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Drea's BearsOk, so I'm thinking of changing my business name, I've been thinking about it for a while now. I named it when I was much younger and I don't think I want to be known as Drea whin I'm in my 60's. It was a Highschool nickname. I also heard that it is not a good idea to use a shortened version of your own name in business as it will 'shorten' the flow of money coming in, and that you should include the letters H and Z as these are 'power letters'.
I haven't got a web site and I haven't done tonne of advertizing so I expect it would be relatively simple. The hard part will be coming up with a creative name, I'm not very good in this department, I have to ask others to help me name my bears.
If anyone has any advice or suggestions it would be greatly appreciated!
Hugs,
AndreaM 
Wien:hug: Andrea, welllll, I don´t see anything wrong with DREA´S BEARS- actually, I think Drea sound friendly and comfy, but if YOU don´t like it, how about Zrehda? *giggling* has your name PLUS the power letters ...
sorry- I just had to....
Zehdra bears?
Honestly: I would grab my favorite bear and first thing that came into my mind translate it into a foreign language......
I´m curiousely watching :hug:
Gaby 
Charlotte Des Roches DesignsAndrea'z Bearz
Z'andrea Bear Hugs
Bear Hugz By Andrea
Andrea Z Bears
Just playing with some possibles... 
Never knew about the power letters.
Hugs &
Drea's BearsThanks Gabby, I don't thnk there's anything 'wrong' with it......I just think it's time for a change.
Charlotte: I hadn't heard of the "power letters' before either untill my mom was watching a local news show and the had a numerologist on, he was giving all kinds of tip and now I can't find him anywhere. I had thought of Bear Hugz by Andrea As well, great minds......
I'll keep you all posted...........anyone else????
AndreaM
AndreaM :)
It's obvious to me...
Dream Bears
Drea's BearsHHHHMMMMMMMM, I like that Jennifer!
AndreaM
Delartful BearsMmmm Dream Bears sounds perfect! I think our clever Jennifer has got it!!!
Danni
BrisbaneHey I think Dream bears sounds perfect too.....
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)I hadn't heard of the "power letters' before either
Haven't you heard the newscasters' stories on why drugs have names like Nexxium and Zocor (sp?)?
There are about 4 - 5 consonants that're considered Powerful. And doubling them is supposed to make them even stronger sounding.
Hi Andrea
I vaguely remember Shelli discussing this at some point on this site I don't know if you can find it in the archives or maybe she will chip in here and tell us again as it was very informative
Hugs
Gail
PaI like Dream Bears for you too!
Kathleen
Chaska, MinnesotaWell, I took a class from Denis Shaw and a lot of professional bear artists were there. The topic came up about naming your business. Denis gave the advise to have your real name as part of your business name. He felt people will relate the bear to the artist name and it is easier to remember. Think about it. I know the name "Michelle Lamb" but I could not tell you off the top of my head her business name (o.k. for those who are gasping at this point, close your mouth and take a deep breath...one more time, deep breath....). Sorry I don't know it, but you say "Michelle Lamb" well now you have my attention because I love her bears.
I'm not a professional bear artist so I don't know the in's and out's what goes into naming a company. But I like "Andreas Bears". Or simply put your full name on the tag and leave it like that.
Just my two cents.
It's nice to be remembered; thanks Gail!
I have no expertise in branding personally but I do have a bestest friend who's screamingly intelligent and successful, and who's a branding expert and professional. When I went about deciding on business names for my own bear business she gave me these pointers (which I've shared here before and which Gail is referencing.) She said that these things would help create an IDEAL name but of course we can look at corporations like APPLE or KLEENEX or Q-TIP and see quite clearly that while they have HUGE brand-name recognition on their side, they don't follow these rules (below) at all! So remember it's not "one size fits all;" these are just my friend Andrea's guidelines (interesting coincidence of name!) for business naming.
Anyway, here goes.
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1.) Since we live in an online world, be sure your business name can be translated easily and exactly into a domain name that is available for purchase. You'll likely want an online presence and a website that differs in name from your business moniker can confuse your customers.
2.) Choose a name that's easy to spell and is preferably less than ten letters. Unusual spellings confuse buyers; they might not think to use a "z" instead of an "s" in the word "BEARZ" because the word is actually spelled "BEARS," so "BEARS" with an "s" will be your customer's intuition when he/she is looking for you. And people tend NOT to persist in searches; they try once or so and then give up. That's the same reason you want your website to load quickly. Because people won't wait for your technological twinklies to load!
3.) Choose a name that's somehow related to the product you're offering for sale. It's easier to remember, for example, the name "Fuzzy Bears" than it is to remember "Orchard Breeze Bears" because the former relates to the product and the latter does not.
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When I was starting out I wanted to name my company SHELLIBELLI BEARS. I liked the idea of big tummied bears and how the word "belly" rhymed with my name -- a name which, you'll notice, has an unusual spelling.
I can't tell you how happy I am that I went with POTBELLY BEARS instead, after Andrea told me all the reasons (most of them cited above) that SHELLIBELLI was less than ideal. I think it helps even more that my business name is a compound word: POT and BELLY, making it even that much easier to recognize. I can't verify any of this scientifically; it's just a gut feeling I have that the name of my business has helped my business.
Anyhoos... I hope this helps but again, remember that if your name does NOT follow these guidelines, it doesn't mean you're doomed to failure! Andrea's thinking is just that, if you have the opportunity to do so, why not stack the deck in your favor in every possible way?
Good luck and let us know what you decide!
Drea's BearsTHANKS SHEILLI!
This will give me food for thought! I guess Annie-Bannanni Bears is too long eh? :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:
I guess I have a lot of thinking to do.........
and thank you to everyone else too! 
Hugs,
AndreaM
