BRANDING-Should you use your name in branding your REI company?

Question

Good evening,

I am currently looking to start setting up my small operation for its future success! Part of doing that will be getting all the proper paperwork filed, setting up website, and activate marketing campaign. To do this I must decide on our brand. I have it narrowed down to a few choices, but I pose the following question to my REI peers.

When naming/branding your REI company should you use your name or part of your name? Either way, what do you believe the advantages and disadvantages would be?

Thank you for your input.

David Thompson · Answer

Raymond,

My coach Joe Fairless who has a marketing / advertising background told me I should use my name as my company name.  It's just so much easier for folks to remember than ABC company.  You should also use your picture on business cards, etc.  Secrets of memory experts are all based off of word associations and nothing better than your name in your company name.  Make it a great company and you will be proud !

Account Closed · Answer

I don't do it. I try to stay as anonymous as possible.

I buy foreclosures/distressed properties.  I foreclose on purchased tax liens.  I don't want previous owners coming after me.  I rent units through property managers and let them be "the bad guy" when necessary.

My company name (W. E. Sonetti Capital Ventures) is not based on my real name.

My Dad's name is William.

My Mother's name is Emma.

I'm their "Son Eddie"

Sadly, the internet has made everything transparent these days.  From Facebook suggesting everyone on your contact list as your friend to websites like truepeoplesearch.com putting all your private information out there, it makes stalking and retaliation all too easy (the only upside is it also makes tenant screening a bit more transparent).  I know anyone can do a lookup with relation to who owns the business...but it's a bit tougher than using my real name.

P.S. - I know a photographer that specifically chose an arbitrary name for his company...and he actually teaches classes under that pseudonym for privacy reasons.

Alex Capozzolo · Answer

@Levi T. & @Ryan Murdock Great feedback.  @Raymond E. Hopkins with the internet nowadays, if people want to find you, they most likely can with enough digging. However, if you avoid having part of your name in your Business Name, it will deter many from digging any further than that!

Ryan Murdock · Answer

@Raymond E. Hopkins

If your goal is passive investing and you prefer to remain in the shadows the last thing you want is your real name attached to anything. I've actually gone back and changed company names for the sole purpose of removing my name from them.  If you want people to know you own ABC Realty, tell them. If you don't want them to know, don't tell them. You'll be much happier in the long run if you can make that determination instead of it being made for you each time.

Levi T. · Answer

I spent years in marketing and brand craft for some of America's top Brands and NPOs, including Best Buy, CVS, Pew, and many more.

Branding comes down to your end goal. If your looking to be a local brand you want to name it accordingly. Case in point, a local handyman will likely brand himself as "Risk's Handyman Service", while a nationwide brand will try to target a wider audience with something like "Mr. Handyman".Industry affects this as well. Smaller attornies will normally target their last name followed by the word "law", this allows them to stage their business to grow once they get partners, as that's how most law firms get bigger... thus larger state level firms use partner names, such as "allen allen allen".In real estate sales. You see both these examples; Century21, ExitReality, as well as Long & Foster... Real Estate investors like to group their assets by a location, street name, or partners. You see stuff like Highview Properties, King Mill Associates, or even 1234 Franklin St... and even those assets are owned by other companies that have wider brand naming based on their service or intent.Edit: As for your follow up question, it's highly unlikely tenants are gong to be researching your LLC name, register agent, etc. Just because a business has someone name in it, it does not mean it's the person down the street with the same last name. Unless you introduce yourself to the tenants (do not do that), they only interaction they will have is with the PM company, and that's all they will care about.

Raymond E. Hopkins · Answer

@Alex Capozzolo,

Thank you for your input.  I agree with all of your points, but to be more specific do you see an issue with using your name if you are trying to be a purely passive investor?  Let's say you own ABC APARTMENTS which is operated by XYZ PROPERTY MANAGEMENT, and your company name is CAPOZZOLO HOMES.  Would tenants be able to track you down merely by searching your name?  If purely passive investing is your goal, would you suggest a generic name for your company?  For example EAST SIDE REAL ESTATE.

Raymond

Raymond E. Hopkins · Answer

Fellas,

Thank for the great insight.  The internet does make it hard to try to stay anonymous these days, doesn't it?

At this point in time I only have one rental, and I manage it.  So, my tenants know who I am and I don't mind.  But, recently I had one tenant call, text, call, and call again all in about a 4 minute time span, because I did not answer the phone the first time.  No one had died, the house was not burning down, and it was not an emergency of any kind.  This confirmed my thoughts on wanting to hand over management of my properties in the future.  At the very least to hire an assistant to take my calls, as soon as I am able.  Around this same time I heard on one of the podcast how a tenant had found out who the owner of an apartment building was, and started bypassing the management company to contact them directly.

As I start to set my self up for the future the thought crossed my mind as to if I should use part of my name in the branding as I was originally planning too, or use a generic brand.  As you guys have pointed out, if the tenant is driven enough they will find me.  But, possibly using a generic name may make them have to work more than they are willing to find me.  We all hope for perfect tenants, but we all know the crazy ones are in our midst, lol.  @David Thompson I like what your coach told you, and with me having red hair and beard it would be even easier for me to stand out.  The problem is that I will want my peers and lenders to know me, but eventually I'd like to be a silent 3rd party to my future tenants.  I guess to accomplish this I better find a good property management firm, but from the information I hear on the podcast they are a rare breed.  Raymond

Alex Capozzolo · Answer

@Raymond E. Hopkins Using your initials is a common way to squeeze part of your name in but still have the brand appear different-ish. I don't believe the actual name is a make or break. Things like the logo, marketing, relevant ads, and relevant content are what will draw eyes to your company and hopefully keep them coming back!

BRANDING-Should you use your name in branding your REI company?

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