How can I devise a brand for my business?

My partner and I are currently developing a peer-to-peer rental site to assist people lend or rent the idle “stuff” in their homes. The development of the site is progressing well, however, we are having difficulty coming up with a name and brand. Do you have any advice?

I don’t envy you. I know that it took me months to find a name that I was not only happy with, but was available.

A business name can set the tone for a brand.

There are a number of strategies that you can use to develop a brand name:

1. Brainstorm the most search engine-friendly names (I.e. Stuff for rent, renting stuff, rental stuff)
2. Brandstorm logical explanations of what your business does (often similar to SEO terms)
3. List unique values that your business holds
4. Research the names of other similar brands around the world
5. Expand your list with the use of a thesaurus
6. Experiment with combining the words in front of you
7. Crowd-source it (keep reading for more on this)

If search is an integral part of your predicted success, then choose a name that is more search engine friendly.

If your brand is to become a cult figure in your market, choose a name that is shorter but catchy and memorable.

Now, on to the crowd-sourcing. How about the wonderful readers of StartupSmart come up with some suggestions having read this overview of your business?

I would like the readers of this post to leave a comment below with a 1, 2 or even 3 suggestions. Don’t be afraid to share them even if you think that they’re terrible. We all know how hard it is to create a good brand name so let’s help these guys out.

I’ll throw my hat in the ring and suggest:

• Revolving Stuff
• Virtual Attic
• Restuff