AMy state finally passed a cottage food law! :) I'm pretty giddy about it and plan to start doing the necessary paperwork to get started very soon. The only problem is, I'm having slight difficulty deciding on a name. I can't start an llc without a name. I've narrowed it down to 2:

Cakes by manddi-I worry that people will misspell my name... The cake cave-my husband and I have a mother in law house (that neither one of our mothers in law are invited to live in) so he's been using it as his "man cave." It sees very little use save for a couple football parties a year so I'm taking it over ;) (no, he doesn't mind) and thought that the cake cave was kinda cute.

I'd love others thoughts and any other suggestions would be great too! Thanks!

No offense to anyone here on Cake Central, but I think that the "Cakes by... X" name is over saturated.  And with a name with an odd spelling (I can say that, I'm Jenniffer with an extra "F") you might just be driving your customers to "Cakes by Mandy" or "Cakes by Mandi" or "Cakes by Mandie".

I'm not entirely certain I like the Cake Cave either.  When I hear the word "cave" I think of mud, dirt, bats, and bugs.  I guess you can tell I'm no spellunker, huh?  But I would choose that over "Cakes by..." any day.

You mentioned your shop would be in a converted mother-in-law suite (the former man cave).  Suite evokes thoughts of luxury ("the presidential suite") and is of course a homonym of "sweet".  Have you considered something like "The Sweet Suite", or "The Cake Suite"?
 

AThe best names come from your competitive advantages...what are they?

AI agree that cakes by x is overdone. Add my funny spelling and that makes it a no go.

I'm pretty outdoorsy so dirt, bugs, and bats didn't cross my mind. Thanks for your thoughts on that! I'm pretty big into Archery and I had a fleeting thought of including that somehow. Maybe going by archers cakes(just a brainstorm). Archery and cakes are 2 completely different hobbies and I probably need to keep it that way. Lol

My biggest competitive advantage is that the closest bakery (about the same price range) to me is a good 25-30 minute drive.

I go by a combination of earlene's and wilton's chart so my serving sizes are a tad larger than the industry standard.

I'm pretty good at figures and flowers. I'm detail oriented; I believe the smallest details make all the difference in a good cake vs a great cake.

Other than that I don't guess I'd offer anything that other bakeries shouldn't: delivery, follow up email, etc.

AOops! I meant "... that other bakeries wouldn't"

AIs the closest bakery in another town? That would give you the chance to claim the name of your town for your bakery, which is what would set you apart.

I agree with cupadeecakes and choose neither :)  However, I don't agree that your name comes from your competitive advantage. Some of the biggest companies in the world have obscure names...Zappos, Apple, Nike. While these are well-branded and well-known companies, I don't think you need to pick a name based on what you offer that's different from your competition. The way you operate will differentiate you from your competition. Unless you offered something *really* different, like all vegan, or only wedding cakes, then it would make sense to incorporate it into your name somehow.

My best advice it to write a big list of words that appeal to you, and stem from that. When I would have writer's block in college, my professor would have us make flash cards of words that we like, pick one, then brainstorm from that.

You like detail...so you could start brainstorming from that - detail, feature, devil is in the details, devilishly sweet cakes? What's your town like? County? City? Kikiandkyle has a good point with the town name. If you don't want to use the actual town name, think of characteristics of your town, then brainstorm off that word. Will you only do cakes, or will you do cupcakes and cookies? Be careful you don't pigeonhole yourself with a name if you plan on doing more than cakes. For example, use "bake shop", or "sweets", instead of the word cakes.

Good luck!

The Cake Cave flows nicely, but I agree that I think of a cave as a cold, dark, dank place...  not somewhere that would inspire me to purchase a cake from, LOL!

I like the suggestions of The Sweet Suite or The Cake Suite (although you risk people not being able to spell suite properly....  don't assume Joe Public has any common sense!!)

A

They are well-branded and well-known because they spend millions of dollars on advertising. If you don't have a big ad budget, it can be very helpful to let your business's name do its own marketing.

If she has a specific target or niche, it would make sense, but there's hardly any room for differentiation in the cake world these days. Everyone makes nice cakes, everyone makes delicious cakes, how many different ways can you possibly say that. Your work, work ethic, and customer service will do the marketing for you. Word of mouth is the best advertising, so make your name an easy one to say ;)

AY'all have great ideas! Thank y'all so much for taking the time to give me a few things to think about!

Any thoughts on alliteration? Better batter bake house

When I hear  The Cake Cave, I actually picture a small bake shop tucked in a little street somewhere. I also wouldn't expect to see pink cupcakes as I walk in.

What about

The Cake Cottage?

A

Opinions on any of these? I like getting an outside point of view since others catch things that I sometimes don't (the cake cave being a perfect example!).

I agree with everyone else, especially about using your town name. Anyone googling cakes in your area will type "yourtown" and cakes which can only be a good thing for you if that's also the name of your shop.

AI should've mentioned sooner that my town is way too small. I doubt anyone would be googling for a custom cake here. We don't even have a red light...

I'm only a few minutes away from the next town over so I'm not so far out that people wouldn't come to me but I can't use the next towns name since I don't live there.

A

Sure you can, there's no rule that says you have to be located in a town to use its name.

ATouché but I'm quite certain that people would wonder why I named my place after the next town over; and be irritated that they had to drive 10 mins further than my business name implied ;)

AYou don't want to have a name that's too long or complicated for many reasons.

Answering the phone, typing it out all the time, having people remember it, the website address being too finicky, etc etc.

ACupid's Cakes, or something like that. You can tie in your love of archery into your logo.