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You're listening to Shorts and Suits, conversations about business, leadership, culture and families through the eyes of two entrepreneurs in the small business community with Ben Kaulfman and J.W. rayhans.

Okay, so today we're talking about naming your business. That's a big deal for me in the beginning, my company. Yeah, we're going to get into that and talk about how we came up with the names of our company, the processes we went through, and what that means to us and why that's been such a big undertaking. At least it was for me.

Yeah, I know, Ben. And actually, this is. It's a. It's a big topic. It's a big undertaking because a name is important. You know, it takes on an identity for an organization. And so naming can be one of those things that is sometimes instinctive for some people. Sometimes they just name it and then later on think about, you know, what's the meaning of that? And then maybe they change it later on. But thinking about ahead of time being thoughtful and really going, okay, what do we want the identity to be? And how can our name project that? So I'm glad that we're talking about this. And so let's go ahead and jump in. I know you mentioned that you've. You've written a blog about this topic, and it does have a lot of value. So walk us through the journey of coming up with Rocket Media.

Well, I'm going to use an analogy at first before we get into that. Yeah, we got an article we can reference. But, you know, I think about the naming of your company is almost like, well, we both have kids. It's like naming your child. Right. It's something that you don't take lightly. It's something you really put probably a lot of thought into. I mean, I. I have a lot of kids, and so there's a couple kids that just like, the name just came to us and was like, no, no problem. But I remember our first child. We went through the naming books and talking with people and like, scenario after scenario and, you know, we just. We just wanted to get it right. Right. That was the whole goal. Like, we just wanted to make sure we got a name that we really were proud of and that we really wanted to. And we. We did good. We did good with that. But that's kind of how the business name comes about too. Right. It's something you really, really think about. And I. There's a lot of characteristics when it comes to a name. There's really four that I remember. Does it stick? You gotta Have a name that's something that'll stick in people's minds, that they'll resonate with. Is it short and sweet? You wanna make sure that it's not something that's too long. A lot of times companies will use their owner's names. You see that in the legal field a lot of times, or doctor's offices. Sometimes it's like so and so, that kind of thing that sometimes gets lost in translation. But that's the energy of who they are. Is it functional? Does the name represent? Is it function, what you need it to be for your business?

Yeah.

And then the last, of course, does it tell a story? And really the story can be created from the name. Sometimes the name itself implies a story. And so those are the four characteristics that when I help people, when I talk to people about branding and talk about naming and things like that, those are the things I look for.

That's a great way to start because it gives, for any of you listening, it kind of gives you a roadmap to go on when you're looking at naming your company or renaming your company. So go ahead and share with us, Ben, what led up to coming up with Rocket Media. And I know you've had great mentors, you've had people helped you along your journey, but take us back.

Okay, so this is now back in 2002. I just finished an adventure with some other business thing and it didn't work out well. And I'm sitting in my living room with my wife, Lindsey, and we decided, okay, we're going to continue this. This new thing that we're calling something. We didn't know what you were going to call it. And, you know, I was thinking about using my name and all these different scenarios because there was a trend for a while where a lot of agencies like mine would just be like, the names of the company owner.

Sure.

Or partners and stuff like that. And I had actually done that once before. At any rate, before I started my company, back in the early days of my careers, I had a mentor that, That I really respected. And I had a phone call with him when I told him I was going to start my own shop. And just, you know, he wasn't in the industry, but he just, you know, I was telling him my biggest struggle right now is just coming up with the name of the business. He said, ben, think back to your childhood and think of the things that you were passionate about, and then maybe something will come from that. And so I did. And so I reflected and I actually pulled out like my yearbooks and stuff like that, because trying to remember stuff, that maybe something would spark. Well, and something did, actually. I remember I found a picture of our seventh grade industrial arts shop class.

Okay.

And the. One of the projects we had to do back then was build rockets. And rockets were something that I'd always had a interest in. And so back then, in shop class, this is again, I'm dating myself. Back then, when we had shop class, we had to, you know, create the tube out of paper. So we had to roll the tubes, and the cone for the rocket had to be sanded and made out of cork just so the fins had to be cut out of balsa wood, and you had to put it all together. And you're graded on a couple things. One, would it fly? So we actually, when we finished all these, and they were all painted and they're all just, you know, very individualized, we went out to the field and we shot him off. And if it took off and flew, you got the point there.

