Rawkes as a name for my freelance venture?

Heya,

I'm looking to create my freelance identity and website before I register as self employed. The problem arises with the name, I can't quite decide on one!

I've been using the Rawkes name for a while now - It originates from my full name, Rob Hawkes. I can take the safe route, use this name for my freelance company and leave it as that - or create something new, something that is unrelated to myself personally. The downside to Rawkes is a google search will pick up forum posts and myspace pages that I have created, which could bite me in the future - a prospective client may think it is unprofessional.

As for other name, I have a massive, massive, list of words that I relate to my ideals and also to web design. I've nearly come up with a few but can't divulge as I haven't bought the domains yet!


So what do you think, should I keep it semi-personal and use Rawkes?

If you heard me say Rawkes, would you know how to spell it?


I look forward to your feedback,

Regards, Rob.

Just use your real name

I think you should stay with your own name. If you said "Rawkes" I would spell it without the "e" (Rawks).

I'm against the whole name your company after yourself thing, what if I want to expand in the future and hire more people.

I was worried you were going to say that joe. I suppose the majority of my clients/prospective clients will have seen an advert, my website or my business card - so they will already know how it's spelt.

It's definitely a tricky one, I want to keep the 'es' at the end as that is from my name.

Originally Posted by rawkes I'm against the whole name your company after yourself thing, what if I want to expand in the future and hire more people.

Thousands upon thousands of companies worldwide (from tiny to huge) are named after their founders. It's really not such a bad thing.

heres a small list of companies that salathe is talking about
-Edward Jones (I do my stocks with them)
-Chevrolet, named after the founder Louis Chevrolet
-Ford, named after Henry Ford
-H&R Block, named after brothers Henry W. and Richard Bloch (with "Bloch" changed to "Block" to avoid mispronunciation)

Thats what I can name off the top of my head

I don't think it matters too much, I mean obviously it does matter it's important to have a name your happy with but it's not a great deal. Weather you went with Rawkes, Hawkes, RHawkes or something completely different it wouldn't make a massive difference as long as you brand and market your site to appeal to your target audience so that you can attract your future clients then I don't think it matters which name you go for.

Most importantly pick something you will be happy with in the long run, not something you may get tired of. The last thing you want to do is establish yourself only to then try and change your name/identity.

Thank you for the advice.

I really need to choose something soon - I've been thinking about names for a long time now and when I think I've found something, I change my mind about it at the last moment. The only name thats been going for the duration is Rawkes - I've been using that as my alias for a year now.

I just can't decide if i want to use Rawkes for my freelance company name or not, I like the word - it's very unique and personal.. but I'm worried about the spelling misunderstanding.. argh.

I've decided the silent E isn't an issue - I'm going to have to read out the spelling of my last name (Hawkes) anyway so it's no big deal having to explain the silent E in Rawkes either.

I can finally move onto the next stage of development - the logo!

Thank you for all the help.

I like Rawkes, reminds me of David Pache (dache)
Zack