Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 89 total)
  • 'Bird'. Offensive and derogatory… or not?
  • flowerpower
    Free Member

    ‘DIY gal’ is a similar business local to me. Works better with a northern / Scots accent.

    Personally don’t find gal, bird or chick offensive.

    poolman
    Free Member

    As above my maintenance man is just called his name, so thats what he trades as. He is fairly well established though so i suppose if you are new and getting going you need to grab attention.

    Lady gardener is brilliant

    Edukator
    Free Member

    I think something like:

    Mrs DIY,
    Mrs realnamehere – I fix, repair and make good.

    Something that doesn’t include anything that could be misconstrued or cause offense would cause her less trouble. “Mrs” clearly indicates marriage, then add something that tell people what she does without sounding like a “professional” out of the personal columns.

    dawson
    Full Member

    There is a van that I see round our way that says ‘Heather – The lady painter’ on the side.

    I presume she is a decorator, but it does conjour a certain image

    Nico
    Free Member

    It’s not offensive per sé

    “per se” is Latin. No accent required.

    I’ll get my brown shirt.

    neilthewheel
    Full Member

    ChixFix

    perchypanther
    Free Member

    ChixFix

    Coke AND Hookers?

    stevious
    Full Member

    Feel like the earlier mention of Lady DIY didn’t get the credit it deserves.

    perchypanther
    Free Member

    Equally, if not more, cheesy……

    Fixin’ Vixen

    perchypanther
    Free Member

    Faster Pussycat, Drill! Drill!

    cinnamon_girl
    Full Member

    Mmmm, would avoid obvious gender reference in name of company. Perhaps refer to gender in description. I’d be worried about perverts phoning!

    gavtheoldskater
    Free Member

    Name doesn’t give off a professional vibe

    rubbish, that handy bird is a brilliant name. which proves just how subjective branding really is. take it to extremes i can’t stand nike but i like adidas.

    i would say go for it, slightly off the wall names really do make a difference and get noticed. if it really does not work then re-think.

    bird is a common term in west cornwall, my wife calls everyone ‘bird’.

    kayak23
    Full Member

    Senorita with a Makita

    gavtheoldskater
    Free Member

    if you want some advice though, best thing to do is play around with some logo ideas or if you can’t create logos yourself sit down with google images, pinterest et al and make a scrap book of the vibe you would like. for instance ‘that handy bird’ suggests a more folksy handwritten type feel and certainly would not work with a classic fonts… imho of course.

    bodgy
    Free Member

    ‘Bird’ is definitely derogatory unless you are a bird, or your name is ‘Bird’.

    I would avoid a gender specific name, but being female is a positive selling point if marketed the right way.

    finbar
    Free Member

    LaDIY

    jambourgie
    Free Member

    bird is a common term in west cornwall, my wife calls everyone ‘bird’.

    Well as long as all her customers are from West Cornwall or 1970’s Liverpool she’ll be fine 😉

    BigJohn
    Full Member

    Handy Lass. For cash in hand jobs.

    bodgy
    Free Member

    Off topic-ish.

    There’s a lesbian couple that have a business called ‘Lady Gardeners’ near me. Can’t help thinking they’ve missed a trick; ‘Les Jardiniers’ would have been SOOOOOOOO much better.

    councilof10
    Free Member

    Drill Bits ‘n’ Tits
    Screws ‘n’ Shoes
    Brigitte Silicones
    Gritty Woman
    Cakes & Ladders
    Hammer & Nail Varnish

    (You’re welcome)

    BigJohn
    Full Member

    Les Jardinieres, surely?

    molgrips
    Free Member

    I don’t think it’s a good name. Even if she as a lady is using it herself, the existence of such terms perpetuates them. People take their cues from what’s around them.

    bodgy
    Free Member

    Les Jardinieres, surely?

    Les Jardiniers = Gardeners
    Les Jardinieres = the planters

    I wasn’t aware of the distinction until I just looked it up, but either could work, I guess. It’s the ‘Les’ bit that gives the humour.

    bodgy
    Free Member

    Hammer & Nail Varnish

    That is brilliant!

    Edukator
    Free Member

    Jardinière is a flower box in my head.

    convert
    Full Member

    Hammer & Nail Varnish

    Sod mine, that’s much better. Irrespective of the contentious nature or otherwise of the word ‘bird’, Hammer and Nail Varnish is just betterer.

    councilof10
    Free Member

    I preferred “Brigitte Silicones”… 😐

    bodgy
    Free Member

    Ah, planter as in flowerbox. That would make sense. Wish I’d listenened more at school. 😕

    jimjam
    Free Member

    Handy Mandy.

    Just googled and there is a handyman near me called “Fonahubby”. Now, ignoring the piss boiling nature of the spelling, it did give me an idea, how about Rent-A-Wife ?

    Cougar
    Full Member

    “per se” is Latin. No accent required.

    Every day’s a school day, thanks for that.

    I particularly like “LaDIY”, though you’re not really DIYing if you’re getting someone else to do it, are you.

    captainsasquatch
    Free Member

    I particularly like “LaDIY”, though you’re not really DIYing if you’re getting someone else to do it, are you.

    It’s 2017 and Grand Designs is full of selfbuilders who employ contractors to do the actual work. No one will notice. 😀

    edenvalleyboy
    Free Member

    Handy Bird sounds like the lower end of the market I.e. cheaper. I’m sure you’d get trade using that name but you’re unlikely to get better prices paid because people see you as professional and superior etc.

    councilof10
    Free Member

    Joking aside, and assuming you’re right and there’s a market for this kind of thing, my ‘sensible’ suggestion would be:

    “Mrs Makegood”

    Recognises she’s female – Tick
    Sounds Positive – Tick
    Describes what she does – Tick
    Sounds a bit “nominative determinism” which people think is cool – Tick

    jimjam
    Free Member

    Kim’ll Fix it.

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    Fix-ey Lady

    Faster Pussycat, Drill! Drill!

    Is obviously the best, though.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    I like handy Mandy, but does it only work if you’ve seen that cartoon about the Mexican handyman?

    rwamartin
    Free Member

    I think the name if any should reflect the market your wife is targeting. If it’s general DIY regardless of the sex of the client I would just use

    (firstname) (lastname)
    Home Repairs and Maintenance

    If she wants to specifically market the fact that it’s a lady doing the work then that could be done either with a reasonably classy company name or a suitable strapline after her name.

    Personally I think company names for sole traders don’t really work and can be a bit offputting if they are a bit silly.

    Rich.

    rocketman
    Free Member

    There are quite a few small business on the industrial estate business park where I work. Many of them use the first letters of their names so we have JonRo, DavRon, RogMic, Two Gs etc

    Not too bad when you put ‘International’ on the end

    perchypanther
    Free Member

    If she wants to specifically market the fact that it’s a lady doing the work then that could be done either with a reasonably classy company name or a suitable strapline after her name.

    Bra-strapline?

    philb88
    Free Member

    Senorita with a Makita

    This one!

Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 89 total)

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