What's in a NAME????

Random Ramblings
1

I know people that spend a LOT of time coming up with cute names for their real estate business…They spend HOURS on this stuff and most of the time, it amounts to wasted time.

If you REALLY want your business name to WORK for you, think about this…

I like using the term “GROUP” in my businesses…It implies a big or bigger operation…It also tells people NOTHING about your business.

WHY would I do that???

Because it SAVES me MONEY!!! LOTS of MONEY!!!

Example…

You’re trying to think of a name for your REAL ESTATE business…Most people throw the word PROPERTIES or REAL ESTATE on the end…DON’T DO THAT!!

Use the word GROUP instead.

I’m going to ASSUME you’re gonna get a federal tax ID number with your business name…

The advantages I’ve found are as follows…

Let’s say you come up with something plain Jane like…

METRO PROPERTIES…OK great, sounds good!

But by CHANGING that to “THE METRO GROUP LLC” a few things CHANGE…

FIRST…NO ONE has any IDEA what that business DOES!!!

You know those vintage Porsche 911’s I’m buying now???

The parts I need for those cars get PURCHASED through nationwide parts vendors under my BUSINESS NAME (see above example) Metro Group LLC
By simply telling the vendor that I buy dozens of vintage Porshces and giving them my tax ID number I get a 30% TRADE DISCOUNT ON PARTS!!
I probably wouldn’t get that discount if my business name was METRO PROPERTIES…But METRO GROUP sounds like a car business!

I also get a trade discount at my local lumber yard through the METRO GROUP LLC. The reality division!!

I get my TIRES at WHOLESALE through The METRO GROUP LLC.

I get better pricing on EVERYTHING I buy because the NAME implies…

N O T H I N G… It’s whatever I SAY it is.

We’re talking about simple DISCOUNTS here, NOT cheating on sales tax or anything like that.

USE your business name to YOUR ADVANTAGE by keeping it NON SPECIFIC…Those DISCOUNTS are out there…All you have to do is ASK for them under your NEW BUSINESS NAME!!!

2

Thats a great tip! Never thought of it like that.

(On a side note, and I DO NOT WANT TO HIJACK this thread, I just dont want to create a new topic for saying this, but tommorow is my last day of Nursing school WOOT. Will post pic/vid on here on thurs.)

3

Great post FD,

I’ve been wanting to change our LLC for sometime now.At first it was’nt a concern to me so I just put my name in the title,but now I hate it.I should’ve known better since I have started other business’s before.It’s nice sometimes to seem like you’re just part of the company instead of the go to guy(which gets REALLy old!!)Thanks for the info. :cool

4

Nice! And perfect timing as I’m looking into a used car dealers license. But, I want to do (and am doing) many things under the business name other than cars.

Thanks for great tip.

5

Great tip, FDjake.

It does get expensive incorporating with multiple names. In my state it’s up to 500.00 a pop!! :shocked

6

You can incorporate with one name and then use a DBA for the other names.

7

Nice tip.

Here’s another–if you are going to choose a location for an office or a business–PICK A NUMBERED STREET.

It was just good luck that our little rental office ended up on a corner of a numbered street. This has saved many hours of explaining. It’s much easier to say “We’re at 402 East 6th Street” than “We’re at 23567 Hickory Dickory Lane, off of Hickory Dickory Place.”

Names matter. Addresses matter too.

Furnishedowner

8
You can incorporate with one name and then use a DBA for the other names.

True, but as far as I’m aware, you can only assign one DBA per legal entitiy.

9

I don’t have that limitation where I operate.

10

Robert Edgar Group Inc.? lol.

Good Idea FDJake. I will look into this.

11

Great tip. Another one might be to consider how you will be found online. As more and more business, even real estate…, is being done online and started by someone finding your website it might do you some serious good to research key search terms people are looking for when shopping real estate in your particular market. Having a website with those key search terms in the name and ranking for them can be huge.