August 8th, 2009
What’s In a Name?
What’s In a Name?
Setting up a new business and website is a challenge. It’s exciting, and with help, it happens! I knew I did not have the technical wherewithal to attempt the learning curve necessary to get a website up and running. I’d leave that to the experts. I also knew I’d need a bit of help with a marketing plan. But coming up with the name of my company seemed like the easy part.
The Fairy Tale Ends Before It Begins
Who knew that it would take literally weeks of creative brainstorming to find just the right name for my new celebrant business that reflected who I was and what I did? It initially seemed like a simple matter: come up with a name, register my website domain name, and voilá, I’m in business. NOT! I thought it would be easy because I already had the name. All I would say to my marketing peeps is, “Here’s the name I’ve chosen,” and it would be done. But Tom, my website developer, researched “my” name and informed me that the domain name had already been taken. I thought, so what? If this other business wasn’t operating in Arizona, then who cares that it’s already taken? I should, that’s who…if I didn’t want to get lost in cyberspace. Tom explained that I needed people to find my website – not someone else’s – on the Internet. And so the search began.
Welcome To: www.It’sTaken.com
Our task was to find a business name that would be uniquely mine and available as a domain name. There we were, the three of us armed with our tools –Tom with his legal yellow pad, Kenya with her more formal paper from Levenger’s and me with my usual pages and pages of notes – coming up with endless lists of names for my celebrant business. We weeded out the “don’t like it” ones, the “doesn’t resonate with me” ones and the “what does that mean?” ones. We prioritized the ones that remained and then the research would begin again. Taken. Taken. Available for sale. Sale? MY name? Who would have my name for sale? Whoa!
In the midst of our ongoing domain name search, I discovered that there is a whole other business out there – registering domain names and parking them with the hope that someone will eventually want that name and will be willing to pay for it. One of the domain names that I originally wanted would have cost me $2,400. I don’t think so! So, our brainstorming continued.
From Fun to Frustrating to Found It!
Well, if you are reading my blog, you know that we did find the right name for my celebrant business – Dancing Through Life Ceremonies. Our name research was initially fun, then it became frustrating. Eventually, we got to the point where we were actually making up words! But we would come back to the important questions: what does it mean and who will find my website? How you found me, however, I don’t know. Maybe you Googled the right keywords. Perhaps you had one of my business cards. Or, possibly, it was a wave of the magic wand.
But what does Dancing Through Life Ceremonies mean? To me, it means the world.
While I have always been a dancer and more recently, a percussionist, rhythmic beats are what get me moving. My fondest earliest memories are of standing on my daddy’s shoes and he dancing me around the room. I’ve danced ballroom, learned ballet and tap. I’m an avid traditional contra dancer and can’t sit long listening to African beats without getting up. I’m also into the Afro-Brazilian rhythms and have been a surdo drummer with the Brazilian batería (band), Batucaxé, based in Tucson. I find myself tapping out songs on the radio on my steering wheel without noticing the words. When friends gather we beat on anything and get up and dance.
During my celebrant studies, I learned about Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, and it resonated with me. We’re all journeying through this life, dancing to our own tune. Sometimes there’s a misstep, sometimes a side step, but ultimately, we learn lessons and move forward. It’s those lessons learned and the fact that we’re moving forward – even if it’s baby steps – that need to be honored and celebrated. The journey becomes the dance.
Even if we’re dancing in place, as long as we don’t stand still, the beat goes on. We continue dancing through life. What story in your life do you want to tell? What lesson have you learned that you want to celebrate? What event do you want to share? I can help you make it happen by writing and officiating a ceremony that is – as it should be – uniquely yours.
Come dance with me along this life path and allow me to be your celebrant partner. It would be my honor. Visit my website today!