Ok, so after many requests I’m happy to explain why I chose waboom for my company name. Back in 2006 when I was thinking of a name for the business, I didn’t want anything that would categorise me too much, because I offer many varied solutions to many businesses it’s difficult to sum it up in one word.

So where did I get waboom from? Originally I actually wanted a ‘sound’ rather than a name, something like ‘oink’ but that domain had been taken. My daughter suggested ‘boom’ but that had been taken as well. Then we discovered waboom and settled on that, it had a good onomatopoeic quality to it, and made no sense whatsoever – perfect!

However, and this is where it gets interesting… my company name starts up a conversation, and that was my aim, so, I guess it works. It’s memorable for being weird, and that’s the point – it gets remembered. People ask me what it means, I say ‘I genuinely don’t know’ Having done a bit of research, it is actually the name of a strange looking plant, but that’s irrelevant because my company name gets people talking to me and that’s the conversation opener I need. Once I have engagement I can then start discovering how I can help their business. We have lift-off!

Sometimes we don’t need to think too hard, just follow gut reactions, and go a bit sideways and think laterally. It’s easier when branding a business to think along the lines of what that business offers, but it can be a trap that many ‘branders’ fall into. You don’t need to call a plumbers businesses something obvious like ‘plumbstop’ or a hairdressing salon something like ‘snips’. Think about it – does ‘Pepsi’ actually mean anything? What springs to mind when you see ‘Gap’? Some well-known brand names have become iconic purely because they have gained memorability, like Hoover, it means nothing whatsoever to do with vacuum cleaners and yet we all use it as a noun. So whilst I’m not expecting any time in the near future to hear people say ‘waboom my brand please’ I can hope!

So if you’re thinking of or in the process of starting up a new business, try a little waboom thinking – it might pay off in the long term. Be brave and just go for it.