All right.

And then, of course, did it land? Was the second thing. So the parachute had to come out. Well, I got to tell you, jw, I was hooked from then on after I did that, because I had now built a rocket from scratch. I didn't have to go to the hobby shop to buy the kit, right? Which was expensive. And as a kid growing up with two parents as teachers, we didn't have a lot of disposable income. So there was no kits for Ben, really. I mean, I though I gotta give credit to my parents. They found ways to get me kits here and there. But I would then start collecting, you know, paper towel rolls and wrapping paper rolls, because those are tubes.

I'm pitching. I'm picturing, like, 7th, 8th, and 9th grade Ben right now.

Oh, yeah.

Just collecting that stuff.

And any little job I had, I spent my money on buying those. Those little engines, the C7s and C9s and whatever you could get. So I could then on the weekends, take out my siblings to the field next door and we'd shoot off rockets. It was like this huge adventure.

And I bet that was fun.

It was great. And so as I reflected on that, I realized rocket was a thing for me, right? And I had actually been working on the name for the business in many different ways. And I always kept going back to media because that's the stuff that I was doing. I was building media for people, and I was like that. So when I figured out this whole thing with my rocket passion, I married the two. And it just stuck. And it was something that hit those four character qualities that I was really looking for. It stuck. It was short and sweet. Rocket Media. It was functional because it actually kind of supported what we do. You still kind of wonder what it is because you're like, Rocket Media. You might think we're in, like, avionics or NASA or something like that. But that's the great part, is it creates a story.

It does. And it piques an interest, too. Right. Because now people want to look into it. What is it they really do.

Yeah, yeah. And then the world of digital nowadays, right, you go looking for names and the first thing you do is, well, I better go find a domain name first. Right. Because is that not identity these days is the domain name? So at the time, Rocket Media wasn't available, so I went with Rocket Media Studio Studios and I went that route for several years, and then I was able to somehow acquire the Rocket Media through a connection I made.

And I remember when you went about that.

Yeah.

And really reaching out to that lady and seeing, you know, what's the interest?

Yeah.

How do we get. How do we get this?

Yeah. You know, and I spent more money than I ever had on a domain name, of course, at that time, for that name. And it was probably the best investment I made because it solidified Rocket Media for us forever.

Absolutely. Yeah.

So that was my story on coming up with Rocket Media. But I hope you heard a little bit about the adventure there, which was finding something you're passionate about or that you can relate to, that has a meaning to you, and then be able to find, I guess, synonyms, adjectives, whatever they are, to the name itself. So Rocket Media was kind of how that came about. And to this day, every year, except for last year because of COVID but every year we go out on our company anniversary and we go shoot off rockets to celebrate yet another year of Rocket Media's history. And so something that we do as a team and it's fun, right? We get out there and do that and everybody kind of goes, why are we out here in the field shooting off rockets? And then I have to tell them the story.

That's right.

And then they're like, oh, okay, there's something behind this.

Well, and that's just it. And there's an opportunity for your whole team to understand the meaning behind the name. And also, you know, the other thing that's been really kind of brilliant with your name is you can build a story, even for your clients and what you guys do for your Clients within the name of Rocket Media as well. Because, you know, you guys really do, you help businesses grow and you do it within the industries that you specialize in and you know their businesses really, really well and you really are taking them to another level. And so even just the way you see a rocket shoot off kind of lends itself to the story of what you guys do with your clients.

Yeah, yeah, we always, we try to play into that. Right. With launching a website or we're doing something like that.

So I mean, even look around our office, we work from space as it is.

That is true with having a name Rocket Space. Yep, that's right.

Which does make it fun. It, you know, it's everything that builds the environment around making it a fun place to work where people just do a professional job and perform at a high level.

Yeah, absolutely.

