Sometimes choosing a business name or product name can be daunting. There are limitless possibilities and untold consequences. But naming a business or naming a product should not be impossible. Here are four guidelines that will help you get started.

1. Start early in the alphabet.
2. Be easy to remember.
3. Be descriptive.
4. Have verb-adjective potential.

1. Start early in the alphabet.

It is generally a good idea to pick a name that starts with the first four or five letters of the alphabet. The reason is simple—lists of things usually occur alphabetically (i.e.: the phone book), and most of the action happens at the top.

2. Be easy to remember.

It is great to have a cool name like Cuil, but it is a great deal better to have a name people can remember to spell correctly. Now, being easy to remember does not mean banality. You can open a whole treasure trove of possibilities when you start looking at acronyms and morphemes.

3. Be descriptive.

The name AgileMBA for this site because it is descriptive. This site relates to light, changing, dynamic business. Google chose its name because the founders were indexing a large number of websites, albeit they spelled the number incorrectly and the name fits their brainiac strategy.

4. Have verb-adjective potential.

The name does not need to be a verb, just have the verb potential. You can “google” something, you can “slashdot” an article, or you can become an “agilemba.” Anyway you choose it, verb-adjective potential is a potent force.

Keep in mind, the above are just guidelines. Pick and choose to fit your strategy, niche, or market. Whatever you do, make sure you do pick something.