Once upon a time, I wanted to be a professional violinist. Then I wanted to start a nonprofit.

Today, I’m reflecting on the journey of being a consultant, 8 years after leaving my full time job.

Social workers aren’t taught about self-employment or being consultants (at least this was the case during my MSW school years). If we are, it’s usually related to starting and running a therapy practice.

After 8 years, the lessons I learned after my first year as a consultant are still present, and I also feel the same as I did at the five year mark.

During the five-year mark, I wanted better work-life balance. Now, I realize what I really want is work-life alignment.

There’s various definitions of work-life alignment, but what this means to me is my work and my life are in harmony with each other, with my work being positioned to support the life I want.

This has me thinking about not only where I see my business at the 10 year mark, but also at the 20 year mark and beyond.

It makes me think of legacy.

Today marks 6 years since leaving my employer to run my business full time.

While I no longer talk about the ins and outs of running a business anymore, today is an exception.

Six years ago, I was more excited, more hopeful, less secure in whether this will work out, and restless.  

Today, I’m more confident, more stable, pleased with how things have worked out, and still restless. 

The restlessness comes in large part due to thinking about the future, what comes next, and how I want my business to live beyond me.

One of the most important tasks of starting a business is coming up with your business name. Since I wanted to focus more on what services I wanted to offer, I kept it simple: Nicole Clark Consulting.

Six years later, I’m considering changing my business name.

Much like a newborn baby, coming up with a name that resonates and speaks to your business’ mission can be daunting.

But what’s in a name? Here are my pros and cons for naming a business after yourself: