I can certainly relate.
My current brand name is one that I started using in 1994, right out of high school. It was just a fluke really that somebody thought would be a cool on a t-shirt. I sold a few for a couple of months, then just stopped.
Years later, after I got married, I wanted to do something with t-shirts. I had a theme for a brand, but no name. I finally settled on a name that I "thought" was perfect and had some shirts made up. They did ok, but I knew that it needed something else.
So, back to the drawin board I went. I had completely forgotten about the name that I used years earlier (old age, I guess). But my wife reminded me of the name from before it was a perfect name for the theme and message that I wanted my brand to have.
So I went back to the old name, with a new theme and new focus. Since going back to the old name, I've changed the logo several times, along with the target market and marketing strategy.
But I've learned so much over the years that now (hopefully
) I'm able to focus on exactly what my brand is, and what I want to do with it.
I'm happy that I didn't throw piles of money at the other ideas because it would have certainly been a waste without the knowledge that I've acquired.
