DBA - Trade Names

That is a a good question. I would like to get into bigger things in the next few years myself and do it from a parent company and Colorado ProWash would be only a registered tradename. The parent company would carry all the goods, Insurance, Fax Number etc. and Colorado ProWash would be a dba name. Food for thought.
 
Target marketing - Here in the SouthWest you might want to be Agua Caliente PowerWashing. In the San Fran area you may want - Rainbow Power Washing. Maybe a market would be better with Tyrone Washington Power Wash or in parts of the South - 'White Power' Washing ...
 
I am thinking about using a couple of names as a part of Lenny's Power Washing to let people know we do more then power washing. Like Lenny's Roof Cleaning, Lenny's Windowing Cleaning.
You might need to watch how you list the name to be sure you are covered under your main liability insurance.
 
tomtucson said:
Target marketing - Here in the SouthWest you might want to be Agua Caliente PowerWashing. In the San Fran area you may want - Rainbow Power Washing. Maybe a market would be better with Tyrone Washington Power Wash or in parts of the South - 'White Power' Washing ...
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I cant stop laughing my cheeks hurt!
 
I have been thinking of the same thing. Waiting here some expert advise. Sorry no help from me.
 
I would say why make things so confusing for people. I think people may get scared if they find out you have multiple DBA's. However, it would make sense if the parent company was a broader service oriented business. While the other DBA's were more specific like pressure washing. Just my opinion
 
Cleveland Cleaner said:
I would say why make things so confusing for people. I think people may get scared if they find out you have multiple DBA's. However, it would make sense if the parent company was a broader service oriented business. While the other DBA's were more specific like pressure washing. Just my opinion
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I think what your saying could be true. I think some have established names and now it's hard to handle it.
 
One good reason for multiple names is growth and multiple owners. If you have a great foreman, you can offer him an ownership stake in his own crew under a subsidiary name. That could stop him from leaving you, killing your prices, then (due to lack of capital) drop out of the industry after the two of you have lost all respect for each other...
Complex structures can help solve a lot of problems and instill confidence in some employees. If you're interested, talk with a CPA and they can completely rock your world. They can greatly limit the self employment tax you pay, make your employees work as if they had skin in the game, and add a lot of value to your company if you ever intend to sell.
All of these things can also be accomplished in a much simpler way under one company name, all while under a single set of insurance. Make sure your CPA explains that too! If they can't, back out of the room slowly!
 
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