Who told you that? And did they explain why they told you that?
It used to be that almost all companies told what they did, such as International Business Machines (IBM), American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T), Burger King (burgers). But if one has enough money for marketing, one can definitely brand one’s product in the public psyche, such as Kleenex and Xerox. Of course, then there are the high-profile names, such as Ford, Chrysler, Buick, Packard, etc. So I’m not sure I can agree with that.
However, I definitely recommend not using just your name unless you have the budget of Ford so that you can brand it. If one simply must have one’s name in the company name, then at least tell what you do. For example, I currently have three companies with my name in them:
Russel Ray, Property Consultant
Russel Ray, Marketing Consultant
Russel Ray, Business Consultant
They do different things for different people having different goals and needs, but there’s no doubt what they do. So if I am going to work in home inspections, instead of Russel Ray, I might do Ray Home Inspections, or Russel Ray Inspection Service, etc.
Besides, in today’s world, it’s pretty cool to do a Google and have one’s name pop up all over the place. Of course, that also means that it is more difficult to hide from old college roommates that one never really liked anyway, which is why they were a one-semester roommate.