You’ve received your health coaching certification, and you’re ready to start seeing clients – but how are you going to decide on what to name your new wellness coaching business?
Deciding what to name your health or wellness coaching business is a huge sticking point for many new coaches.
Yes, your business is so much more than just a name. But not knowing how to introduce yourself, what to write on your business cards, or put on your website prevents many new health coaches from looking for coaching clients.
Since starting Wellpreneur in 2012, I’ve seen thousands of health coaches with various names for their businesses. I’ve seen easy naming decisions and tricky re-brands where their business name actually limited their growing health coaching business!
In this Ultimate Guide to Naming Your Health Coaching Business, I’ll share my own experience and advice, as well as the real-world advice of practicing health coaches.
Types of Wellness Coach Business Names
Let’s start by simplifying. There are really only two types wellness coach business names:
- A Business Name
- A Personal Brand
For example, a business name is like “Wellpreneur,” the name of my business, and this website. That’s different than my personal brand site, AmandaCook.me which uses my name as the business name.
Some health coaches create a business name, and others use their personal brand to provide health coaching. Both options can work really well! The best name for your business really depends on your plans and goals. Let’s look at the differences between the two approaches.
Choosing a Business Name for Your Health Coaching Business
You might want to choose a business name (something separate from your personal name) for your health coaching business.
This is often the best approach if you want to create a company where you work with other coaches or practitioners.
It’s also a good idea to think ahead. Will you want to sell your business someday? If so, it’ll probably be easier to sell your wellness business if there is a business name that is separate from your personal name (so someone else can take over the business from you).
Here are some examples of health coaches who created a business name:
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Use a Personal Brand Name for Your Health Coaching Business
For most new wellness coaches, I recommend using a personal brand (your own name) for your coaching business.
The main benefit is flexibility. I’ve seen over and over again how health coaching businesses evolve. You might think you want to focus on weight loss clients, but then after 2 years, realize that you are ready to move onto working with new mothers.
If you’ve named your business using the term weight loss, then you need to rebrand when you want to shift your market. However, if you use your own name as your business name, you can simply update the content on your website without needing to rebrand.
Here are some health coaches who use their personal brand for their business:
Other Considerations for Health Coach Business Names
Most of the health coaches we talked with agree that your business name should be memorable and represent your mission and your niche or target market.
Get a little help from your friends when naming your health coaching business
The process of choosing the right name for your health coaching business can be long and arduous. But you don’t have to go it alone.
We worked on it for several months, throwing ideas back and forth. It was a collaborative effort. She guided me down the right track to working it through to come up with the right business name”. – Jo Grobbelaar, This Great Life
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Three Important Considerations for Choosing a Health Coaching Business Name
I recommend brainstorming ideas for health coaching business names, and then run them through these three filters:
1. Check the US Trademark Database – is your health coach business name trademarked?
First up, save yourself a headache down the road, and check whether your desired name is already trademarked. In the USA, you’ll want to check TESS (the Trademark Electronic Search System) You’ll also want to check in the country where your business is based (if outside the USA).
If someone has it trademarked, it doesn’t always mean you can’t use it; it depends on their “class of use” – this is all outside my scope of practice so I recommend talking with an attorney about it (or just choose a different name!)
2. Is the Domain Name Available for your desired business name?
You’re going to want a website for your new health coaching business, so check now whether your desired domain name (URL, web address) is available. You can do a quick search at any domain host, like GoDaddy.com. I always recommend buying your name as a domain name if it’s available. You might also want to search for versions of your desired name, such as .com, .net, or a country-specific code.
3. Is your business name easy to pronounce, remember and spell?
This one can be a bit of a bummer if you come up with a creative name or a unique spelling. You want your business name to be easy for people to pronounce, remember, and spell. My first blog was called Vintage Savoir Faire, which I still think is a brilliant name because it totally encapsulates what I did (vintage wisdom).
The problem was that no one could pronounce “savoir-faire” (it’s French, again, perfect for me and my interests! But not good for an English-speaking audience) I’d regularly hear people say, “Oh Amanda has an amazing blog, you should check it out, it’s called Vintage Sav… well, Amanda, why don’t you just say it?” Ugh. Not the easiest way to spread your brand name!
So, take a lesson from my experience and make sure your health coaching business name is easy to pronounce, remember, and spell. (Same goes no matter what language you’re working in – ask people who are in your target market if it’s easy for them to say, spell and remember!)
If your desired business name meets these criteria, then you’re well on your way to having a great business name!
How Did You Choose Your Health Coaching Business Name?
Behind every health coach's business name is a unique story on how that name came to be. What’s your story? Did you settle on using your name? Did you seek advice from a brand strategist? Share with us your story behind your health coaching business name.