Choosing a name

Marketing
1

Hey y’all! I just have a quick question about marketing/choosing a business name and would love some feedback and other perspectives.

I’m in the Central Kentucky area and about to register a business name, LLC, and domain name. My first pick has been “Lex Power Washing” since it’s fairly short and Lexington is one of my closest “large” cities. The domain and LLC are both available.

However, I was reading another thread a guy located in West KY posted here from several years ago and @TexasPressureWashing suggested grabbing “Kentucky Pressure Washing” or “Kentucky Power Washing.” I’m not sure what the other guy decided but both of those names are still available for LLC registration, however the domain names are in a different situation.

• kentuckypressurewashing.com (unused, already “owned,” costs ~$500 on the aftermarket)
• kentuckypowerwashing.com (unused, already “owned,” ~$500 on the aftermarket)
• kypressurewashing.com (active and taken by a PW business called under a different name in Louisville, about 2-3hrs north of me)
• kypowerwashing.com (completely free and only costs $12!)
• oh, and I already own the domain lexpowerwashing.com (please don’t judge the site lol, it’s still under construction), but the LLC registration is a work in progress and I haven’t fully pulled the trigger on it yet

Thoughts on all of this? I know this can be splitting hairs when it comes to what truly makes a pro money in this industry, but I’d still like to think ahead for the long-term. Changing names or branding, even in a little way, is a MASSIVE pain so I’d like to avoid it if I can.

My thoughts:
• I love how the broad name of KY is and how it would give me the room to expand as far as I’d want
• It’d be fairly helpful from a branding POV in the long-run
• Something as simple as the KY one would hopefully be the simplest for most people to remember
• I’m not in love with “Lex Power Washing” and it probably has similar benefits as the KY one but with potentially more effective branding in the immediate Lexington area

The only thing giving me pause is that “Kentucky Pressure Washing, LLC” used to be registered but has been inactive as of 2020. If the previous guy had any bad work associated with the name, would that completely hinder my own branding efforts? It looks like the previous owner was located in Hazard, which is about 2.5hrs south of me and basically out of my immediate market.

Apologies for the lengthier post, and thank you in advance for y’all’s input!

2

In my opinion, all of those names are forgettable. Someone might see a yard sign for “Kentucky Pressure Washing” and later search for “Kentucky Power Washing” which leads to a different company… double edged sword. Neither name stands out, and they can easily be confused with each other since they are so generic. I understand the strategy behind using such names for future growth and SEO, but to avoid confusion, you’d almost need to register both names (register one and use a DBA for the other?) and purchase both domains, with one redirecting to the main name. This approach would prevent a similar-sounding company from causing confusion. Although it would be more expensive initially, you would have complete control over the branding.

Alternatively, you could go the opposite way and create a memorable name that people can’t confuse. Consider something well-known across the state, I don’t know much about KY, but off the top of my head “Wildcat Pro Washers,” “Bourbon Bleach Blasters,” or “Derby Dirt Killers” all pay homage to the history of KY and are unique enough to be remembered.

3

I like the sentiment, but would avoid the use of the word bleach…

That said, you can do both in a way. Pick a memorable name that allows for expansion (both geographically and in terms of service offerings), but also nab those potential high traffic URLs and redirect them to your site. You can also have multiple D/B/As under your main LLC (at least in VA anyway), so you could effectively lock those names down as well.

4

Don’t be ‘cutesy’ with a name, I keep seeing all these signs on the side of the road here in Louisville with unprofessional titles and it makes me cringe.

I just went with my last name, seems to work fine. I did have to go with a DBA when I started pressure washing however.

5

I spent all of 5 minutes thinking of those and my limited knowledge of KY… Bourbon Building soft Blasters lol

6

These are the perspectives I was hoping for! Thank you. I’ll sleep on it for a couple more days while I finish turning in my summer school assignments and then make a decision.