Creative Name Paves a Consultant’s Career

(Published July 1992 on Progress, a publication for Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce)

Frankly speaking, 26-year-old Luis Chen should he lust another job-seeking college student by now. Yet he started his consulting business 18 months ago from his study room.

And now, his company is celebrating its second anniversary of its name creation and held a ribbon cutting ceremony on June 16, 1992 at the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce.

“During this recession, many small-scaled organizations want to promote themselves. By working with a limited budget and inefficient planning, many events have low turnouts and cancellations. That's why - I am here to help them to save money and provide a creative design to grab people's attention."

Where did the name "Lou McHen" come from?

"I did a name search two years ago. One idea was to use the owner's last name. Yet, there are over 2 million people in the world named 'Chen.' How could I differentiate from others?"

So, I referred to a joke from my Army buddy, Gregory Hare. He was a mail clerk, said Chen.

According to Hare, one mailer accidentally combined "Chen" with Lou's middle initial "M" to become "McHen."

With his five-year experience in forming student organizations, starting a business was not difficult. Yet, there were many obstacles throughout the course of establishment, Chen sought help from the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Administration, libraries, City of Sunnyvale and other resources.

"Hare was the first person to call me 'McHen'. I just can't forget it," said Chen.