, something that makes customers smile?
- Will you have veterinary and medical animal care experience?
Whatever name you choose, it should be something that you personally like. You will be using it every day, and it will often be the first interaction customers will have with your business.
A great place to start the name creation process is to write down around ten characteristics about your dog walking company that you think would be most important to potential clients. Think of how you want people to feel when they hear your name. This includes customers, potential customers, and team members. You'll also want to choose something that looks good on websites, logos, business cards, and t-shirts.
Step 2: Brainstorm some name choices.
Sometimes you get lucky, and a great name comes to you right away, or you already know exactly what you want to name your dog walking business. If you are drawing a complete blank when choosing your name, that's completely okay! All you need is an idea of what you want your name to represent. Then it's time to get creative!
Start by brainstorming out a list of everything you can think of related to your business. What are the most important services you will offer? Where do you want to operate and grow your business? Do you want a friendly name? A name that sounds buttoned-up and professional? Do you want a name that refers to pet safety? Reliability? Write down as many keywords as you can think of.
After you have all your keywords written down, you can start creating names. There are no restrictions here; write out as many names and variations as you can. Once have a list of names, try refining the list down to ten or so that you like.
If you are still having trouble coming up with a few name choices, you can jumpstart the creative process using an online name generator like the business name generator from Shopify.
Step 3: Make sure your name is available, and you can own it.
Once you have narrowed you list down to a name or two that you like, it's time to do some research. You need to make sure that your name is available for you to use and own.
- Use a trademark search tool to make sure that your dog walking business name is not already trademarked. The US Patent and Trademark Office has a great trademark search tool for you to use. If you plan on incorporating your business, you will need to check with your local state as well.
- See if your domain name is available. We like using Instant Domain Search. You can always try to create a variation of your name for your website domain, but it's best to keep the domain name as simple and as close to your actual name as possible — .com's are always better too!
- Look at the names of the competitors in your area. You don't want to have a name that is too similar to your competitors and possibly confuse customers. If there is already a Denver's Best Dog Walker, you don't want to call your business Denver's Very Best Dog Walker.
- You should also check to see if the social media accounts for your desired business name are available. Namechk has an easy to use tool for helping you search available social media usernames. Also, remember that you'll have more flexibility with social media usernames. You can get a bit extra creative if your name isn't available.
Step 4: Get feedback on your dog walking business name.
Before you set your name in stone, get some feedback from outside sources. If possible, it's best to get feedback from current or potential customers. If that's not possible, try to find people that can be objective and neutral when giving feedback. Family and friends are great for helping you start your business, but sometimes they can be overly positive and hold back constructive criticism. All that being said, at the end of the day, it's your name, so make sure it's one that you like!
Step 5: Register your name
Once you choose the perfect name, you'll want to register your name and buy a domain name for your website. The Small Business Administration has some great resources on how to Register Your Business Name. You should also buy your domain name and get as many social media usernames as possible. You might not plan on using Twitter or Instagram, but it's best to get the appropriate usernames just in case.
Step 6: Bring your dog walking business name to life.
Now that you have all of your ducks in a row, it's time to bring your name to life! You'll want to create an eye-catching logo to go with your business name. You'll use your logo on business cards, marketing materials, flyers, and t-shirts, so it's vital that it looks professional and represents your dog walking business. If you don't know anyone that can create a logo for you, there are plenty of online resources like Fiverr and 99designs, where you can find artists to create affordable graphic designs.
Once you have a logo, make sure to add it to all your social media channels and your website. If you need help creating a website, we have a great blog post on the 10 Must-Have Website Pages for Your Dog Walking Business. Also, make sure to take a look at our complete guide on How to Start a Dog Walking Business for a massive amount of resources to help you get started!
