Changing your Company Name after almost 10 years

[tman7]

Yes, I am actually considering it. Ive never really liked my name. Kinda generic IMO. There is a "new kid in town". Well, not NEW. Think they have been around a year or two, not sure. They call themselves Xtreme Carpet Cleaning. I use Xtreme Clean Carpet Care. Unfortunately they service roughly the same areas I do and they seem to think that Groupon and Living Social are the ticket to the good life. I have and am constantly being mistaken for this company. Several calls a week. (Do a search in my area for Xtreme Clean and I pop up) Apparently they are, for whatever reason 'inconsistent' in the quality of their work. Which has resulted in a bad web review on MY yelp page. (Calls that go "we had an appointment just wondering if your guys are gonna show up") I'm certain it is affecting me. To be fair I've landed a couple jobs by politely pointing out "You do tend to get what you pay for". I've tried not to bash them, though have suggested reading reviews is a good idea. Even called them, or should I say 'the Wife'(?) 'cause the husband, which I assume does a lot of the "work" didn't want to talk to me. Though, his wife informed me he was listening in the background. Tried to point out that Groupon customers are price shoppers and unlikely to be repeats as well as how little money can be made unless you up sale EVERY job. I believe this rock bottom web coupon pricing is a bad fit for professional carpet cleaners and hurts the industry as a whole. What a pain in the @ss I have SO much out on the web, directory listings, links, etc, etc to change my name so I wont be associated with them seems like a good idea but a lot of work. End of rant.

THEIR YELP SITE yelp.com/biz/xtreme-carpet-cleaning-tacoma

 

[Desk Jockey]

Xtreme Clean by Tony?
Xtreme Clean by Gillihan?

 

[tman7]

Xtreme Clean by Tony?
Xtreme Clean by Gillihan?

Thanks for the ideas. Thinking of TG's Carpet Cleaning.

 

[dgardner]

The Original Xtreme Clean!

 

[PrimaDonna]

As we are growing, and realize that some day we may end up selling our company, having the company name as out last name COULD pose a problem. It's been a great thing with our clients. They love the owner operated angle.

BUT....

If you think there is the tiniest inkling that you may sell in the future, consider choosing a name that isn't specific to YOU.

 

[tman7]

The Original Xtreme Clean!

Like I said Never really cared for "Xtreme Clean" Its used so often. Most people wouldn't notice. But "Xtreme" is everywhere, especially on merchandise products. Ideally I'd like a name that's memorable. Stanley Steemer comes to mind, but its taken. And then there's the hassle of-combing the web to make all the necessary changes.

 

[tman7]

As we are growing, and realize that some day we may end up selling our company, having the company name as out last name COULD pose a problem. It's been a great thing with our clients. They live the owner operated angle.

BUT....

If you think there is the tiniest inkling that you may sell in the future, consider choosing a name that isn't specific to YOU.

Good point.

 

[kingjoelking]

Been in business 8 uears. We are changing our name this month.

 

[PrimaDonna]

Been in business 8 uears. We are changing our name this month.

From what to what?

 

[Desk Jockey]

from "Kingjoelking" to just "Kingjoel" its a risky move but I for one think he can do it.

 

[Mikey P]

Xtreme Klean and such are far to macho and imply that only renters with trashed carpet would ever need such EXTREME services...


Do you really want to clean filthy carpet all day?



pick a faggy uppity name like Connoisseur to move on with..

 

[Able 1]

Is there a Kingdick out there yet? I think you can pull it off Chavez..

 

[SamIam]

I would be pissed if someone tried to use a similar business name, like cease and desist pissed! they're trying to build off your brand, and now your just going to give it to them?????

Its one thing to use beyond clean if your not next door to Jim Martin, like a state or two away, but the same city??? no way.

 

[Able 1]

On topic I would call them and threaten to sue them if I had a name that long.. If it would go to court, they have no money if they are doing groupon, you win..

 

[rick imby]

If you decide to change your name I really like the idea of just adding a word to the front of your name and then registering the name---
Original Xtreme Clean---Amazingly Xtreme Clean---Bitteroot Xtreme Clean---Conman (mikey) Xtreme Clean.

This will separate your from the jerk and you can emphasize "Original" or whatever word you add to your name. This way you will not lose all the momentum of your current name...

All areas have a valley or river in the area that tons of businesses name themselves after. Add that to the front of Xtreme Clean.

If you just use your First name like Jim's Xtreme Clean that probably will not influence the eventual sale of your business like Burdicks Xtreme Clean would.

Meg have you thought about adding another word to your name like Burdicks Peace Valley Carpet clean? So you can slowly move to drop the Burdicks?

 

[Desk Jockey]

Is there a Kingdick out there yet? I think you can pull it off Chavez..

Ohhh My!


I like it!

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Hagopian is a "funny" family name, but it rocks their market. Has even been copied.

A name is what you make it.

 

[Bob Savage]

Just wait them out, 'cause likely they won't last long . We had a company come to town and they used our name, and yes, they were bait and switch, which we are not.

But, they didn't last long so we waited them out.

