What You Might Not Know About DBAs
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Beware of businesses that want to charge you top dollar for something that you can get at your local county clerk’s office. I’m talking about online services offering to register your DBA or “Doing Business As” company name for $100-plus when you can get one as cheap as $14.
I was reading one of Kyle’s posts last night about the benefits of operating under a company name. It reminded me of the process I went through when registering a business name a few years back.
Why a company name?In Kyle’s post, he lists five reasons why it’s a good idea to operate under a company name. One of them is the professional boost it gives you when doing business online or offline. (I highly recommend reading the rest of his post for more insightful information). I strongly agree with this as it could mean the difference between getting a couple of customers and getting a ton of them.
A few years ago, I wanted to register a DBA and started searching for a place online to do it all electronically. I was very disappointed in what I had found. I was finding places charging upwards of $100 just to register a name. Okay, maybe there were some other benefits the services would offer, but I wasn’t ready to plop down that kind of dough just yet.
Let me take a second to explain that I’m not talking about trademarking a name. That’s different and has a whole set of legal things related to it. Additionally, registering an assumed name does not grant you legal protection. It does show responsibility on your part though.
Lawyers really do help
I contacted my lawyer to see if he could do better. Surprisingly, he did by pointing me to my county clerk’s office. I told him I had already searched their website and didn’t find anything to help me. That’s when he asked me if I looked for “assumed name” which was there, prominently displayed in their navigation. I felt like an idiot, but glad he pointed that out to me because he just saved me money that I didn’t want to part with.
When I got there, I found the downloadable form, which was very simple to fill out. I didn’t want to drive it downtown to the clerk’s office, so I chose to have it notarized and mailed it in (it was a few extra bucks, but saved me the hassle of driving downtown and I hate driving downtown). In two weeks time I got my approved form back and I felt official!
But I like using my own name
And that’s just fine. I like using my name for business, too, and will continue to do so. I have lots of friends who use their names as their business name, too. Nothing wrong with that. However, as Kyle pointed out, would you rather do business with “Joe Blue ” or “Blue Media”? I guess it depends on what he’s selling, but for me, I like the latter option.
As I plan on growing my online presence, I’ve been giving more thought to developing a business name that will be all encompassing of what I do. How about you?
Leave a Comment
June 18, 2008 at 1:43 am
Very informative post! I’m often amazing by how many businesses seemingly exist just to do useless things and charge exorbitant prices. I’m getting married this year, so I’ll be changing my name – a pretty simple process that requires you to fill out some forms a visit a few government offices, but nothing too awful. Guess what? Some places charge up to $60 for a “name change kit” that contains….I can’t imagine what. Form letters? Fancy brochures? What a ripoff!
Lizs last blog post..Video game news, small and large
June 18, 2008 at 6:49 am
@Liz
Yep, we have to keep a watchful eye on those things. I’m glad you did your research.
June 18, 2008 at 1:07 pm
What is the main benefit of a DBA (like with taxes,etc.)? I’ll check out Kyle’s post too. I’m interested in creating a small corporation and establishing corporate credit because of the protection offered. I watched an infomercial about it but am EXTREMELY apprehensive about giving my money to one of those “get rich” guys. There’s a lot involved but ultimately, it’s what I’m interested in:)
Bobby Revells last blog post..How To Pass a Psychological Employment Profile Test
June 18, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Mark,
GREAT post. Often times the people that share real life experiences make for the best posts.
What you are speaking of is filing a “trade name”, which like you said is completely different than trademarking a name. You technically don’t have to do this to operate as a DBA, but it is recommended. I did so because my bank required me to do so within my county in order to get a checking/savings/credit card for my business.
I was directed by my banker to go to the County Clerk and I think it was $8.00 to record it. Run a copy back to my banker and I’m a business! Entire process was under 2 hours.
I think it is more than fine to have a business that uses your name, but remember that you can’t really sell your business someday, or even pass it down to your kids (unless you just use your last name for the business). I personally spent some cash to get a GREAT name because I won’t outgrow it or want to change it someday.
@ Bobby – I addressed this stuff in the post Mark linked to. There are a few benefits, but tax deductions is number 1. If it is an internet business, you can deduct all your domain + renewal expenses, your desktop and laptop computer, cell phone, etc. This saves a lot at tax time because it offsets a lot of the income as far as taxes are concerned.
Kyle Eslicks last blog post..Make Money Online with E-Junkie
June 19, 2008 at 6:26 am
@Bobby
Sounds like you’re on the right track. Looks like Kyle already answered your question — it’s just a good thing to do. But to let you in on a little insight, there’s another reason my lawyer told me. If people started to run a business with another name, then it makes it harder to track down the person behind that business should it become necessary to do so. Registering a DBA, at least, shows responsibility.
