Third times the charm, right?

When I started my own business, I offerred errand running services, personal assitant services, dog/home services, etc. The name, My Girl Friday was a great name that reflected all the services I offerred.

A year later, I decided to focus solely on event planning. My Girl Friday didn't really fit the bill anyone, so I brainstormed a new name and decided to re-brand my company. I am all about creating an event that reflects the person it's for, so "Signature Events" was a great choice. Bella means beautiful in French, and I had just had my second daughter and named her Isabella. So, Bella Signature Events was born. Just as every person who is brainstorming ideas for their business should, I checked with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) website. I checked their database for the business name I was interested in, and as luck would have it, nobody had trademarked Bella Signature Events. Score! Bella Signature Events was my new business name, and the rest was history.

Wel, the rest was history until a month ago. I was contacted by a company out on the westcoast called Bella Signature Design. They have been doing business as that name for over a decade and have service marked that name. They explained to me that Bella Signature Events is close enough to Bella Signature Design, and since they own the rights to that name, I need to cease and desist. Too bad the USPTO website didn't explain that to me. Hence the reason one should ALWAYS hire a lawyer when setting up a business. Another lesson learned the hard way. Not my first and it probably won't be my last. Incredibly frustrating, but I will move on!

So, time to think of a THIRD name for my business. There were quite a few business names I was throwing around when I was brainstorming Bella Signature Events. Events Refined had been in the running, but it took second place. I liked the idea of incorporating a family name into my business name, hence the reason Bella Signature Events took first. However, after being reminded by MANY people how my Emma might be angry that I didn't name the business after her, I decided the third time around it would be best to leave family member's names out of the business name. So, Events Refined it is. I hope you enjoy the new business name. There are also some new (and very exciting I must say) events that I will get to announce right after the New Year. Stay tuned!