Hola Teddy; Naming the Blog
How did I come up with the name Hola Teddy?
Let’s see – the name “Early Retirees Who Sold Everything They Owned to Live in Puerto Vallarta and Travel the World with their Dog” was already taken. (Sorry for that dash of salt… my smart-aleck streak is still strong!)
Seriously though, that’s what this blog is about. It’s about the journey Brad and I are on currently. Within 90-days, we went from being busy executives/professionals who led large teams and NEVER stopped working (weekend, what’s a weekend?!) to retirees living a dream. I will write more on that specific topic in the future, but I’ll stay on task for now. How do you choose a name to encompass such a long-winded niche?
Maybe you don’t. Is there a clever name that covers all the bases? I used this question to completely overanalyze the matter!
Things I considered before choosing the name Hola Teddy
I never dreamed that choosing a blog name would be akin to choosing a child’s name. Clearly, that is an exaggeration, but it does bear some commonalities. These are a few of the rambling thoughts I had:
- Must be easy to say and spell – I knew if we went with something that included our last name, Mallett, we would struggle with people forgetting an “L” or a “T”. It happens all the time with our email addresses.
- Keep it Simple – I often roll my eyes when people name a business something long and drawn out. If you give something a long name, you need to consider what people will actually call it. Example: Do you remember the show Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place? After two seasons, that name became Two Guys and a Girl.
- Does the name lend itself to graphic design? I love a good theme. Give me a theme, I will brand the living daylights out of it. As long as the name and logo fits in the pocket area of a t-shirt, it will work.
- Do I like it? Does it mean anything to ME? – At the end of the day, there’s a 99% chance I am the only person who will spend more than two minutes on Hola Teddy. If I plan on spending a ton of time on it, I better love it.
- If I use Teddy’s name, will people think it’s a blog exclusively about dogs? That is entirely possible. Will they be disappointed when they see only a small portion of the blog is about our dog? Maybe. We can cross that bridge when we come to it.
- Teddy will not live forever. Do I have to change the blog name when he passes? Wow, I went dark in a hurry, didn’t I? Teddy will turn 9 years old this year. He’s getting grey and is getting crankier by the day. (I feel you, Ted.) Optimistically, we have another 6-ish years with this crazy chihuahua who runs our lives. As cheesy as it sounds, he will always be part of this memorable time in our lives.
In the end, Hola Teddy came from this memory…
After playing around with several names, I kept coming back to a sweet memory from a trip to Puerto Vallarta several years ago. It was the first time we took Teddy to Puerto Vallarta with us. We were staying in a beautiful condo complex called Sayan Beach. The staff quickly fell in love with Teddy. We joked that they couldn’t remember our names, but they knew Teddy by heart!
As soon as Teddy took one step out of the elevator, we heard, “Hola Teddy!!!”. For an entire week, everyone from the security guard to the bartenders, would shout “Hola Teddy!!!” when they saw him. I have thought about this several times over the years. Sure, maybe seeing a cute little 4-pound dog made these people genuinely happy. I mean, those eyebrows alone could soften even the Grinches heart.
Digging a little deeper, I decided that “Hola Teddy!!!” is a state of mind. The staff was grateful to have a good job with an incredible view. They work in a place where their customers are almost always in a great mood (because they are vacationing in paradise). These people do not have much, but they have an “Hola Teddy!!!” state of mind.
In closing…
It has been about 5 months since Brad and I retired. Has every day been perfect? Nope.
Is every day good? 100% yes. In fact, most days are really, really good.
I never want to take this experience for granted. My challenge to myself (and anyone else who is still reading) is to keep an “Hola Teddy!!!” state of mind. We will surely all be happier if we do.