What do you think of my logo?

[greenscaper123]

Originally Posted by dpld i think your logo ideas look great but i am curious as to what state you are located in? i only ask because there is a ton of landscape businesses with the same name. NY, Ohio, Florida, Louisville, NC, CT, NJ to name a few and all but one of these companies are huge. there were also many more in other states and all of the sites i came across had elaborate logo's so i would assume none where yours being you are still working on that. i only mention this as a FYI and nothing else and as long as you are in a different state and no one in your state goes by that name then all will be well for you. seems like a real popular name and either way best of luck to you. im in NJ. i just started my business up last year and realized there were a few in the state with this name. i already made up door hangers and this logo and everything so i said screw it. i don't think it will affect my business though. the only guy with this name that's remotely in my area really only focuses on design where as I'm only property maintenance.

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Last edited by greenscaper123; 01-20-2013 at 08:19 AM.

[dpld]

Lawn care business tips

Originally Posted by greenscaper123 im in NJ. i just started my business up last year and realized there were a few in the state with this name. i already made up door hangers and this logo and everything so i said screw it. i don't think it will affect my business though. the only guy with this name that's remotely in my area really only focuses on design where as I'm only property maintenance. i understand what you are saying and why but it don't really matter what you or the other business does because the other business is probably a registered business and pretty much owns the name as far as the state is concerned. plus if you continue to build up this name and then the inevitable happens and you have to change it you will lose far more money and your time dealing with it later then sooner. you are better off biting the bullet and addressing the problem now as well as when you come up with a new name register it with the state of NJ that way you not only will have your own name it will also allow you to see if there is anyone else with the same name to avoid that problem from ever happening again. just trying be helpful because i had someone i know very well run into the same exact problem except he was further along and ended up having to get a lawyer involved and it ended up being a big mess for him financially as well as it set him back with his business because he had to start all over again. either way what ever you do good luck.

[TroyValdez]

Originally Posted by dpld

plus if you continue to build up this name and then the inevitable happens and you have to change it you will lose far more money and your time dealing with it later then sooner.
you are better off biting the bullet and addressing the problem now as well as when you come up with a new name register it with the state of NJ that way you not only will have your own name it will also allow you to see if there is anyone else with the same name to avoid that problem from ever happening again.

Absolutely agree with you dpld...

[greenscaper123]

Originally Posted by dpld

you are better off biting the bullet and addressing the problem now as well as when you come up with a new name register it with the state of NJ that way you not only will have your own name it will also allow you to see if there is anyone else with the same name to avoid that problem from ever happening again.

see that's what I don't understand though.. when I registered my name they told me that it came up but that it was ok. I suggested registering a different name and they told me it would be alright. I have 40 customers now and just made up 15,000 postcards with greenscapes on it so I'm not quite sure how I go about changing my name at this point. maybe that's something to look into next year..

[Grass Doctor]

Originally Posted by TroyValdez

what do you think ...

i like this one just take the mario bros mostacho from under need the grass

[dpld]

Originally Posted by greenscaper123

see that's what I don't understand though.. when I registered my name they told me that it came up but that it was ok. I suggested registering a different name and they told me it would be alright. I have 40 customers now and just made up 15,000 postcards with greenscapes on it so I'm not quite sure how I go about changing my name at this point. maybe that's something to look into next year..

who ever gave you that information does not know their @zz from a hole in the ground and it is not gonna help you when the crap hits the fan.
the people who have the name first are not gonna care that you were foolish enough to print 15,000 post cards not to mention printing them with someone else's name on them.

why you printed 15,000 post cards is a whole other topic in itself regardless of who's name is on them but we will stick to the topic at hand.

clearly you registered with the county you live in and not the state and the county registration has no authority what so ever and if you did register with the state they would have stopped you before you even started because the state is the end all be all.

there are 3 companies under greenscapes in nj and 2 are fly by nights and the third is a million dollar company and when they catch wind of it they will act accordingly.
no one is gonna bust their @zz building up a name only to find someone else using it and let that slide, it is just common sense.
my friend is in morris county and got his balls busted by a guy in mercer county.

why would you want a name that any other business has? what happens if someone does not have your number handy and they look up greenscapes and get directed to the other guys?

having the same business name as another will always hurt you more then it will help you and it looks to be as you are letting your wallet make the decision instead of common business sense being your guide.

just trying to help you and save you some hassle down the road because you will either have to deal with i now or later and it will only be harder the longer you wait.

[Steve]

my friend is in morris county and got his balls busted by a guy in mercer county.

Without giving any names, can you tell us a little about what happened and what the outcome was? It sounds like a great learning and life lesson for everyone.

[dpld]

Originally Posted by Steve

Without giving any names, can you tell us a little about what happened and what the outcome was? It sounds like a great learning and life lesson for everyone.

my friend's business name was guardian plant health care and when he started it he registered with morris county and then he went down to monmouth county to do a job for a family member and unknown to him was a business named guardian lawn service.

while down there working the other company's landscape buddies saw his truck and name in the driveway and the company named guardian lawn care only did applications and he gave all his landscaper friends the construction and mowing work.
well when they seen the truck in the driveway they thought their buddy was no longer gonna give them work and assumed he started doing it himself so they all called the dude up and tore him a new one.
next thing you know the dude at guardian lawn care drove to the job and read the riot act to my friend and told him he has been in business for over twenty years and has his whole life and tons of money invested into his name and my friend said he was registered in morris county and normally does not work in his area and was only down there because it was for a family member.

at that point in time my friend tried to be very diplomatic about it and told the guy that even though it may seem similar that their names and the types of business they do are not the same.

the guy in monmouth was a lawn applicator business like a chem-lawn and my friend was a landscape construction and tree and shrub spraying co and assured the guy that unless he see's him at that particular house that he has no plans in working in this guys turf.

so they exchanged cards and left off on friendly terms and then a couple days past by and next thing you know my buddy got a certified letter in the mail from the other dudes attorney telling him to stop doing business under that name or he was gonna take him to court. at that point my friend was pissed that the guy did that being they left off on good terms and was taken back by how aggressive the guy had become about the situation so he was like screw this guy, let him take me to court.

well he did, and he not only had the money to go to battle the judge ruled that being the guy was registered with the state and doing business under that name long before my friend as well as the businesses also catered to the same type of customers the judge ruled in his favor.

so my friend ended up having to re-name the business, re-letter his trucks get new stationary and change all his advertising even get new shirts and hats and every little detail to owning a business.
on top of all those costs and issues he even had issues with some of his clients because they though the sudden change of name was do to financial issues like he was skirting tax problems.
it is not uncommon that some people will run a business into the ground and rack up debt and then claim chapter 11 and start up under a different name with a different tax ID #.
plus it was like he was starting all over again and he had to build the name up all over again.

i could go on all night about this but the morale of the story is, with all the information we have available today including the internet when you can easily see that there are other people operating under the same name and you know damn well that they came before you.
use a different name.
and before you even settle on a name, make sure it is not taken.
there are business names already registered that no longer exist and no matter how original we like to think we are, chances are that someone thought of it before you.

i personally could care less what this young lad does and the only reason why i brought it up was because when i seen the name and logo i said, " i know i seen this name before " so i typed it in google search and i got like 10 pages of greenscapes all over the country.

i just figured i would pass my experience that i witnessed my friend go through and i would try to save him a ton of pain and anguish down the line because the further he gets down the line with this name the more hassle it is gonna be when the doo doo hits the fan.

[Steve]

That really should give us all something to think about. Great story.