I am often asked for advice about how to start businesses. I can’t tell you how many times people have told me about a name for a brand and I immediately beg them to complete the following checklist:
- Check to see if the domain name is available.
- Check to see if the Twitter username is available.
- Check to see if the Facebook vanity URL is available.
- Check, check, and check some more for usernames on YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and every other social network ever created.
I never expect that my friends or perspective clients are actually going to use every social network and I don’t even necessarily recommend it. However, when starting a new brand, it is important to have as many options as possible. You might not think that you’re going to use Instagram now but tomorrow you might feel differently. Keep one thing in mind, though; tomorrow might be too late.
Such was the case for me last weekend. For a while now, I have been thinking about starting a personal blog. I have a lot to say about social media, branding, business development, and topics like that and I have an outlet here on this site to express my thoughts about these topics. However, I don’t have mobile development and Apple’s quarterly earnings on my brain ALL the time. Sometimes I want to express feelings about my personal life. Before you even start joking, yes, I do have a personal life and I do have ideas that are not related to friending, following, or subscribing.
Let me give you a glimpse of what I mean.
Pearls are treasures and I think that they’re dainty and special. I have a fondness for the culinary arts but only when other people are the artists. I absolutely adore shoes but don’t like wearing them. Taking firearms training classes is one of the smartest decisions I’ve ever made. I don’t understand why people go on vacation and all of a sudden think that it’s a good idea to put photos of their toes on the Internet. I dislike liars, cheaters, and people who are reckless and destructive with their words. I wear yoga clothes almost every single day but have taken one yoga class in my life. The older I get, the more I appreciate my college. Getting my nails done is one of my favorite ways to relax, although I think that I stress out my manicurist. White wine is savory but I struggle with red wine, unless it’s sangria. I will never underestimate the power of a new lipstick and gloss. I no longer know how to apply mascara unless my lashes are curled. I don’t think that my wardrobe will ever have enough cashmere. I am obsessed with scarves (of the cashmere
variety). The fabric on airplane seats ruins cashmere “sweatpants” and I wish I had known this before I wore cashmere sweatpants on a flight. My Grandma is the definition of unconditional love, refinement, and optimism. I am incredibly patriotic and seeing things like tattered American flags upset me. When it comes to amazing retail, I seem to be most attracted to the letter “B” (Bloomingdales, Bergdorfs, Bendels, and Barneys). I think that, in general, I might like most four-legged creatures more than I like a lot of two-legged ones. I love, love, love my miniature Labradoodle, Raegan.
I could go on and on but I won’t do that here. Maybe those tidbits of information give you a better sense of who I am as a person. Anyway, a few weeks ago, I came up with the perfect name for my personal brand. It fits me beautifully. I checked the domain name. It was available. I checked the Twitter username for an abbreviated version since the brand name is too long for Twitter. It was available. I checked the Facebook vanity URL for the abbreviated version. It was available. YES! Then I did the unthinkable. I went to sleep. I did not think that there was ANY way that somebody was going to take my brand’s abbreviated Twitter name. When I woke up and tried to secure the username, I discovered that it was taken and the user was happily and actively tweeting.
I violated my own rules/suggestions and I’m not happy with myself for it. With that said, I’ll come up with something else (and something better)! Let my loss serve as a reminder to you, though. If you think you have an idea, run with it immediately. Buy your domain name. Secure your social networking accounts and usernames. Be proactive and DO NOT GO TO SLEEP! Those who snooze, lose. That’s one lesson that I won’t have to learn again.
Has anything like this ever happened to you? Have you put off securing an account or profile and then found out that you waited too long? If you’ve been in this boat, please go ahead and share your story with a comment below.
