A brand is very different than having a couple of things you want to put out into the world. A brand has a story.

The first question you must ask: Are you in this for the short or long term? If you choose short-term, your brand name could be very trendy. For example, you could create a brand called YOLO Wear. Will people be saying YOLO five years from now? Probably not.

When Staple created “Staple,” he wanted to create a brand that would be adaptable and last for generations. He was a fan of hip hop, but he wasn’t a fan of how brands like FUBU and Rocawear were portraying the culture.

His first concept was Fan; the logo was a bowl of white rice (fan is the phonetic spelling of rice in Chinese). But he realized the short-coming of the name: you’re only speaking to one demographic or people who happen to be into that demographic. Any brand can have that issue, where you go over people’s heads or just lose them. You want the widest possible audience. Even if your product is a niche product, you want the widest audience for that niche. That’s the first step to success.

He originally called his brand Staple Products. Later, he changed it to Staple Design. In hindsight, Staple Products was a little too generic (each word on its own was generic). ‘Design’ narrowed it down to the creative sector.

So, you have your brand name, now you have to check for copyright. Is this name usable around the world? There are two ways to check: one is a simple Google search. It should be unique enough so that when someone Googles it, it’s the first search result or at least on the first page. Number two is the business side. First, Staple checked whether he could use it in New York City. Go to City Hall and see all of the businesses that have been registered in that city. Then take the proof that you have registered with the state and go to a bank and open a bank account with your company name as your business name. Businesses have a Social Security number; it’s called a Tax ID number. In the beginning, you can have sole proprietorship. This means you and your company share the same social security number. There are pros to this: you don’t have to go through the expense of opening a business. There are legal and accounting fees, you have to start filing taxes if you’re a business, etc. The con is liability. If someone sues you, they can go after you and you personally. If you have a company, you are protected by the corporate shell. You could then decide to fight it or, if you think you’re going to lose, shut your company down and walk away. You just lose whatever is in the company. You’re still protected and you can start another company. Staple’s biggest piece of advice: if you can afford a lawyer, get one early on.

As an entrepreneur, you really have to start becoming confident with your decisions. Having a good brand name is nice, but it all depends on your product and marketing.

When you think about your Mission Statement, if you are thinking long-term, you want a statement that is consistent throughout the collections and the years. Staple’s Mission Statement is “A positive social contagion.” Everything that he does must fall within that statement.