Do You Need a Business Name?

Over the years an increasing number of child care providers have begun to use a business name. There is no federal or state requirement that family child care providers must create a business name for their business. Names vary from the cute (“DoodleBug Daycare”” and “Mary’s Little Lambs”) to the more formal (“BuildingBlocks Kids” and Earlybeginners Learningcenter”).

Here are some other names I have seen from my travels around the country: Elementz Of Learning, Country Critters Child Care, Lashia’s Learning Center, Lue’s Tiny Tots, Safe Haven Child Care, Alphabet Soup Daycare, AlittleSun ChildCare, Bizzybee FamilyChildcare, and so on.

I think it’s a good idea to have a business name. It’s a sign of professionalism and it communicates to your clients that you are serious about what you do.

If you use your full name as your business name, you don’t need to register it with your state. But if you do use a business name, in most states you must register it either with your secretary of state’s office or your county clerk’s office. The fee to register a business name is usually modest (usually less than $100).

Before you ask parents to pay you with a check written out to your business name (“Safe Haven Child Care”), contact your bank. They will probably require you to set up a separate business checking account before they will accept checks made out to a business name. Ask if there are additional fees to establish a business checking account. There is no requirement that you set up a business checking account if you don’t have a business name.

Sign up for Google Alerts which will track when your business name comes up on the Internet. You can also track your own name as well. This can be useful to learn about any positive (or negative) information that is being shared with others. If you haven’t yet created a business name for your business, you may want to consider doing so for the new year. Be creative and have fun making your decision! What’s your business name?

Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thinking_of_your_business_name.jpg

For more information about how to promote your business, see my book Family Child Care Marketing Guide.