A few start-up questions

[8]

I'm due to graduate from university this summer with an engineering degree and instead of getting stuck into making money for someone else I have decided to start my own business and make money for myself (not in engineering). I'm in a great position of having no commitments and I'll have my degree as a plan B. I've started putting my business plan together and I'm getting a market research questionnaire together. Once I have my business plan together I'll get in touch with business gateway. I can't devote too much time to it just yet as I still have work to do for my degree. The whole experience is a learning process for me and I have a few questions for you.

I've got a company name I like but the .com and .co.uk domains are taken already (not by businesses). The name is two words so should I go for something with a hyphen in it, go for a .eu domain, or stick 'co' on the end of the name to get a .co.uk or .com domain? I intend to use the website to allow customers to make orders, so it should be easily remembered. Alternatively I could go for a new name but I like the one I've got!

I've done a lot of research into starting a new business and I intend to speak to people I know who run their own businesses and I would love to hear what people on here have got to say about it. What advice can you give me?

[jacobyte]

Try to make the domain name as short and memorable as possible. If you're selling only to the UK, then .co.uk is better for both professionalism and SEO. If selling overseas as well, then .com is preferable.

If the domain name you want is gone, then perhaps sell the product/service as a separate brand in its own right. E.G. a financial services company may be called "BlitheringtonCarmichaelandPartnersLLP.co.uk" (not an easy domain name to remember or type in), but their online investment website could be something like "directinvest.co.uk". Be creative and look at what your competition is doing.

Make sure you solve absolutely everything that is thrown at you. And don't rely on others (at least in the early days).

Feel free to PM me if you need any pointers on the web side of things.

[Leftie]

A few years ago I was advised to buy functions rather than names,so:

www.motoringforum.co.uk

I am still sitting on a number of these! If anyone wants www.polygraph.org.uk, or stalking.org.uk, www.healthreserch.co.uk or even policerecruiting.co.uk I am open to offers.

I am hanging on to www.researchsite.co.uk and

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jacobyte said:

If the domain name you want is gone, then perhaps sell the product/service as a separate brand in its own right. E.G. a financial services company may be called "BlitheringtonCarmichaelandPartnersLLP.co.uk" (not an easy domain name to remember or type in), but their online investment website could be something like "directinvest.co.uk". Be creative and look at what your competition is doing.

Leftie said:

A few years ago I was advised to buy functions rather than names,so:

www.motoringforum.co.uk

Thanks guys, I've just registered the perfect .co.uk domain.

[Plotloss]

I've got a hyphen (and also the same two words without a hyphen after a bit of a fight) and its never caused me any issue.

[rico]

As well as the main domain, also register as many other similar ones as you can afford. So get .eu, .com, .net etc all directed to your .co.uk

If you've got the cash, then also do the same for mis-spellings of your domain name.