It happened again. The thing I hate most.

 

 

During my I-know-I-shouldn't-wake-up-and-grab-my-phone morning scroll, I came across this post in my county networking group. 

 

 

MY THOUGHTS?!?!

YOU REALLY WANNA KNOW MY THOUGHTS?!?!

Don't ask a group of 99.7k people to name your business?!?! 
 

322 comments worth of suggestions later…there were more rotten apples than you'd find in a crate full of bathtub gin! 
(Bathtub Gin: a real term referring to homemade, low-quality gin produced during Prohibition) (See - creativity only takes a Google…)

 

I digress.

 

There were location-based puns: “Liquory Flat,” “Hickory Flask.”

There were the obvious choices using other era-appropriate words like hideaway, underground, clandestine, etc. 

 

Of course, there were the ChatGPT generated alliterative concoctions: “Hickory Hideaway," “Hickory House," "Hickory Hideout," “Hidden Hickory,”

 

 

But to my surprise, there were a couple of cool suggestions:

1. “The Alibi”

2. “What's It Called?”

3. “Unintended Consequences”

 

Those three really got my attention. Not that I was given the floor to speak because after 322 comments they turned off the comment section. Rude, but also, of course they did. Too many cooks in the kitchen. 

 

The cool names didn't get the likes and replies that “Hickory Hideaway” did – for reasons that you'll hear me yammer on about in “You Name It” – which means, this poor hooch maker (Prohibition era term for someone who makes said bathtub gin) is going to end up with a really cool business with a really bad name. All because it was named by committee.

 

Must *eye twitch* keep *eye twitch* everyone *eye twitch* happy *eye twitch*
 

This is something I'm going to be talking more about my naming challenge - You Name It. I'll also talk about company names vs. product names, vetting them, how to come up with good ones that won't make you examples of “what not to do” to my entire email list :) 

 

 

What: A 5-day naming challenge aka a crash course in the art, science, and strategy of naming your next big thing.

When: SOON. Get on the waitlist! 

Cost: $97 or $297 for more “me" time aka Voxer access. 

P.S. Side Notes is the blog where I put all the smart stuff I usually say to save you $12 on a domain for a name I’d write a “That’s a Choice…” email about.

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