When I realized that our family cottage was no longer ours, but instead turned into a family business, the question of a name arose.
What is the name of our bath complex? I started digging, first by myself, then with colleagues and friends. So Steam appeared, then Oak, Paranormal, Injoi and a dozens more options. This is superficial, I thought, and again began to dig along with my already tired friends. This is how Euphoria, Banio, Steam park, Jar Co and a hundred other words were born, directly or indirectly related to the bathhouse. None of them suited me.
It was strange to my ear to incline Steam, offer to visit Euphoria or steam friends in the Thermosphere.
The name should not be Russian, without any Venikof or Par & Jar. The Romanian versions weren’t any better – „Baile” sounds rude, and „Bani” is generally about money. Then I went through thousands of words that sound the same in Russian, English and Romanian, but none of them conveyed the feeling of my bathhouse. Her story, my story. I’m at a dead end.
After recovering my breath for a couple of days, I began to ask the guests how they feel the name for this place. I offered options – and received completely different answers, which confused me even more. Colleagues were already pretending that they had no time, friends changed the subject when I raised the issue of the name and threw dozens of crazy decisions „Spirit”, „Contrast”, „Birdhouse”, „Cult”, „Portal”, „CurCurat”… Even the guys from our bath club Injoi got together and said:
– Voloshin, stop squeezing our brains. Whatever name you come up with, everyone will still go to Voloshin. So call it!
Hmm… But after thinking about it, I discarded this option – it’s unusual when your name is called a business, and how to associate a surname with only one of a dozen of your businesses – it’s not clear why with him?
But it is necessary to start, and I called the bathhouse „Aburi Club”. Unique name, easy to find, short. Well, yes, it sounds strange to me, but it’s okay, I’ll get used to it. Launched a page on Facebook, Instagram, advertising. A week passed, another – and I realized that I could not get used to the fact that my bathhouse, the place of power of my family, is called by a meaningless set of letters for me.
It was only then that I realized that I had to give not only my cottage, my time and energy, but also my name. The name, in which I have invested my resource for the last 30 years, protected from evil tongues and tried not to make mistakes in order to maintain a reputation. A name that I am not ashamed of and that my children have.
Woloshin Baths
But damn, this is a risk – if I mess up, it will damage my reputation, and not just the business. A brand like a mirror that reflects all your strengths and weaknesses, and a low rating of the institution will instantly lower the reputation of your family.
In a word, there is something to lose. But there is something to obtain. Perhaps people who know me, having heard about the Woloshin baths, will be more willing to try them than the unknown Aburi bath. Trust is what can be gained by naming a company by my last name. A trust that needs to be constantly justified.
I know this well as the founder of Simpals, 999, Point, Sporter, Afisha, Chisinau Marathon and dozens of other brands. We were not always able to be perfect, but I never hid behind colleagues. Yes, this is my business, and yes, this is my mistake. And if at Point our moderators skip mess in the comments, then they write to me in a direct with obscenities, threats, and, believe me, I care.
I am ready to take responsibility for The Bathhouse personally, not hiding behind managers, lawyers and marketers. In short, this is a challenge for me. And I accept it.
PS: It so happened that we went with family to Baden-Baden to study the thermal baths. And there, lying in a warm pool next to my beloved, I realized that this is not only my business. She’s been shopping for the last month, buying woolen blankets, slippers, teapots, bath hats, and a lot of decor. Everything to make guests feel at home. This is a family business and it should be in the title. Wait, she’s also Voloshin. V+V = …W! Of course, the symbol of these baths will be W – two letters holding hands, which together will make the most incredible bath complex in our country out of a cottage on the banks of the forest.
Welcome to Woloshin Baths
