Welcome!

[chris]

Hey everyone I'm Chris, new to the Smashing forum. Love the site, its great. My question is what is the best name to choose for your online presence. A professinal name? or just your given name? A few years ago I used a professional name and went to my county clerks office and registered it and did all that happy stuff. BUT saying that I 'owned a business' felt very daunting and pressuring because I felt I HAD to keep that above everything else so I let it slip through the cracks. Now, I have a different outlook on things and understand the the inner workings of the freelance part of it all. So what would be best, professional? or my name? Using my real name just seems less pressuring and easier.

thanks

[falkencreative]

I think this depends where you live... At least in my case (I live in Northern California, USA) basically the only difference between working in my own name and having a proper business name is about $60 to $100 and submitting two or so forms. From a legal/taxes perspective, whether I used my own name or had a separate business name didn't matter -- my legal/tax responsibilities were about the same.

I personally chose a business name (though I kept it related to my name) since I felt it was a little bit more professional, and partially also because the domain name for my name ("BenjaminFalk.com") was taken.

This just comes down to what you are most comfortable with. If you are most comfortable with using your own name, go for it. If you have further plans down the road, perhaps to expand the business beyond just yourself, an official business name might be better.

[Kaypearl]

I actually love "Falken Creative", Ben.

[falkencreative]

I actually love "Falken Creative", Ben.

Thanks!

[PenGwnFistOfFury]

Business name hands down. Gives you more of a professional feel.

[chris]

Hey thanks everyone. I apprecaite the comments, and I will take it into consideration.

[jock]

I also operate off from a business name rather than my own name. I think its ok to use your name if your core work is subcontracted via web design/development companies. Although I think its a bit more professional if your dealing with other non web related companies to appear as a company. Although I'm always transparent about my situation if someone asks questions about the company. I think most people can work it out for themselves anyway, every phone call will be you, every email will be you, every meeting will be in your kitchen

[icreativelabs]

deal with @PenGwnFistOfFury Professional name it's describing who we're and our brand

[attila]

I'd agree that it depends on the situation and what you're comfortable with. I lean more towards using a real name if it's a one person company. Many people I worked with sometimes tried really hard to make it look like they are a big company but IMO being a one-man-show can be nice for many clients too.

Dealing with agencies or larger companies can be a slow and expensive process so why pretend to be bigger than you really are?
but again: it depends on your situation and client base...

[Herbert]

Keep personal things personal, and business things professional