| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Business name - suggestions needed Thread poster: Francesca Collodo
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I have seen a few on here now and every time I do, the requester ends up with a great name.
Just having read the thread below, I found the advice to use your own name interesting, and would like to use mine but...it's clunky? (My surname. I feel so unlucky most Italian names are beautiful...mine is not!).
I am British despite the name. I translate from French, German and Italian and specialise mainly in technical/engineering texts.
This is the kind of trans... See more I have seen a few on here now and every time I do, the requester ends up with a great name.
Just having read the thread below, I found the advice to use your own name interesting, and would like to use mine but...it's clunky? (My surname. I feel so unlucky most Italian names are beautiful...mine is not!).
I am British despite the name. I translate from French, German and Italian and specialise mainly in technical/engineering texts.
This is the kind of translating I am best at and most enjoy, so would like to specialise - is it wise to have some reference to the nature of texts in the name?
All advice and suggestions very gratefully received. It has been months now that I've been trying to come up with something, and still I've got nowhere! ▲ Collapse
| | | | EvaVer (X) 
Local time: 02:09
Czech to French
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| Er, do you have a choice? | Mar 28, 2013 |
In my country, individual business people must use their name as a matter of law (although we are allowed to add to it - e.g., John Smith, Beautiful Flowers). Even if you have the choice, it is simpler to use your own name, even if you don't like it (most young people don't like their names, believe me). You say it is "clunky," but look at the bright side - it is also distinctive. You will be soon remembered by clients, it will become a brandname - which whatever is the Italian equivalent of "S... See more In my country, individual business people must use their name as a matter of law (although we are allowed to add to it - e.g., John Smith, Beautiful Flowers). Even if you have the choice, it is simpler to use your own name, even if you don't like it (most young people don't like their names, believe me). You say it is "clunky," but look at the bright side - it is also distinctive. You will be soon remembered by clients, it will become a brandname - which whatever is the Italian equivalent of "Smith" wouldn't. I know what I am speaking about - my full name is Vergeinerova, my mother and I are the only bearers of the name in our country, everybody mispronounces it... but clients remember me!
Best wishes for your new venture! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Edward Vreeburg
Netherlands
Local time: 02:09
Member (2008)
English to Dutch
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| First thought: Colourful Language... | Mar 28, 2013 |
Somehow with "Collodo" Colourful springs to mind, but if you know what it means, it might not be a good idea...
; )
It also sound like something from China or India and does not go well with the technical stuff you translate.... perhaps...
But, it would certainly stick with people I guess...
| | | | Jane Proctor (X)
France
Local time: 02:09
French to English
| You don't have a clunky name! | Mar 28, 2013 |
Francesca, to my English ears, your name sounds just fine!
However, I choose to conduct business under my maiden name, because it shows I'm clearly English. My married name is Nigerian... and indeed HIGHLY clunky!
Just something you might want to consider when marketing yourself as a British native, having English as your first language...
Good luck, whatever you choose to do!
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 02:09
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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Francesca Collodo wrote:
I found the advice to use your own name interesting, and would like to use mine but...it's clunky? (My surname. I feel so unlucky most Italian names are beautiful...mine is not!).
If you had not told me that Collodo is Italian, I would have thought it was just a made-up string of sounds that form a business name. In fact, it actually sounds quite English to me.
I always misspell names like Francesca, and I never know how to pronounce them right, so drop that part of your name, but keep Collodo -- it's quite good, actually.
| | | | | Francesca... | Mar 28, 2013 |
It is not bad, to my Italian ear it just recalls the famous "Collodi". I'd use it without any problems...
For non Italian colleagues, Collodi was... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Collodi
| | | | Audra deFalco (X)
United States
Local time: 20:09
Italian to English
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| What about... | Mar 28, 2013 |
What about something snappy like Techworks?
| | | | | Collodo Translations | Mar 28, 2013 |
That sounds pretty businesslike to me. Although of course you do need to check that there are no unpleasant meanings in other languages.
Personally I find all the "trans...." and "ling..." business names very samey, and therefore easy to confuse.
Good luck!
Noni
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| Francis Ford... | Mar 28, 2013 |
...Coppola. That immediately brings interesting semantic fields to mind... and despite that, it is a brand of its own in cinema. How about Sandra Bullock too?
What matters is not the name itself, but what you fill it with. Your service and image become your brand immediately and if both things have a good quality, your name is the perfect brand and becomes a synonym of professionality.
| | | | | In Portuguese... | Mar 28, 2013 |
Noni Gilbert wrote:
That sounds pretty businesslike to me. Although of course you do need to check that there are no unpleasant meanings in other languages.
Well, you don't work with Portuguese, so it wouldn't matter. If you did, you'd know.
"COLADO" in PT means "glued". And "LODO" means "sludge".
