Changing your name for all the right reasons: perhaps the only thing harder than settling on a name for a company is having to change it after it's become well established.

Changing the name of your business is a difficult decision. Sometimes you have to do it due to a merger or acquisition. Sometimes you do it just for the sake of doing it. But sometimes, you do it out of necessity.

That was the case with Sparta WoodWorks, a 108-year-old company with a rich history. Pounded by my great-grandfather as Sparta Spoke Factory, we recently went through the complicated process of changing the company name.

And to be perfectly honest, the name change was long overdue. We have not made wagon spokes for about 50 years. But our name was closely linked with our quality of work; we didn't want to lose that association.

While Sparta Spoke Factory was an attribute with our existing customers, we came to realize that we were often being passed over when new purchasing agents looked for custom wood components. They would see "Spoke Factory" and simply assume that all we did was make spokes.

That may have been true years ago, but not today. Our focus has changed. We craft custom wood components, and there was nothing in our old name to imply that.

Of course, you cannot just approach changing your company's name carelessly. At least we could not. We knew that changing Sparta Spoke's name would not--and could not--happen overnight.

It was also an emotional issue. My great-grandfather came up with the name and I did not want to trample on tradition. But times change. In today's competitive climate, we could not continue to lose business based on our name.

And so the process began. First, from information provided by Pete Page, our sales representative of Wood & Wood Products, we developed criteria for the new name. Keeping some aspect of Sparta Spoke Factory in the new name was important. It also had to be:

* Pleasant and simple to understand and pronounce;

* Descriptive of the benefits our company provides to customers;

* Unique and capable of distinguishing us from other companies;

* Future friendly, not trendy.

After researching competitors' names and receiving input from friends, family, customers mid Sparta Spoke woodcrafters, we compiled a list of possible names. In six months, the register grew to 135 ideas.

The list had everything from "Goods from the Woods" to "Woodcrafters of Sparta." One of the earliest suggestions from a woodcrafter was Sparta WoodWorks. We trimmed down the list to about 25 or so names that scored highly with the set of criteria. Then we got another opinion.

We consulted our marketing firm, MMA Creative, also based in middle Tennessee. The group held a "Brain Train" session to come up with an alliterative, descriptive name. Out of their list of names and the list from Sparta Spoke, MMA's team suggested Sparta WoodWorks.

Since two sources had suggested the same name, we felt comfortable with Sparta WoodWorks. It fills the criteria, it links us to our long heritage in Sparta, and it has a great double meaning to it. It tells our customers what we do (we work wood into components), and also implies our unique guarantee of 100 percent good components on time (our wood works for our customers).

Of course, a major concern was the reaction of our customers. Would they fear the change? To reassure them, we contraindicated a simple message: "New name, same company." Their response has been incredibly positive.

We believe our company now has a good name in two senses. First, we have developed a good new name--Sparta WoodWorks. Second, we have built a good name for more than a century. And that is what is really most important to us. As a wise man once said, "A good name is more desirable than great riches."

R. Les Tubb is the president and CEO of Sparta WoodWorks. Founded in 1896 by his great-grandfather, the company continues its tradition of crafting custom hardwood components. To learn more about Sparta WoodWorks and its capabilities, visit www.spartawoodworks.com or call [phone].