One idea to Build your Business, one idea to Scale your life. Every Wednesday.

Welcome to Winformation Weekly. My 13 years’ experience of growing a business from £0-£100m, and the life that goes with it. All wrapped up, in one winning weekly email.

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Business

Make a Name for Yourself: 5 Things to Remember When Naming a Business

Amazingly 64% of the employed Western population want to start a business, but the first and often biggest hurdle? What to call it! If you want to launch a start up, side hustle, or have recently started a business, then the name can be more important than some people think. Here are my 5 big golden rules to choosing a name that is future proof, giving you every chance to succeed.

1. Do not use initials – especially if they are yours. No one cares that your first names are Fred and Ian and your surname is Brown. FIB might mean something to you, but it doesn’t to your potential customers – to them it becomes an acronym, which is confusing and potentially off putting. Remember, your new business isn’t about you, it’s about your customers.

2. Don’t name your product or service in the title. This might sound counterintuitive, but it is better not to name your business after what you do as a business. If you sell burgers and you call the business Bill’s Burgers, it’s ok today, but not a few years down the line if you later want to expand the business into other foods and experiences. It will likely result in an expensive rebrand.

3. No need to be funny. Although it is tempting, in order to gain attention in your chosen market, but avoid puns if you can. Naming your business with a play on words has the potential to get relationships with customers off on the wrong foot – they want to know your business will take their needs seriously.

4. Get on Google. If you are really struggling for a business name, simply search the 500 most common surnames, then pick two you like most and hey presto. It’s what we did with Carrington West. It allows you to diversify later down the line should you wish, as if chosen well, it doesn’t hold you hostage to a given service or product.

5. Check availability. Whether you are following point four, or any others, make sure the URL of the full business name is available and that it is so as the whole name, without any hyphens. If you can’t get yourchosenname.com as the domain then I personally believe you need to pick another name for your business, as that’s the page your customers searching for you will land on instead!

Life

10 Secrets to Disagreeing Productively in Any Situation

Often, it’s unavoidable. If your intent is good, then arguing can be an important tool in business and in life. Contrary to popular belief, arguing is not about shouting, or even winning, it’s about persuading others to share your views, by giving reasons and evidence to do so. It’s good for relationships too. It can be natural to avoid some discussions we’d rather not face up to, but that can create suppressed resentment that can hurt a relationship. Here are 10 tips to have better, more productive arguments.

1. Not just what you say, but how you say it. Think about how to present your argument. How you come across is affected by your body language, your choice of words and how you say them.

2. Think about your tone of voice. Try maintaining a clear, unaggressive tone throughout the conversation. How you deliver your message impact its outcome.

3. Listen carefully. Don’t simply wait for your turn to talk, listen to who you are talking with, being mindful of their body language. In his book, How to Argue, author Jonathan Herring says you should spend more time listening than talking, with a ratio of 75 to 25%.

4. Cite evidence. Take Wikipedia’s lead and back up your points with facts. Although try and use the results of surveys, statistics, and research from relevant sources to strengthen your case, as opposed to simply speaking anecdotally.

5. Control your emotions. You can be both passionate and calm at the same time. If you lose your temper, more often than not, you lose the argument. If you feel yourself losing composure, then ask your colleague if you can take a break.

6. Tell the truth. Be honest, it builds trust. Fabricating the truth in an argument will almost always come back to dismantle and discredit your argument.

7. Don’t avoid it. Sometimes avoiding an argument is more damaging than the argument itself. So, confront any issues, or else passive aggressive behaviour can creep in.

8. Don’t take it personally. You may finish an argument with your colleague having made a stronger case than you. Rather than take it personally, reflect on what new lessons you have learned.

9. Remain open-minded. The goal should be to develop practical solutions to the issue at hand. Consider the other person’s perspective and be prepared to alter your opinion if you receive new information during the discussion.

10. Maintain relationships. This is vital. Arguing is never about humiliating or embarrassing people, it is about finding a way forward that works for both of you – you want to move forward together.

…Plus More!

A Quote I Can’t Stop Thinking About

We all love to feel in control don’t we? But if you have chosen (or are about to chose) this entrepreneur / founder / business operator life, then you either know, or will one day find out, the minute everything feels nice and calm, is the minute you start to slowly shrink.

Comfort kills..slowly, and this quote from former Croatian F1 driver Mario Andretti sums it up so well.

Until next week! 

Let’s win, together!