Anyway, the idea of "Francol Translations" (or FranCol if you wish) sounds a pleasant choice to me... unless it sounds bad in German, of which I know almost gar nichts.
My 2 Brazilian "centavos de real".
| | | | | Don't need a business name! | Mar 29, 2013 |
Just go by your name and surname alone or add something descriptive (the more generic the better because it's supposed to be transparent and honour your name rather than the other way round) but think in perspective. Two years, five years, ten years, forty years? Eschew the youthful unserious descriptions of yourself or your professional work that some translators are fond of, unless you're humble and light-hearted enough to be willing to continue to live with them when you're grey and supposed ... See more Just go by your name and surname alone or add something descriptive (the more generic the better because it's supposed to be transparent and honour your name rather than the other way round) but think in perspective. Two years, five years, ten years, forty years? Eschew the youthful unserious descriptions of yourself or your professional work that some translators are fond of, unless you're humble and light-hearted enough to be willing to continue to live with them when you're grey and supposed to exude authority, in which case, I suppose, it's all right. For the record, basing one's business alias on one's first name doesn't look professional. I know a firm of four lawyers who have recently done that and I fret for them dearly. I hope to able to talk some sense into them eventually. On the other hand, surname alone or in combination with something, without a first name, doesn't look great on a freelancer, IMHO, either. (Better for real companies.)
Alternatively, you can go by your name and surname for almost all practical intents and purposes while having a d/b/a somewhere in the background for stationery, paperwork and similar applications. This solution is popular among Polish translators. And the company names are usually bad (not that I remember them much, even for people I know in person). Name and surname does beat almost everything else. The only thing it doesn't beat is name and surname plus a pair of generic nouns, just like lawyers do. Nothing beats Law Offices of John Smith, at all. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Francesca Collodo
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:09
German to English
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TOPIC STARTER | You are all great! | Mar 29, 2013 |
Thank you all so much. It's really interesting to hear how your name is your brand. And I've stopped thinking of my surname as clunky and rather, appreciating it for its uniqueness.
As long as I don't branch out into Portuguese I should be ok using it.
A friend suggested "Collodo Ltd" so it would not disallow branching out in the future should I wish to. I like "Collodo Translations" as well though.
... See more Thank you all so much. It's really interesting to hear how your name is your brand. And I've stopped thinking of my surname as clunky and rather, appreciating it for its uniqueness.
As long as I don't branch out into Portuguese I should be ok using it.
A friend suggested "Collodo Ltd" so it would not disallow branching out in the future should I wish to. I like "Collodo Translations" as well though.
I did wonder whether having some reference to the technical preferred nature of my work might make me stand out in lists/directories...but then, it seems most of these may also be filtered by industry.
And I am not young, but in my 40s! ▲ Collapse
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kashew
France
Local time: 02:09
English to French
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| Connotations! | Apr 1, 2013 |
Hi!
I imagine you have twigged that to wordplaying French ears your surname = colle au dos! That's a good quality for a translator - sticking to the text.
I agree that to English ears your name obviously sounds Latin - but that may not be a good thing as you are working into your mother tongue English.
Have you tried anagramming it?
Best of luck,
Kashew (John Hawkes)
| | | | | Just don't call yourself Global... | Apr 1, 2013 |
It may be OK for big agencies, but is unrealistic for a freelancer, and there are quite a lot of them of them already!
I would soon get used to your name, I think, if I worked with you. It is distinctive enough to make an impression, and the spelling is not at all complicated for an English speaker! A woman who married someone of a different nationality and became a translator under her married name ... there are lots of us!
If you do find anything else you want to use... See more It may be OK for big agencies, but is unrealistic for a freelancer, and there are quite a lot of them of them already!
I would soon get used to your name, I think, if I worked with you. It is distinctive enough to make an impression, and the spelling is not at all complicated for an English speaker! A woman who married someone of a different nationality and became a translator under her married name ... there are lots of us!
If you do find anything else you want to use, you could use both for a transition period. There are regular discussions in these forums, and although using your 'real' name and a portrait are generally approved, there are lots of reasons why some people might want to use a business name and/or a logo.
You want to stand out from the crowd enough for clients to be able to find you, but not for the wrong reasons. My parents had a friend called Doctor Duck, first name Donald! Disney actually threatened to sue him, until he pointed out that his birth certificate pre-dated their cartoon character, and he could equally well sue them...
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I use my married name, because my maiden name was a bit too English - a city that lots of people can't spell and others can't pronounce.
Andersen is one of the commonest names in Denmark... almost too anonymous, but my friends and clients remember me anyway. I've just never found anything better!
What is really important is the impression you give and the service you provide. The image will stick, so take care of it, and best of luck! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Nor Afizah
Malaysia
Local time: 08:09
English to Malay
Guess what, uniqueness sells and yr name is just fine.
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