Am I confusing prospective clients..?

[DeannaB]

I have a question. I'm just getting started with my copywriting business and have set up a sole proprietorship to do business as. However, I've recently read that it was confusing to prospective clients if you have a business name, because they expect you to offer a full service, rather than just copywriting. Can anyone give me any advice?

[Julie McManus]

Deanna,

I think when you provide a service such as copywriting or in my case web marketing and a lot of your business is based on referral, it's good to use your name as the company name. It's a branding principle. In my case, I use Julie McManus Marketing Assoc. as my company name. It brands me and my expertise and also implies that I have other people on staff. That makes my services synonymous with my name and makes me immediately recognizable to my potential clients.

If you haven't already done so, I also highly recommend you grab the url of your name and lock it up tight. You'd be surprised by how many professionals fail to buy their own names as urls.

Hope that helps,

Julie

[sswriter]

My business is a subchapter S corporation, both for the tax advantages, and because I wanted to offer more than copywriting. This way, when a project comes in that requires web design or graphic design, I can hire someone as a subcontractor. I've also subcontracted with ghostwriters because one of my clients wanted to write a book.

Don't limit yourself. When someone asks, "Can you?" I'll almost always reply, "Yes, of course." Then, I go figure out how to deliver the service by hiring the right people.

Sid

[JMcCrea]

Hi Deanna,

As Julie has already pointed out, using a business name that has your name within it is a great way to brand and create the impression of professionalism and size... and in the case of an email and/or website it also makes it easy to remember where to contact you. Hence my choice of Copy by McCrea.

What I would not recommend - purely out of a dread for unnecessary chaos - is simply using your name as your business name - e.g. Jane Smith or Jane Smith, Copywriter.

Having a biz name that's slightly different - and therefore bank accounts and credit card(s) in that biz name - makes it a LOT easier to separate biz finances, expenses, etc. from personal ones for book keeping and tax purposes.

regards,
John

[DeannaB]

Thanks, everyone. That is some good input. You give me alot to think about!