Help Me Name This Business

[OldWomanThyme]

Hi, my son in law has decided to branch out on his own and start his own little business.
We were all trying to think of a name for the business (all on face time I should add) and I said I'd put it to the mumsnetters.
He is a gas engineer so will be fitting and repairing boilers, everything gas heating related and also plumbing.
Hes not overly keen on using his name or initials.
Any ideas oh wise ones?

Is honestly just use his name. Why complicate things for a business of one? If he's a sole trader who does what they says on the tin just promote himself as Joe Smith, gas engineer

The Heat Is On

Keep it simple so potential customers know what he does by the business name rather than a 'clever' name.
So 'yourtownname' gas and plumbing

I think he should go with something to make him stand out on the Gas Safe website - he'll list what he does on there so something a bit different will help.

Or
Taps and Gas
Gas on Tap
Hot Plumber
Hot water

I agree with keep it simple, if he's not comfortable using his own name maybe his home town.
Personally, I trust someone who uses their own name more.

Gassed off

Goodness not 'Hot Plumber'!
Having a name that's a corny pun would put me off. So initials or name.

Something that signifies the local area and add on the services he offers. So if he were in Lancashire for example, I'd suggest Red Rose Heat and Gas Engineer or similar. When I'm looking for someone I need to know what they do and what area they cover and I'm more likely to remember something connected to the area than a person's name. It makes it easier to sell the business and associated social media presence if he wants to do something else instead in the future.

Hot Plumber hes already got a big head!
The reason he doesn't want to use his initials is they spell out something dodgy

Super Mario Plumbing and Heating
Or
Mario's Plumbing and Heating

There are lots of variations of "super mario"

Would 'surname' plumbing and heating be boring?
eg "smithys plumbing and heating services"
(Not real name)

Who cares if it's boring. What matters is recommendations and reviews. Oh and price. Could not care less about a cheap and cheesy name

Town or county heating and plumbing engineer - it will come up high on google searches.

He liked 'town or county' heating etc but its already out there. This is the problem, so many companies out there.

Maybe use alliteration

Perfect plumbing
Precise plumbing
Or a play on words
Plumbing great
Plumbing marvellous

Life's a gas?
I'm ashamed of myself

Bubble and Squeak

Thats what gives me gas

Cooking up!

Hang on, no.

Trades businesses rely on confidence, in competence and in health & safety, so flippant or humorous names or puns are a risk for a new business of this type. Remember what you're trying to express. Expertise. Reliability. Safety.

In saturated business areas you need to be very specific about who you are and what you do, especially when you're new. Think about what you'd search for. Maybe your name could be adapted later as an acronym or shortened to include other trades? You'd want that to have your name right there on it at the start.

A real name is good, it conveys the sort of "so good I'm willing to put my name on it" vibe.

Locality or regional elements signify experience or expertise. With or without personal name attached.

Hard to offer suggestions without knowing your region (or saturation of similar businesses) but previous suggestions Surname Town & Country Gas & Plumbing might fit? Or replace T&C with local or regional term?

Hi OP, I'm a copywriter and I work mainly in marketing.

If possible he should choose a name which includes the area he wants to concentrate on.

Such as "Burnham Plumbing" or "Weybridge Heating" or whatever.

This will help him with SEO.

I also advise that he immediately gets a basic website and social media pages. Facebook is most important for businesses of this nature.

It's also very important that he gets a Google Business account and updates it regularly.

Most people look online and if you've no online presence it will be hard to get work.

Thanks so much for all the advice, especially bettybeans and fortunesfave

It is a saturated business and "area" names do seem to be taken already, so he keeps going back to 'initials'
I agree that he shouldn't use jokey or cheesy titles as it's a serious subject as such.
Since finishing with the company he worked for he has had plenty of work to keep him busy but without a van he is limited. since lockdown hasn't been doing so much but has been looking into setting up.on his own.
So there is work out there and someone he knows said he would use him as a regular in his small rental and property business.
I was wondering about 'Gastech' or 'Gas Solutions' but not sure if they've been used.

I'm more interested in what his his dodgy initials are

I would always be wary of a business with a cutesy or punny name. They sound a bit shit. I would pick a business with just a name (first name-last name) it just sounds more genuine and less dodgy.