How the girl boss industrial complex ruined naming.

THIS IS GOING TO STING A BIT.

The ___ Haus.

The Empowered Collective.

The Aligned AF Academy.

Something Soul. Something Wild. Something Method.

At one point, these names felt fresh. Feminine. A little rebellious.Now? They all sound like they came out of the same Facebook group circa 2019.

If I already called you out, stay with me. There’s hope for your name yet.

This is what happens when naming becomes performative.  An act in full costume. A visceral example of "Keeping up with the Joneses'" in your industry. 

You know the vibe. You can’t escape it. The “Haus” brands are minimal, modern, Helvetica’d to death. The “Collective” ones are soft, probably sage green...

(Names 🤝 Design is a conversation for another day)

HOW WE GOT HERE: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GIRLBOSS

Once upon a mid-2010s Instagram scroll, “starting a business” stopped meaning brick-and-mortar and started meaning “build an empire from Bali with your laptop and a ring light.”

Enter: the Girlboss Industrial Complex.

Suddenly everyone was a coach, a consultant, a creative –  a something-preneur. The popularity contest we all survived in high school? Hired a PR team. Rebranded. Apologized. Claimed she’d “changed,” then launched a nonprofit called “The Algorithm.” 

Next thing ya know, she’d slinked off to her millennial pink office and subtweeted about how you’re a loser if you can’t donate your time, energy and nervous system to the cause. 

But, if you did, you were invited to sit with her, circle jerk with other donors, and were given a complimentary blazer to wear braless and barefoot at your next brand photoshoot…

And that’s how, in the midst of it all, brands (and their NAMES!) became the casualty of aesthetic peer pressure.

Our corner of the internet (The Girlboss Industrial Complex, officially) developed its own language— the “I help” bio formulas, the plug-and-play content calendars, the thought-leader starter packs... and yes, the names.

Blame B-School. Rachel Hollis. The course that promised 6 figures in 6 weeks.

But honestly? Blame the pressure to be palatable.

Most of us didn’t sign up to be Girlbosses, to sit at the table with Regina and the other coaches coaching coaches. We signed up to do what we’re actually good at. But the algorithm doesn’t care about nuance. It wants content. Fast.

So, in an effort to keep up, at the speed required of us to stay relevant, we weren’t naming with clarity or conviction—we were naming with ViBeS. And the vibes said: be soft, be spiritual, be professional, be clear > clever, be familiar within your niche. (Cause that makes sense...)

And as a result, we're all swimming in a "sea" of same names that say nothing and yet SO MUCH all at once.

Can you guess?

• "My coach said to be clear > clever.

• "I'm launching in 30 days so let's just call it [x] -- for now." (Famous last words.)

• "This one got the most votes on my IG poll."

None of which feel intentional, strategic, or like there was any conviction or pride in the process!!

These kind of names sound like they belong in the online business world because they were designed to.

WHY THESE NAMES DON’T WORK ANYMORE

Let’s be clear: the problem isn’t that you used the word "Collective."

The problem is that everyone else did too. What used to signal community now reads as filler. What used to feel elevated now feels algorithmically generated. (And it might be - see this blog!!!)

Disclaimer here too: some people just like the word "collective". Some people DO still use it to signal community. I've offered it as an option to clients whose criteria allowed for it! You just have to be intentional and strategic about it. Don't slap it on at the end like punctuation or default to it because the other ideas were harder to think of.

Here’s why those once-trendy names are dragging your brand down:

• They’re generic. If I can’t remember if it’s “The Empowered Haus” or “The Embodied Academy,” your name isn’t helping. It’s blending in.

• They don’t differentiate. Your name should spark curiosity. Hint at your POV. Start a damn conversation.

• They’re SEO kryptonite. Try googling “Soul Method” and tell me how that goes.

• They age fast. What felt edgy in 2019 now feels like it came with a free PDF and access to a Facebook group.

VIBES ≠ VISION: PERFORMATIVE NAMING EXPLAINED

Here’s the part no one likes to admit: A lot of the names out of the Girlboss Industrial Complex were just safety blazers.

They felt empowering. Ethereal. Non-threatening. Elusive enough to be sexy and dangerous. Vague enough to work for anyone—which means they said nothing about you. They just made you look a certain way to other people. They shaped perception exactlyyyy as intended.

A study in the Journal of Business Research found that brand names shape perception before someone even evaluates the product.

But safety blazers won’t stay “in” forever. Real naming—the kind that you don’t have to cover up—is rooted in messaging. It starts with knowing what you do, who you do it for, and why it’s different.

That’s how we ended up here: mistaking familiarity for clarity, and confusing trendiness for strategy.

YOUR NAMING DETOX & GLOW-UP

If you’ve been rocking a “Haus,” “Collective,” or “Method” name and it works for you, Excellent. Thank you for reading this far, I guess. If you’ve been considering one of those “Girlboss Industrial Complex-y” names and I’ve successfully talked you out of it – WOO!

Let’s talk options: 1. You hire me. 2. You read the Capital Offenses, develop your own naming criteria, and DIY. I have plenty resources for that.

Here’s a quick & dirty rundown about names NOW:

• They're specific.

• They spark curiosity. 

• They have personality.

• They mean something. 

Good names create resonance. Making people feel something—before they ever read on.

The rest of the world is catching on, and the complex is crumbling. Mwahaha.