 

[Carbonated Carpet Woman]

A lot of good advice here. I agree with the others who suggest a slight modification to your original name - that way you don't lose your hard earned momentum or reputation. I also agree with not using your own name, particularly your last name. Selling it can then be a problem because if the new owner keeps your name, and he likely would, and then trashes your reputation, you are now immortalized with a bad rep. Also, if your company is ever sued, whether you own it or not, YOUR name will go into court records forever! Not something you want to have happen!

 

[PrimaDonna]

Meg have you thought about adding another word to your name like Burdicks Peace Valley Carpet clean? So you can slowly move to drop the Burdicks?

We haven't even begun to think or explore this at this point. Could be a possibility in the future. Ideally the kids would want to take over the business, but if we find they aren't interested, then we will probably find the need to re brand.

 

[Wing It]

I use my last name and think people forget how many last names we use but don't even think about it as a name but rather a store. Krogers, papa john, wal-mart, McDonald's etc to name a few. The biggest local companies in Nashville for hvac and plumbing are lee company and hiller. I don't expect Roy Kroger to bag my groceries nor do I expect to find Sam Walton stocking shelves at Walmart. A last name can become synonymous with whatever you want.

 

[Spurlington]

Change it now .. pick a name that cant be used in any other way. If you dont see yourself building a sellable empire, go with your name !! First and last name will get you the check out to you .. this way you can avoid bounced fees by going directly to there bank to cash it .. and make sure you deposit all cash !! You dont want any trouble.

I used Clean and Green for a few years until customers were getting confused. Some turkey from another county was ruining my rep. People were thinking my advertisements were apart of his shoddy reputation. I had a lady refer her friend to us and she called him by accident. He shows up, she asked,"are you Paul?" he said yes.

I was about to start a job when the lady got off the phone with her sister insisting she kick us out. The sister had a bad experience with this other Clean and Green guy. She thought I was the same company.

Chem dry advertised " Be Clean and Green" in our area.

Dont use a name that can be used in another like the situation youre having now.

 

[Able 1]

Ohhh My!


I like it!

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...2z3Ai0&usg=AFQjCNEcHoEVlZ4bVDD4-nUajgwhtrQREg

 

[tman7]

Xtreme Klean and such are far to macho and imply that only renters with trashed carpet would ever need such EXTREME services...


Do you really want to clean filthy carpet all day?



pick a faggy uppity name like Connoisseur to move on with..

Better Than The Rest Carpet Care

 

[Goomer]

What is the Internet presence/ranking under your existing name?

How much new business is generated from the Internet under your current name, and how much does your business rely on it?

Can you survive without it, and is this problem serious enough to warrant having to start fresh at the bottom of the pile, and possibly wait years to regain a similar presence.

It would require a lot more than 1 bad yelp review for me to start over.

I would start a second entity ahead of time and do all the required basic internet ground work way ahead of time as opposed to starting cold.

If they think Groupon and LS are the ticket, then their days are surely numbered.

 

[tman7]

What is the Internet presence/ranking under your existing name?

How much new business is generated from the Internet under your current name, and how much does your business rely on it?

Can you survive without it, and is this problem serious enough to warrant having to start fresh at the bottom of the pile, and possibly wait years to regain a similar presence.

It would require a lot more than 1 bad yelp review for me to start over.

I would start a second entity ahead of time and do all the required basic internet ground work way ahead of time as opposed to starting cold.

If they think Groupon and LS are the ticket, then their days are surely numbered.

I have had people threaten to leave me a bad review. Get calls wondering "Where are you guys". Etc.

Funny thing is Groupon mistakenly is allowing me to logon not just as a consumer (I created an normal user account to look for goods or services) but also as a merchant for this other company!!!! Someone screwed up BIG TIME. Maybe saw my website email address which is very similar to their company name and assumed I was them?!?! Using the same consumer password and logon through the merchant log in I can see ALL of their sales and activity. Which, as I suspected isn't much. I get monthly emails telling me how much I (THEY) made or am receiving.

Ive always done quite well getting new customers from my site. Altho it fluctuates as Google changes their Algorithms. I dont think changing my name would much effect ranking on search engines I could always create a new domain name. I would simply do a 301 Redirect. Which would tell search engines my site has permanently moved and all the "juice" would be given to my new domain. Ranking should not be affected. Might even improve if I pick a domain name with well chosen keywords in it. XtremeClean.biz does little to help I think. I haven't looked into all that would be needed or how difficult it might be to change my business name, for instance in Google places or similar directories. Could take a lot of time as I've spent years slowly creating listings. And the policy of each directory or listing could differ. Im doubtful it would have much effect on regular repeat customers my phone numbers would remain the same.

 

[Shane Deubell]

That really sucks man, tough to change after 10 years.
Not sure what i would do honestly.

We did have a similar problem, we are Method and someone had Expert Method. He even called me and implied i should "get a lawyer".
Pretty much told him to go F himself...

They ended up going into flood work anyway and changing name. Not sure if its even same owner anymore.

 

[kingjoelking]

From what to what?

"Riggs Services Carpet Tile and Stone Cleaning" to "Carpet Cleaning Inc."

 

[Mikey P]

Joel, why drop " tile" from.the name and off your new van?

I have to imagine hard surface is big down there..

@kingjoelking

 

[Mark Buscher]

In our fair city we had a staffing company, Associated Staffing that had an employee quit and start Staffing Associates. They sued and won because the Similar names created a brand confusion. They expended a lot of building their brand and protected it.