I need to name my new consulting business for the field of admissions in independent school. It is tricky because I want to work with the schools, not with the families of students trying to gain admission to the school. I may also look to represent educational software vendors for enrollment management and financial aid.

My skills are in modernizing the admissions process, improving data analysis and reporting, and assessing office operations for admissions, re-enrollment, financial aid, and data analysis. Many admissions directors are nervous about changing outdated processes, but know they have to get on track. I hope to convey a feeling of partnership and camaraderie in helping get them revamp their processes.

I want the admissions directors and/or heads of schools to find me if they’re looking for support for their admissions office or if they are having difficulty with enrollment.

I’ve considered dozens of ideas from as simple as Enrollment Management Consulting to including words like: Renovation, Modern, Quantum, Larithmics, Catalyst, Catapult, Innovation, Solutions, Services, Audit, Advantage, Mentor.

I would be grateful for your brainstorming ideas!

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Jay’s Answer: Because you have a relatively small market, it’s unlikely that your target audience would choose you based on a online search. It’s much more likely that you’d want to find THEM – advertising in media that they read/watch or in direct (e)mail campaigns. A name alone probably won’t be clear enough to stand on its own (you already pointed out the potential confusion). So, you’ll need a tagline to clarify. The tagline is likely to be something like “For Better/Efficient Independent School Admissions”. Then your name could be something like “Excelsior Consultants”.