How to Name Your Coaching Business

Why name your coaching business

When you decide to become a coach and work for yourself, you decide to become a business owner. When you become a business owner, you have a BUSINESS — and one you need to name!

Even if you choose to name your coaching business with your own name, you still need to choose a name for your business. It’s important on several fronts: For filing legal and financial paperwork, for creating your own coaching brand, and for things like your website and email.

It’s important to make the decision for your coaching business name early on in your business journey, because it will impact so many of the other decisions you’ll need to make.

What to consider when naming your coaching business

One of the most common questions coaches, healers, and creative entrepreneurs have early in their business is, “What should I name my business?” 

You wonder: Should I name it my own name? Or something else?

It can be an agonizing decision trying to figure out how to name your business. But you don‘t want to spend too much time and energy on this decision because you need to spend time getting your first coaching clients.

Naming your coaching business: Two approaches

There is no quick and easy answer to the question of what you should name your business. But there are things to consider.

Here are two main approaches to naming your coaching business you may want to consider. 

Strategy #1: Naming your coaching business after your own name

One common strategy for naming your coaching business is to use your own name.

What this looks like:

• Stacey Hagen Coaching
• Alice Cooper Life Coaching
• Chelsea Health Coaching

This can be a good strategy if:

• You want the flexibility to change the type, structure, and niche of your business at any time.
• You want to combine multiple businesses under your name. 
• You already have some search clout under your name. (You can be easily found if people Google you.)
• Your name isn’t super common. (If there are a million Sara Jones in your field, you’re going to need to set yourself apart!)
• You just can’t think of any other name that encompasses what you do or that you feel passionate about.

Strategy #2: Naming your coaching business something other than your own name

The other option is naming your coaching business it’s own descriptive name separate from your own name.

What this looks like:

• Create Coaching & Consulting
• Heal & Thrive Health Coaching
• Love Centered Relationship Coaching

This can be a good strategy if:

• You’ve already picked out a name that you feel perfectly describes your business and you feel super excited about it.
• Your actual name is super common and you want to stand out. 
• You don’t anticipate making major changes in your business and/or you know this name would work with any changes you make.
• This business name would resonate with your coaching niche.
• The business name, URL, and Instagram handle are available. (Be sure to check this!)

How to decide which naming strategy is right for you

Basically, there is no silver bullet answer to how you should name your coaching business. You simply want to be sure that whatever you name it, you love it and ideally want to keep it for a good, long time.

(Yes, of course you can change your name at any time, but that will mean changing several things including your business license and registration, website domain and url, email, social media handles, and more.)

If you can’t come up with a name, you might consider using a combination of your name + your services, i.e., Sara Jones Career Coaching, for example.

5 steps to name your coaching business

By now you have some ideas of what needs to be included in a name. You’re ready to get started brainstorming ideas and finding that one name that works perfectly!

Follow these steps to come up with your coaching business.

1. Consider your coaching niche.

When naming your coaching business, you want to consider your coaching niche and target market, i.e., who you’re trying to attract. The name should fit the niche you are serving and the services you’re providing.

Questions to consider:

• Does this name reflect the niche I serve?
• Does this name either reflect or describe the value I provide?
• Does this name mean something to those I want to serve?

2. Align with your brand voice, values, and personality

In addition to considering your coaching niche, you’ll also want to consider your own coaching brand.

When you have a business, you have a brand. You want to be as proactive as possible when defining your coaching brand at the start of your business, because it makes everything so much easier down the road.

Consider your brand voice, your brand values, and your brand personality when naming your coaching business. 

Questions to consider:

• Is your name aligned with the brand you want to have as a coach?
• Does your name reflect your top values as a coach? (Or at least, not contradict them)?
• Is your name aligned with your brand personality? 

3. Allow room for future growth in your coaching business

You ideally want to choose a name that allows you to grow. If you’re like most coaches, your niche, your offerings, your business will evolve over time as you evolve. Aim to choose a name that offers space for that expansion and evolution.

You don’t need to know exactly how you’ll evolve (it’s impossible to know at this stage!), but you’ll want to choose a name that’s broad enough to give ou room to do so, without boxing you into a specific niche or offering.

Questions to consider:

• Does this name allow room for growth? 
• If not, how could I “zoom out” and choose a broader, more encompassing name?
• Will this name give me flexibility in my niche and offerings?

4. Choose a name that’s unique and differentiates you.

You want to choose a name that’s memorable, unique, and different from what’s already out there. That means you want to do a little research to make sure no one else has the name you want.

Even if you don’t care about pursuing a trademark at this point, you may desire to later. You also don’t want to infringe on anyone else’s trademark!

Aim to find a name that is different from what’s already out there and that may mean going back to the drawing board a few times to come up with something new and interesting.

Questions to consider:

• Did you Google your preferred name to make sure no one else is using it?
• Is your name unique and different than the “typical” names in your coaching niche?
• Is your name easy to remember?

5. Choose a name you have a personal connection to.

It does matter if you like your business name! So be sure to choose a name that you actually like.

Your coaching business name will be everywhere: from your website to your business cards to your Instagram handle to your email signature. Choose a name you enjoy saying and writing, because you’ll do it often!

Questions to consider:

• How much do you like your business name idea?
• If not, what don’t you like about it?
• Would you be proud to say and write this business name?

What to do after you’ve named your coaching business

Naming your coaching business is a big, important step! You want to choose a name you feel confident about and that can grow with your business.

Once you’ve finalized your decision to name your business, it’s time to move on to the other big decisions. There are many steps to take when starting a coaching business.

If you want a full list of what to consider when starting your coaching business, download the free guide below.