Bill Myers

The name you choose for your product or service can determine its success or failure

When Arnold Schwarzenegger first came to the US, he teamed up with fellow body builder Franco Columbu, and they went into business as bricklayers, seeking clients in the wealthy sections of Los Angeles.

Even though they significantly underpriced their competitors, they couldn't get many customers, so Arnold consulted with a businessman friend to find out what they might be doing wrong.

The friend told him, "It's your fractured english. Your wealthy clientele can't see the value in hiring a budget-priced crew which may have difficulty with the language."

The businessman suggested that Arnold and Franco raise their prices to well above what everyone else was charging, and promote their services as 'speciality European bricklayers.'

They took his advice, and soon had more jobs than they could handle. They discovered that people who didn't want to hire 'cheap foreign laborers' were more than happy to pay almost double for 'speciality European bricklayers.'

Moral: A carefully chosen product name can quickly change the perceived value of what you offer, and can attract positive attention and eager customers.