First Steps in Branding Your Business

I have just written about the importance of registering your domain
names. That is really the first step in branding your business name.
This is an important step, even for small businesses. Branding is about
reputation and respect. The more of a presence your business
represents, the greater your reputation and respect.

Steps:

1) Register your .com, .net, and .org names.

2) Register close spellings of your domain name.

3) Set up e-mail forwarding, i.e. orders@, customerservice@, retailsales@, returns@yourcompany.com.

4) Register your business name as an eBay user's name.

5) Register your business name on AOL's IM Service.

6) Register your business name on Yahoo.

7) Design a logo for you business ($99 at LogoYes.com, it is easy to do).

8) Incorporate or register your business name with your state and get a Tax ID Number.

9) Make sure you have a good bricks-and-mortar street address (not a PO Box and not an address like Poppy Court Apt #12).

10) Think about getting a toll-free phone number and business Internet answering service. Have someone with a nice voice record your voice greeting.

11) Get you business website, even if it just a very simple page with your business name, logo, and mission statement.

12) All along the way, develop your business mission statement, business values, and business policies. Post these on your web site.

Steps 5 and 6, the IM screen name and Yahoo name, are not necessarily for you to use, but it is free to register at these popular web services. You are trying to mark your presence on the web.