Free handbook · PDF · updated
Name Your Business: the free handbook
A plain-English method for finding a business name people remember, that you can own, and that fits the business you really run. 15 pages, free, no sign-up. Print it, share it, scribble on the worksheet.
PDF · 15 pages · about 0.5 MB · written by Peter Klein, founder of SparkMyName™, after 40 years in brand building and retail.
What’s inside
1. Write the one-sentence brief
Who it serves, what it does, how it should feel. The yardstick for every name.
2. The three jobs every name has
Sayable, ownable and true, with a quick score out of 9.
3. Five patterns behind most good names
Descriptive with a twist, founder, place, one vivid image, coined.
4. The afternoon method
From a 20-word bank to 30 candidates to a shortlist of five, with timers.
5. Six quick tests
Phone, noisy room, first picture, price, small size and five-year tests.
6. Five free checks
Google and Maps, the .com, your business registry, trademarks and social handles.
7. When the .com is taken
What to check first, which add-ons work and which fixes to avoid.
8. Mistakes that cost real money
Initials, the pun everyone made, a place you will leave and more.
9. Naming a side hustle you may grow
Names that work small today and still fit if you grow.
10. After you choose
What to lock in, in order: domain, handles, registration, trademark, look.
11. Words in plain English
Domain, DBA, trademark, class, wordmark, ™ and ®.
12. Your worksheet
Brief, word bank, a shortlist table for the checks, your chosen name.
A taste: the three jobs every name has
Most weak names fail because they only do one of these jobs. Clever is optional. These three are not.
- Sayable. A stranger hears it once, over the phone, and can type it into a search bar. If you have to spell it out, word of mouth breaks.
- Ownable. The .com is available or affordable, the social handles are free, and no one in your field already uses it or holds a trademark on it.
- True. It sounds like the business you really run, at the price you really charge, for the customer you really want.
The handbook turns these into a quick score: rate each name 1 to 3 on each job, and drop anything under 7 out of 9, or with a 1 anywhere.
Not legal advice. The handbook is general information. Fees in it (such as the USPTO’s $350 base filing fee per class) were checked on official sites in October 2026 and can change.
Questions people ask
Is the handbook really free?
Yes. It is a free PDF with no sign-up and no email needed. You can print it and share it with anyone, unchanged and with credit.
Who is it for?
Anyone naming a new business, side hustle, online shop or product. It is written in plain English for first-time founders, with U.S. examples and links for other countries.
Does it replace a trademark attorney?
No. It shows you how to run free first-look checks so you can drop weak names early. For a name you will spend real money on, a trademark attorney's full search is still worth it.
How long does the method take?
About an afternoon: roughly 85 minutes to go from a one-sentence brief to five or six shortlisted names, then about ten minutes of free checks per name.
Keep going
how to name a business · how to check if a name is taken · fillable naming worksheet · free name generator · free business tools
Want a name that already passes these checks?
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