This is all solid advice. On the last point ("one-man shop"), Jason Fried wrote a column for Inc. on being a one-man company and feeling and fighting the need to exaggerate its size: http://www.inc.com/magazine/201106/dont-exaggerate-your-size...
I always remember the tale of George Eastman. He was looking for something short, something that was easy to spell and unambiguous to pronounce in lots of languages, and something that meant nothing. The result? Kodak.
Having said that about articles, I think for every method that people claim is the "perfect way to come up with a brand", there's a story of brands that became established but had origins that didn't involve mindmapping, brainstorming, SEO tests, research groups and the like. Two examples from the UK, one now a little faded: Amstrad, which is just AMS Trading shortened, AMS being the initials of Lord Sugar, and Virgin, which one of Richard Branson's early employees suggested because none of them had a lot of experience of running a business.
Go for a walk and one might pop into your head. You never know! If you're in NZ as your username suggests (?) then you certainly have the scenery for inspiration :-)