Does anyone else feel like choosing your virtual assistant business name is a bit like naming your child?

Seriously — you read all the books. You have a list. Then You go over your “favorites” with those you love. And then you go back and forth until you almost drive yourself crazy with this major decision.

This is totally how it was when I was naming my first daughter. I thought of all these long beautiful names. She would be professional with her long name and trendy with a nickname. I had a list of 20 names that would be perfect for our little girl.

My husband hated all of them.

He had read a Forbes article that read that women CEOs generally have short names, and seriously couldn’t get his mind off of it.

So, I went back to the drawing board. We finally agreed on the name for our daughter:

Evie Mae Ashley.

It wasn’t until after we had her that I notified my husband that Evie Mae isn’t quite the typical “CEO” name. But alas, we were both happy and our southern families were too.

Sound familiar?

Maybe not. Maybe you are one of the lucky ones – you woke up in the middle of the night with the *perfect* name. It’s been the one thing you’ve had in place since the beginning of your biz.

If you’re not so lucky (like me!) then I’m here to help you choose your virtual assistant business name… TODAY!

 

 

Before you read further…

The name of your business is, most times, the first thing potential clients will see about you. It’s important to choose a name that you are happy with and is a reflection of you and your personality.

But please … PLEASE do not let naming your business become a stopping point for moving forward. I’ve seen virtual assistants get so caught up on naming their business that they never get around to getting clients.

I’m convinced that if your marketing is good enough – your name could be “The Virtual Assistant” and you could still get clients.

So please – choose the name of your business. Use this guide to help. But if you are two months into your biz planning and you are still undecided on a name – JUST CHOOSE ALREADY!

*Rant over*

Here’s the happy news (yes, I can be happy and not just yell in all caps, thank you)…

Like all good things in life, you have OPTIONS!

 

Step 1 — Choosing a Name

There are 3 different approaches you can use to naming your virtual assistant business, so let’s go through each one.

Option 1: Fun/Unique Name

Let’s start out by thinking of some fun BUZZWORDS to describe a virtual assistant business.

What’s a buzzword? A buzzword is simply what comes to mind when you think about your business and what you will be doing in your business.

Here’s a list of buzzwords that I’ve thought of for a VA Business, but feel free to come up with your own (especially as they relate to your personality, geographic, or target audience):

• Virtual
• Assistant
• Creative
• Create
• Desk
• Coffee
• Cubicle
• Write
• Social
• Notebook
• Click
• Work

 

Now – let’s pair some of these Buzzwords with words that you would use to describe yourself or your ideal client:

• Fun
• Quick
• Jolly
• Happy
• Fresh
• She
• Determined
• Social
• Crafty
• Simple

 

Let’s say you were going to focus on photographers for your VA business. You could even brainstorm some words about this ideal market.

• Shutter
• Lense
• Click
• Frame
• “Say Cheese”

 

Ok — you get the hint, right? You basically want to come up with a huge spreadsheet of descriptive words.

Then, the fun part! Start pairing those words together!

 

Here’s a few names I came up with just from pairing some of the words above together:

• Crafty Cubicle
• She Writes
• SimpleDesk
• Jolly Virtual
• Shutter Click
• Click Creative
• Notebooks and Coffee

 

Note: these names may or may not already exist and are not intended to be copied. My goal here is to get you thinking!!!

 

Now, it’s your turn!

Take out a sheet of paper, set a timer for 20 minutes, and LET YOUR MIND GO WILD! This is YOUR business so be creative! Think of the words you would want to use to describe your business.

There’s no right or wrong with choosing what you want to name your business. Some of the names that you write down will be ridiculous. It may take 100 bad names before you get to your good name!

If you are at your wit’s end and still can’t think of a name. Don’t worry – I’ve still got two more options for you!

Pssst — to watch me walk through this Option with more real examples, watch this.

 

Option 2: Professional Name

It’s time to go pro.

It’s ok if you can’t think of the cute-sy “oh my gosh how did you ever think of that” name for your business.

If you get too caught up in option one and want to go throw your computer out your second story bedroom window… let’s move on to the next option.

Another option is to use a professional name for your business. This may even be a better option for you – especially if you are looking to cater toward more professional clients, client real estate or insurance agents.

We are going to use a similar method as before – so go ahead and take out that piece of paper again!

 

You are going to first think of some titles for you and /or your business. Here’s a few ideas to get started:

• Virtual Assistant
• Virtual Assistance
• Assistance
• Creative
• Professional Services
• Collaborations

 

Now, you can use these more professional terms to pair with some adjectives. How would you want someone to describe you or your business? What would you hope people would have after working with you?

Here’s a few ideas:

• Integrity
• Results
• Committed
• Determined
• Growth

 

Let’s put them together again. Here’s what I came up with:

• Integrity Assistance
• Committed Creative
• Integrity Collaborations

 

If you are getting stuck, try adding your first or last name into the mix.

I grew my multi-firm VA business to what it was under the name Ashley Assistance (my last name is Ashley, btw). It was simple, easy to remember, and professional. Win-win-win.

 

Option 3: Self-Brand

The third option is to simply use your name, because you’re one of a kind, right?

I’ve always been a fan of self-branding. It can be so versatile. If you think you may want to venture into coaching or some other creative service in the future, or if you haven’t fully defined who your target audience is going to be yet, self-branding may be a great choice for you.

