If you’ve read my previous blogs, you already know that in addition to working full time as a Student Success Coordinator at Stenberg College, I run a private practice. My business is called Strength Within Consulting and has been up and running for eight years. In this time, I have realized and learned many things about running a business, however, I think the most important thing I have learned is how important a name is for any business.
The reason I chose Strength Within Consulting, is because I believe that no matter who you are or what challenges you face in your life, YOU always have the STRENGTH WITHIN you to face it!
Picking a name, in my opinion, is one of the hardest things to do for a counselling practice. There are many questions to consider. Even though you may like a name, would your clients be drawn to it? Should you use your personal name as the business name? How do you project what you do with a name? These are all great questions to ask!
When I started thinking about a name, I wanted to look at the larger picture. I wanted input from a number of different people, but how do you choose who to ask for feedback? Do you take a survey to the streets and ask random strangers? Maybe… it would depend on who you are. For my business, I chose to reach out to my family, friends and my community.
Self
Before asking anyone, I started with myself. I decided to write down all my strengths, values, and qualities. The list was long. This process took a while, however, I wanted to make sure I understood what my practice would stand for. I wanted to make sure that if I changed my niche, the name of my practice wouldn’t need to change.
Here are some words that were on my list:
- Communication
- Trust
- Connection
- Strength
- Comfort
- Openness
- Willingness
- Love
- Family
Family
While I was working on my list, I reached out to my family. I asked them for feedback about me. Yes, I asked for feedback about who they saw when they looked in my direction or what they thought were my qualities. I asked them to list my strength as a person, not as a counsellor. Knowing my family, I am sure they thought I was crazy. However, the response was amazing.
Here are some of the replies I received:
- You are strong and confident
- You are compassionate
- You are open to listening
- You make me feel comfortable
- I feel safe with you
- I feel heard
Community and Friends
Now let’s face it, family can be biased.
I decided to ask my community and friends. I sent out a survey to find out what they thought were my strengths and qualities were. This was a huge help. By reaching out to my friends and my community, I was able to receive raw, honest feedback on what people saw.
Without the help of my family, friends, and my community I would never have figured out that “Strength Within” was more than just the name of my counselling practice. It is my mantra and something that I hold close to me when life gets me down. It is my comfort on bad days and my gentle nudge letting me know that no matter what comes my way, I have everything within myself to face it.
This was an exercise in self-discovery. I encourage you to explore yourself from within and out, and reflect on who you are and what you stand for. If you were to start a counselling practice, what would you call it… what is your mantra? Share in the comments below!
Check out a video of our Counselling Therapist Program.
