What's in a name? February 9, 2013 09:49

What's up with the name of this shop? Well, it goes like this...

We are actually refugees from Etsy, which is a fine eCommerce destination. We have a nice little shop there that has been very successful.  There's just one problem - the shop name. See, we kinda named the shop before we actually figured out exactly what we were going to sell in it. So now were stuck with a shop name that has virtually nothing to do with what's actually in it, which is geeky, nerdy, scientific-like stuff.

Off to Yellow Bug Boutique!

Seriously - 'Yellow Bug Boutique"? What were we thinking? It conjures up images of cute little butterflies, happy pastel-colored flowers, big puffy clouds. There's probably a unicorn wandering around somewhere in there. It makes my teeth hurt. 

So we decided it was time to do something about the ridiculous shop name. Then we discovered that there are about a bajillion references to Yellow Bug Boutique scattered all over the internet. Changing the shop name would mean that all those lovely links would be cast into the ozone, dangling around unattached, much like an over-served coed in a beach bar at Spring Break. (side note on the link - nothing good will come of this)

After much thought, we decided to create a whole new shop with a name that was more representational of our product mix. This would solve all our problems with market confusion and branding conflict. Seriously, how hard could it be?

Pretty hard, actually.

It turns out that coming up with a new name is harder than actual childbirth. I can say that because I'm a man and have never actually experienced the wonder and beauty of childbirth. My wife, however, assures me that squeezing a bowling-ball sized object from your unmentionable regions is much harder than naming an internet shop. I think she's just playing for sympathy. I also sleep on the couch a lot.

Eventually we came up with Neurons Not Included.  It has several advantages:

  • It doesn't make you think of unicorns.
  • It's one of the few combinations of words not already claimed on the internet.
  • It doesn't give you the slightest idea of what is actually for sale in the shop. We could be selling hand-crafted motor oil and no one would be any more confused than they are now.
  • It's better than "Geekfurter", which was under serious consideration.
So here it is - Neurons Not Included. Hope you like it!
Next - intimate details on the shop owners. But not that intimate, OK? Get your mind out of the gutter.