This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Hey, what's up? Welcome to side hustle school. Thank you so much for tuning in today, wherever you are in the world. My goal here is to help you create extra money without quitting your job, okay? So we have a global community of people who are all doing some really interesting stuff, trying to create freedom for themselves, trying to eventually quit their job, perhaps, or in some cases to keep their job because they like it, but also create some security through that money-making project.
So if you like the idea of that, I am glad you're here. Today, we're gonna talk about this listener question. Is it easy to change your business name or when is it too late, actually? Like if you haven't launched your project and you realize your business needs a different name, like you're doing some work on it and you realize like kind of halfway in, well, it's easy enough to change at that point. But what about when you're already up and running, like you have already announced, like you have customers, perhaps, like is there a point where it's too late?
When is it too late to change a business name? That's what we're gonna look at in this quick question and answer episode, the detailed question and my answer coming up in just 30 seconds. [Music]
Hi, this is Erica from Taiwan. My site Hustle is a clothing design brand that helps aspiring print-on-demand entrepreneurs get their designs on Amazon and elsewhere. I have a business name that I thought I really liked, but over the past few months, I've felt like I've overgrown it.
Among other things, the name is hard to say in different languages and I have clients from several countries. But the last part, the fact that I already have some existing clients makes me worry that I might have come too far to go back and I should just accept the name I initially chose. Is it a bad idea to change horses in mid-string? [Music]
Well, it's interesting. I mean, thank you for the question.
Thank you for calling in. You know, I'm just gonna give it to you straight here. Like if it were me in this situation, I would change the name. Like what you will gain in the long-term, more than offsets, whatever you lose in the short-term. And that's how I tend to think about these things.
There's always a cost to doing something. What is the cost? What is the benefit? And in this case, if you're thinking long-term, especially if you think it's a kind of business that you want to keep for a while and you have clients from several countries, and that's a good reason right there. Like it's a global business and you've got clients from different countries and the name is hard to say in different languages.
Don't cling to a name you dislike or you think is no longer the best fit. It's a great reason to make a change. It's a great time. So instead of resisting, explain to your existing clients why you're changing the name. Most likely it doesn't have to affect your service to them or your relationship to them at all.
In fact, I would explain that very directly. And most of all, I guess I would move forward with confidence. So move forward with confidence. Make the change. Making change is always good.
I mean, sometimes these things are like, it doesn't really matter either way. Like if you really don't like the idea of doing it, then don't. But the reason this caller is asking the question is because they do kind of sense it's the right thing to do. They're just worried that they're too late. So my response here is it is not too late.
Good luck. Listeners, if you have a question, something you're trying to work through, come to sidehustleschool.com/questions. I'm excited to feature your questions, my answers, some other commentary throughout the year, along with updates from other listeners as they launch and grow their projects. Thank you for tuning in today. New episode coming out tomorrow.
My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
