Ask NCET: Developing a Company Name and Working With a PEO

Have a business or technology question?  Send it to ask@NCET.org and if selected, NCET’s panel of business and technology experts will answer it in our new monthly column.

What are some things a new business should consider when developing a name?

We often have clients hire us to help them name a product or service, and the first thing we tell them: Think of all of the intense deliberation that goes into naming a human baby — the same serious consideration should be applied to a brand name as well!

Your brand must pack a powerful punch as the first impression your customer has of you. This means you must consider both positive and negative connotations. Another important aspect of naming comes from the fact that people will often Google your brand, so having a simple spelling is important. If there are multiple ways to spell something, you’re inviting confusion.

Obviously, you’ll need to perform copyright and trademark searches, as well as researching whether an appropriate web address is available. While many common words are taken, there are creative ways to combine words in a web address to make it slightly less common (and therefore, more likely available to purchase).

Mikalee Byerman

My most foundational recommendation is to perform all of this due diligence (or hire an expert to do it for you) before you fall in love with a name. We’ve helped many clients rebrand because they skipped these important steps and now have copyright or brand confusion problems. 

Mikalee Byerman is VP of Strategy at the Estipona Group (www.estiponagroup.com) and NCET’s VP of Podcasting. As part of her wide-ranging communication background, she has helped name dozens of products/companies — not to mention three human babies.

Why should I work with a PEO (professional employer organization) when I can do it all in-house?

You can lower your employee turnover, improve your company’s chances of survival and increase your revenue just by outsourcing your HR to a professional employer organization, or PEO.

A PEO’s team of HR experts takes the hassle of doing business off your plate so you can focus on why you started your business in the first place. When you’re not worried about paper work you can focus on growing your bottom line and allow your employees to direct all their energy towards serving customers. It’s what PEO clients do.

PEOs handle the payroll, benefits, tax administration, and workers’ compensation, while providing peace-of-mind with risk management and compliance assistance.

Chris Boline

Research from the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO), shows that businesses that use a PEO grow 7 to 9 percent faster than businesses that do not use a PEO. NAPEO research also shows that PEO clients have 10 to 14 percent lower rates of employee turnover and are 50 percent less likely to go out of business.

Chris Boline is the Lead Generation Specialist for The Applied Companies and NCET’s Co-VP of Social Media. Chris is a proud native of Reno and has over five years of business development experience in northern Nevada.

Have a business or technology question?  Send it to ask@NCET.org and if selected, NCET’s panel of business and technology experts will answer it in our new monthly column.