So you’ve got a great handmade business idea, you’ve gathered your supplies, you’ve mastered your craft, and now you just need to come up with a name for your new shop! 

That should be the easy part, right? 

I don’t know about you, but naming things is one of the hardest things for me.

That’s why I created this post to help you come up with the best name for your business. 

Picking a Winning Business Name for Your Online Shop

Getting Started

I have a number of businesses of my own, from Creative Hive to my handmade jewelry shop Tiny Hands and I just launched a new shop with my husband that’s doing really well!

I have plenty of experience coming up with names for businesses that bring in a lot of money for us. 

Believe it or not, the wrong name can actually limit your business and box you in. 

If you’re named after a specific product, for example, it will be so much harder to sell anything but that product later on. 

While you might think that the product you’re selling will be your only product forever, as your business grows you will likely want to expand what you sell so you can reach more customers and offer a wide variety of unique, high-quality items. 

So, a name like “Bejeweled Earrings,” will seriously box you in. 

It implies that you only sell earrings. 

You can’t really branch out of that later on. 

You might try, but it may be a little weird if a shop called “Bejeweled Earrings” is selling leather bracelets. 

So you want to choose a name that’s broad enough to describe what you are without boxing you into a certain type of product.  

The name should also be easy to spell and say out loud. 

Don’t make it hard for your customers to remember. 

If your customers can’t remember it, how will they find it or tell their friends about it? 

An easy-to-spell name will also save you from a number of awkward conversations down the line.

For example, when you’re describing your business to someone and they can’t figure out how to spell it. 

You’ll also want the name to be a recognizable word. 

That means avoid creating a brand new word that no one’s ever heard before or choosing a word that’s totally unrelated to your product. 

It’ll be harder to remember, spell, pronounce, and require spending a lot more money on brand awareness than is necessary. 

For example, when Amazon was first created, people only associated their name with a river. 

They had to spend so much more to get their name associated with their brand. 

Other examples are Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and eBay. 

While it’s not impossible to build a successful business with a name like that, it is a lot harder and a lot more expensive.

So it’s not something I recommend we small business owners do.    

Check Availability

You’ll also want to make sure the business name is available on social media platforms and that there’s a .com  domain available that you can buy before you decide on a name. 

You need to be consistent across all platforms – so you’re not Denise’s Designs on one and Designs with Denise on another. 

That creates a lot of confusion – not only will people not know your actual business name, but you won’t appear as easily in search results. 

To check if your domain is available, go to GoDaddy.com and type in the domain name you want and they’ll quickly tell you if it’s available to buy or not. 

You want a .com domain because that’s what most customers will automatically type when looking for your website. 

A .net, .org, or really anything else just won’t get as much traffic.

This could cause some confusion for your customers when they search for your businessname.com and a completely different business comes up. 

So .com domain is a pretty big priority for me as this is people’s default expectation for websites. 

This can be a frustrating process if you choose a name you love and find out that it’s taken. 

But I’d much rather you know that it’s unavailable before you spend money on business cards and logo designs and make an announcement on Facebook to your friends and family.

Brainstorm

To come up with a list of options, start by brainstorming words that are related to your business, and see what you can come up with. 

Don’t filter yourself, write everything down. 

For example, my handmade jewelry business is food jewelry. 

So, I might think of words like sprinkles, sweets, candy, bake, tasty, decadent, cherry, etc.

Just dump it all out on your notepad.  

When you find the right words, make sure that the name itself is short and simple. 

I didn’t name my business Handmade Food Jewelry That Really Smells Like The Food for a reason. 

Tiny Hands is simple, short, easy to say and remember. 

It also doesn’t limit what I can make or sell. 

The shorter the name, the more memorable and approachable it is. 

But of course the more likely that someone else already picked it before you. 

I like to mix and match two words together max, to come up with your own unique name. 

Be patient with yourself. 

While you might be anxious to dive right into the business, choosing the right name takes time. 

Be easy on yourself throughout the process and don’t rush to choose a name just so you can start selling. 

Advice

Ask people for ideas and feedback too, as you can sometimes get really good suggestions from others. 

The names Creative Hive and my program name A Sale A Day Business System were names that other people helped me with, so don’t be shy to reach out and ask for help. 

My last bonus tip for you is don’t get too caught up in people’s feedback on your shop name. 

The name you choose will elicit a different response depending on who you ask. 

Sometimes it’s not the response you want but that’s okay. 

At the end of the day, you’re the boss of your shop, and the perfect name that everyone loves just doesn’t exist. 

So go with what sounds great to you!

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What are some names you’re considering for your business? 

Let me know in the comments below! 

Don’t forget to check out my YouTube Channel so you never miss out on expert advice for building your handmade business.