 

Still stuck?

Another great resource at this step (if you’re having trouble brainstorming words), is to turn to… dun dun dun… AI! Yep, try a robot. Type your list into ChatGPT, then add this: “Give me 10 more words like this.” You can use AI like a thesaurus or a brainstorming partner. If a word sticks out to you from the generated list, type in another prompt asking for more words like that. Feel free to add more direction, like “choose more feminine words” or “choose more retro words” or “choose words with some humor or puns.” Bottom line: don’t be afraid to ask a robot for help!

And lastly — check out the Shopify Business Name Generator. This free site allows you to generate names based off of keywords (or those handy buzzwords you thought of earlier) and also check the domain availability at the same time (which we’ll talk about in the next step). Handy!

 

 

Step 2 — Check Domain Availability

Ok, whew. Yes, that was all just Step 1! Once you have a name or two nailed down as your favorites, it’s time to make sure it’s actually available for use and not already taken! Because of this, don’t get too married to one idea until you’ve checked on its availability. This is why it’s great to go crazy in Step 1 and work with lots of name ideas for your virtual assistant business.

Your domain is your website URL, so here are a few places you can type in your name idea with “.com” (or there are others!) to see if the domain name is taken or available:

• NameCheap
• GoDaddy
• BlueHost

 

At each of these sites, simply type in your domain name in the search bar, and it’ll tell you if it’s available for purchase or if it’s already in use. You may have to try a few versions if you’re having trouble finding one that’s available. For example, if we used the name “Social Collab” we could try these:

• socialcollab.com
• socialcollab.co (trying .co vs. com)
• thesocialcollab.com (adding “the”)
• thesocialcollab.co
• socialcollabco.com (adding “co” to the end of the name)
• socialcollabco.co

 

Play around with different versions at this step until you find one that works with your personality and your budget. Domain names aren’t free, but they don’t have to be crazy expensive either!

At this stage, it’s also important to look into the availability of the social media handles that fit with your name! Again, check different versions and combinations of words (like adding “the” to the beginning or “co” to the end). This can be another make or break moment, so have several ideas ready to try out for your virtual assistant business name!

 

Step 3 — Check Trademark Availability

Next up: trademark research! Don’t skip this step! Imagine pouring your heart and soul into building your virtual assistant business, only to receive a cease and desist letter because someone else already trademarked your chosen name. No one wants that headache. That’s why a visit to the United States Patent Trademark Office (USTPO) and a thorough search of the trademark database is essential.

Obtaining a trademark can be a lengthy and somewhat costly process, so don’t stress if you need to put this off for a while. Even if you haven’t secured a trademark yet, you can still start using your chosen name, but it’s crucial to ensure it’s not already trademarked by someone else. So, before you get too attached to that perfect business name you’ve found, let’s make sure it’s truly yours to claim. Remember, finding an available domain isn’t a guarantee of trademark clearance.

If you find a similar or same name as your chosen one, then you’ll want to read a bit more about the trademark — is in a totally different industry or is it an adjacent industry where the two of you could get confused? This will be a decision you’ll have to weigh, but I always err on the side of caution — better safe than sorry! When in doubt, just choose a different name!

 

✅ Want a handy checklist to make sure you check all your boxes to make sure your virtual assistant business name is legal and available?! Great news, I made one! Download it here: “Is my Biz Name Legal” checklist.

 

Step 4 — Branding

Now that you’ve settled on the perfect name for your virtual assistant business, it’s time to bring your brand to life! The final step in this exciting journey is to create your virtual assistant business branding. If you’re unsure where to start, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. This video on our YouTube channel will guide you through creating a brand board specifically tailored for your business. It’s important to make sure your brand is consistently represented across all platforms. 

And to tie it all together, consider creating a brand board using Canva, our favorite tool for this purpose. With Canva’s easy-to-use templates, you can customize your brand board with your logo, chosen colors, and fonts, ensuring a cohesive and professional look. So, take the next step towards launching your virtual assistant business by crafting your unique brand identity — you’re one step closer to turning your vision into reality!

 

Conclusion

To wrap this up, while choosing a name for your virtual assistant business marks an important milestone, it’s just the beginning of your VA journey! Don’t stress about the name too much, just make a choice and move forward. It’s a common freeze-point for many aspiring VAs, but I don’t want that to be the case for YOU! 

 

 

And if you are still having trouble naming your virtual assistant business, take a look at some tips from the VA Savvies Facebook community:

 

I actually reached out to some of the FB groups I was in and told them the image/impression I was trying to make and they helped me with a name: The Juggling VA. My husband helped me with my logo and then I finalized it with help from more FB groups.

Angela Reeder | The Juggling VA

 

I selected the name Productive Co. Didn’t want something too literal as it may expand and transform into something slightly different over the years. So, I needed something a little more flexible but still wanted the name to give some description of the business. I have a masters in operations management and that’s because I’m passionate about smoothing out operations, putting systems in place, etc. The common thread through all of those things is productivity and efficiency.

Rae Targos | Productive Co.

 

My business name is Virtual Assistant Ninja and I think the name just speaks for itself. I feel the name shows my personality and how I work. Ninja suited best in mind as it was what I thought of myself in all the skills and jobs I have achieved in the past – getting sh*t done in the most efficient and accurate manner. 

Rachel Manuel | Virtual Assistant Ninja