So names, names do have meaning. And it was no different for Ray Hans Financial or Joshua Development. And in, in the case of Ray Hans Financial, it was first thinking about what business we're in. I mean, when it comes to financial planning and investments, that is a high trust, relationship based business. Trust is something that we have to build with every person, every client, and we have to do it over and over. And so for us, when I was thinking about a name, the best symbol of trust I could come up with is say, you know what, I'm going to put my own name on the line. And if we do a great job, then it's a name that carries strength and credibility and trust. And if we don't guess what, my name is still on the line. And then we got to figure out how to repair that relationship or we have to figure out how to rebuild that name. And so that's why I decided to go ahead and use Ray Hans in the name of our organization. Because trust is so valuable in our industry and in our business. But then it was, it was actually you that helped us build a brand around that though. And how do we really symbolize the effort we put into every relationship that we have with clients? And so for any of you that end up seeing our logo, you'll notice that, you know, a blue diamond is kind of the forefront of our logo. Because when people think of diamonds, whether it's because of good marketing or otherwise, you know, we think of diamonds as forever. Right. And it is a relationship symbol. But we also know that there's multiple paths that people can take to achieving their most important goals and dreams and overcoming some of the most difficult challenges. There's multiple paths to accomplishing that, and that's why we have the various pathways through the diamond, but that we're going to be a part of that relationship for as long as we can.

Well, the diamond also has that connotation of wealth. Right. Which is exactly what your business is about.

You got it.

That definitely plays into it, too.

Yeah. And for Joshua Development, believe it or not, the Joshua part wasn't named after me. It was named after the story of the biblical Joshua. Because when we look at what it means to do leadership coaching and training, every organization has a story. Every organization goes through ups and downs, every organization goes through cycles. And so with what we get to do there with leadership teams, it really kind of follows the path. And we want to be able to help them create a legacy in their organizations. And so that was the other reason for the name of Joshua Development, was it follows that storyline. That is what we do. For anybody that's familiar with the biblical story of Joshua, how long did it take you? What we do, though, is we make sure that what they do doesn't get forgotten within one generation. We want it to last forever.

I was going to ask you, how long did it take you to uncover Joshua Development? Because I'm sure Rayon's. I know you thought long and hard about that one, but it came to you and you're like, yeah, I'm going to put my name on the line. And I love that. I think that's what a lot of people. You know, I think a lot of people that deal with people's personal possessions or just their wealth or even just helping with those consulting type things use their name. I think of realtors, I think of legal, I think of financial planners like yourself. Makes perfect sense. But for your other business, which is a consulting business, how long did it take you to come up with that one? Was that like something you just came to you as well?

Or, you know, that one was a bit more instinctive. And, you know, we did a session on how you include faith and how we include faith in our business, but that one was probably came to me through the Holy Spirit. It was just like, look, this is what you do. And here's the story that it follows, and here's what you're going to be able to help people do, because that business, quite honestly, was started by accident. I didn't purposefully look to start a leadership coaching training company that was at the request of someone I served on a board with saying, hey, would you be willing to work with my executive leadership team? And that's how Joshua Development was born. So that one did have a bit more of an instinctive sort of response.

Yeah. And sometimes that's how businesses just came about, Right?

That's right.

By need.

And I think for any of you listening, it's important to hear that, too. You're hearing kind of three different ways that we came up with names for our organizations and the reasons behind those. And so it's important to make it personal, it's important to make it meaningful, and as you mentioned, make it something that's going to stick, that has a lifetime to it. Yeah.

And I would encourage you to spend the time on this process. It's not something that you should just accept and just kind of wholeheartedly. You need to wholeheartedly go into it and be like, this is it. You'll know when you get it. It'll feel right.

That's right.

And it'll have meaning to you and you'll be excited about it. But also, don't let the noise of others influence you, because once you have that feeling, you know it's right. You're probably. Your gut instinct is probably right.

That's right.

Because there's a lot of people with a lot of opinions.

You got it. Yep. And they'll throw them all at you.

Yeah, they will.

And so that's okay. It's always fun doing this with you. We hope any of you that are listening, you know, check out some of our other podcasts and just grab what seems valuable to you and put it into practice. And as we've said before, you know, it's what you do with what you learn that makes all the difference. So take it, put it into action, use what you find important. And we're thrilled that you spend a little time to invest and listen to some of our stories.

Yep. It's a good talk. Thanks.

Thank you for listening to Shorts and Suits. Your hosts are Ben Kalkman of Rocket Media, a digital marketing agency, and J.W. rayhans of Rayhans Financial, a financial investment advisory firm. For more information, go to shortsandsuits.com if you find this podcast helpful, please help us by telling a friend and rating us on itunes. Subscribe to our tribe and learn more@shortsandsuits.com.