One of my accomplishments in 2010 was forming an LLC. I need to give my husband a big pat on the back because this was his accomplishment, too. He did all the paperwork and helped me draft the articles of organization. Thank you, Bryan! We formed the LLC as a partnership and now in business, as in life, we are a team. 

I spent quite a bit of time coming up with the LLC’s name and settled on something unique. Are you ready? Wait for it…wait for it… Mindy Long Freelance LLC. Creative, isn’t it? Okay, maybe not, but it was intentional. Here is why.

Brand Recognition: I am my brand. I have name recognition among the editors I write for, and when they refer me to their colleagues, it is by name. My byline appears on my articles, which further supports my name recognition among my readers, sources and employers. I bring years of experience and institutional knowledge to the table, so I want to be sure my clients know I am the person they are entrusting with their project.

Ease of Transition: For years my clients have been writing checks to Mindy Long. I’ve contacted my clients’ accounting departments and provided my LLC name, EIN and updated W-9s, but there is a chance payments could be made out to Mindy Long and not Mindy Long Freelance LLC. If this happens, it should be fairly easy to deposit it into my business account despite the name variations.

Web Presence: I already own my domain and I don’t want to redirect clients to a new site, so I knew I wanted my name somewhere in the business name.

Minimal Cheesy-ness: Every time I came up with a company name that was creative, it bordered on cheesy. I needed to stick with something that was professional and self-explanatory.

In the end, I am happy with my choice. As I was drafting letters to clients and filling out a stack of W-9s, I was glad I wasn’t writing something that could be seen as silly or that meant something only to me. It felt good to be filling out those W-9s with a business name that includes my name and reflecting on the business I’ve built. I’m excited to have the paperwork done and have an official reminder that freelancing was the right path for me.