Why I Named My Business Good Smart Funny (and what it says about my coaching style)
What’s in a name? “Let’s do good, be smart and find the funny in all things.”
The business name I chose works for a few reasons. It aligns a lot with my values and I wanted my business to be reflective of me. I mean…it is me. The brainstorm at the beginning of this coaching/consulting business journey looked something like this:
GOOD:
Being “good” isn’t about perfection or performance, it’s about intention. In fact, it’s more about doing good…for ourselves and for others. Eff being good.
In my coaching practice, good means leading with care. It means creating spaces where people feel seen, heard, and valued. It’s about aligning actions with values, showing up with integrity, and helping leaders build work cultures that center being human.
I believe doing good work starts with being a good human—and I help leaders do both.
SMART:
Smart is all about leading with curiosity. It isn't just about having the answers. It's about asking the right questions.
My coaching is rooted in clarity, curiosity, and practical wisdom. I draw on years of experience in leadership and HR, bring data when it’s helpful, and offer frameworks that support decision-making without the overwhelm.
Smart means helping leaders think critically, act intentionally, and grow confidently.
FUNNY:
We take the work seriously, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously.
Funny is about bringing lightness into the heavy stuff. It’s about making space for joy, humor, and perspective…even in hard conversations.
Coaching with me often includes laughter, real talk, and a deep belief that transformation doesn’t have to be painful to be powerful.
I’ve had this company name tucked away in the pocket of my brain for quite some time. I’ve always had the entrepreneurial itch, and each time I imagined starting my own coaching or consulting practice, this was the name: Good Smart Funny. So when 2020 turned everything upside down and I finally launched my own leadership coaching business, the name was not something I had to stew on. I knew what I would call my business. It’s based on the most successful marketing campaign I have ever launched: My chemistry.com dating profile.
I’ll start over. In my late 20s (2009-ish), single in San Francisco, I built a profile on chemistry.com. Essentially, you make a profile page, answer a somewhat detailed personality quiz and then chemistry matches you with presumably compatible individuals. This page leads with a headline…the grab. It then has sections for your photos and little blurbs you write about yourself that can act as a basic intro and conversation starter. So, my headline: Good girl. Smart girl. Funny girl. I based it off of some obscure lyrics I always liked from a Bare Naked Ladies track circa 1992. I uploaded a couple of photos and professed my love of things like writing letters, dining in restaurants and goat cheese. (my version of “long walks on the beach”) One day I was matched with a blue-eyed accountant. His headline: Professional Bean Counter. We exchanged a couple of notes within the site and he ended his with, “by the way…is your headline from that Bare Naked Ladies song? If so, that’s cool.” He knew the song?!? And he thought my obscure reference to it was cool?!? We’ve been together for 15 years. Married for 11.