@Kyle
Thank you! You’ve inspired me to create a list of company names. How far did you go to ensure the name you picked, Apricot Media, was unique? All I’ve been doing is coming up with interesting names, then running the ideas by GoDaddy. If the URL is available, then I feel that I’m 95 percent certain it’s a viable option. But it’s that remaining 5 percent that I’m worried about. I figured the next step is to Google the name, but any other places I should consider?
June 19, 2008 at 8:50 am
@ Mark – Another great question, though I can’t probably do it justice within a comment. I think I’ll go write a post about it, so look for that!
The first step is to find a good name that is available. Odds are, most good names are gone, so rather than scanning the registry, I would take your list of names and do a WhoIS and contact the owners (if the domain is parked or not being used). You can often get these names for under $50.00 and it never hurts to try!
I personally decided I wanted a name with “Media” at the end of the domain. A domain name doesn’t have to make sense, especially when you are talking about a company name. It just needs to be brandable. When looking for brandable domains, it should be a common word that is both easily spelled, easily pronounced, and have no alternative spellings. If you find that, you are golden.
I went with Apricot Media because I saw it for sale at auction for a reasonable price and it met or exceeded my criteria. There is only way to say it, one way to spell it, and if someone hears the name verbally they won’t have trouble spelling it in their web browser or at the search engines. This is a large part of “the secret”, as people in the domain industry refer to it as, that many people don’t realize. I also did a quick trademark search to ensure there were no trademark conflictions.
Again, for me this was about finding a name that I wouldn’t outgrow someday, was not something I was tied to (ie didn’t use my first or last name), etc. Once you find a name you are happy with and have it in your possession (has to be dot com), then go out and get your trade name. To many people pick a business name, then can’t find a decent domain name. It is 2008 and people are starting to learn to secure the dot com, then name your company.
As always mark, you have my contact info so feel free to email me or instant message me with questions and I’ll do my best to help anyway I can. If you have certain criteria, I can help you research names, track down names, or find alternate names as well.
Kyle Eslicks last blog post..Make Money Online with E-Junkie
June 19, 2008 at 10:07 pm
@Kyle
Thanks for that informative response, Kyle. When you said “Once you find a name you are happy with and have it in your possession (has to be dot com), then go out and get your trade name.” I”m assuming that you’re saying they can be one and the same, right? I mean, I can’t think of any reason why I would find a domain name I’m happy with, but find another name for my business. Maybe there is, but I can’t see it now.
And yes, doing a trademark search is interesting to me. Being the low budget guy I am, I have this preconceived notion that that takes a lot of money to do a search like that. But will definitely be looking for your post about that.
June 20, 2008 at 6:18 am
@ Mark – Yes, they are the same.
And trademark searches are free (to verify something isn’t trademarked). It will cost you a small fee to trademark an item, but you have to have a built up business I believe before it will be approved.
Kyle Eslicks last blog post..How To: Finding a Good Business Name
June 21, 2008 at 9:10 am
@Kyle
Okay, that makes sense now. And it was just the other night that I discovered the free search for trademarks. The site I was using though (a government) was SO bad, both in layout and in just understanding the results. But still going to dig a little more to understand it.
If you don’t mind, I’m thinking about sending you some thoughts I have for names.
June 21, 2008 at 9:57 am
nice post! I have been considering this for a while, but wasn’t sure where to start, this post has helped and I will also go over and read Kyle’s post.
thanks Mark.
JK Swopess last blog post..IMwithJoe this week
June 21, 2008 at 10:16 am
Hey Joe!
What a pleasure it is to have you comment on MeAndMyDrum! Woo-hoo!
Glad to have been of help to you with this post. I’ve been watching your blog as well. Good stuff!
June 21, 2008 at 10:52 am
Hey Mark, it’s an honor, I’m just trying to surround myself with the proper people that I can trust….once in my circle….I stay loyal! I know that not all people can be trusted, so when I find the genuine people, I get involved with them….looking forward to building our friendship.
shoot me some IM info, so I can bother you when you’re trying to work!
JK Swopess last blog post..IMwithJoe this week
June 21, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Being both Direct sales and Internet marketing, I do a little of each. Any of my e-commerce stuff gets a DBA (blah blah products for example), for the Internet…blogging and so forth….I’m branding ME for the most part, so I use my real name everywhere.
However, I am setting it up in such a way, that I will indeed be able to sell if need or want be.
In regards to $100 dollar DBA’s – look at is as equal to shopping in your local 7-11 as apposed to the supermarket.
it’s all about “convenience” folks, and they know it. Is it scam? Not if you get what you pay for. Is it unethical? Depending on how high in price you go……….
Lots of good comments here, I’ll be saving this one
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