Is your business name different from your name?

[devin]

Going through a restructuring here of my musical business arrangements...and I'm wondering:- did you register your business under just your name ("Devin")- did you chose another name to register as ("Super Studio Stuff")In my case, we've always called my recording spot "The Pond Studio". That's the website name, and I'm thinking of carrying that over to the business documents.How are you set up? I appreciate any and all feedback!P.S. Didn't see any comparable threads here yet...please correct if I'm wrong.

[mojobone]

I don't think it's been discussed. There are a few considerations involved; I've had issues with facebook over my actual name-their automated software insists it's a nickname, only in my case, it isn't, and kept automatically kicking it out, refusing to allow me to enter a profile. I emailed the company, and received what I think were probably automatically generated emails that stopped responding after a couple of iterations that went nowhere. As a business, I can have a fan page, but it's not the same thing. Check my page to see what I was forced to do to get around it. I'm not happy about it, but at least my friends can find me, now. Legally, you should file both trademark registration for the business name (and also your logo, if you're smart) and a DBA. (a DBA can be as simple as publishing your name and business name in the classified section of your local newspaper, or a whole lot more complicated, depending on where you live) When you file a DBA, it's also a good idea to apply for a business license and set up a tax ID. (not fun, but it means you can buy wholesale, heh) It's a little different from state to state, (sometimes from county to county) but your local Chamber Of Commerce can fill you in on the details for your locale.Timely stuff, this, as it so happens I'm setting up a publishing company this week; I may not need a DBA for that, as the publishing entities will be sub-firms of the label and I 'll be doing a national name search with the PRO in any case.

[kg]

I'm a registered TM and fully incorporated. Once your business reaches a certain level, you will want to think about incorporating vs just a DBA. It helps divide and protect areas of your personal worth, etc. Being that I'm an artist and searched for by name, it was easiest to use my name since that's what's trademarked. As I extend the reach of my music business, I can arrange several DBA's under my corporation to use for different areas i.e., Devin Inc. is the corporation with a DBA as The Pond Studio (for the recording arm), if you had other areas you wanted to keep separate.

[anne]

Actually, even if your biz is small, incorporating can have benefits. Some people get whacky about filing for Trademarks. They are a bit. But what cracks me up is that people don't bother to file the state tax paperwork, which in most states is all you need to be "in business" and doesn't require you to tm or inc. anything. Of course that varies state by state.

[pkramble]

I don't mean to derail this into a marketing discussion...

But do you (or others here you know) use a different name than their own name for their business? Since I'm just getting started, I feel somewhat of a desire to create a "brand" that is somewhat the Superman to my current life as Clark Kent.

Any advice on that, or will I eventually have trouble associating myself with the real "brand" of me?

Frankly, it's just a pretty fun exercise to come up with names

[mojobone]

Yeah, in a way, it's like with whiskey; Jim Beam makes an awesome rye whiskey-it justifies their longstanding reputation as distillers, but most Americans sample their bourbon, and rightly conclude it's crap.

[pkramble]

Cool... it seems much easier to market a brand around the "Superman" side (plus it protects the day-job). this way i can create all the matching twitter, Facebook, myspace, etc. stuff around the brand. I do have some fear of losing authenticity down that path, so will have to think about that.

FWIW, I only drink Maker's Mark... and if I can't afford that I don't drink bourbon.