Looking the part is half the battle in the business world. If you look and act like you belong, people will believe you will. Once you’re looking good and setting a precedent for your new and small business, the working world will open up to you like never before. But before you can become an industry leader and make a difference within your market, you need to make the right first impression. If you’re not sure how to get started with a project like that, here are 3 ideas to inspire you.
By Team Savant
Image: Jenny Ueberberg
Focus on Your Team Dynamic
The way your team works together is key to functioning as a unit, and the outside eye can always see tensions arising. Even if they don’t know you, and have never worked with you before, a disagreement between colleagues can set the tone for the whole room.
You need to focus on this team dynamic from the beginning. Know who your employees are, and what they can do on their own. Once you’re aware of their personalities, egos, and skill sets, you can pair them up far more effectively.
Brush Up Your Exterior Appeal
The way your company looks to the outside eye will have a lot of impact on the impression you provide to anyone joining you for a meeting. If your office looks neat and tidy, you’ll immediately seem like a professional. However, if you’re dealing with various trash and/or pest issues, or you’ve not quite decided on what colour to paint the break room in, it’ll be hard to convince someone you’re worth working with.
So try to get this physical appearance sorted as soon as possible. You’ll have things like scaffolding erectors up for a few weeks, yes, but the effect can’t be understated. Your curb appeal truly matters — if you look like the right place, people will believe they’re in the right place. Trim back any plants, use bright and light colours, and make sure your interior office layout is arranged in a way that makes sense.
Clean Up Your Web Presence
Finally, make sure your digital profile looks just as professional as your physical one. For example, make sure your domain name is personalised and used in full for your website’s homepage. Similarly, don’t just use Hotmail or Gmail to receive business emails through; set up your own email portion with your own custom domain ending.
This tells anyone trying to get in contact that you’re worth what you’re putting out there. It’s good practice to apply a professional shine to everything you do, and the internet is the one place where everyone can see what you’re up to! Your brand name needs to be maintained across all online platforms; check now to see if you’re being cohesive.
Your business can look the part with just a little more focus on the way you look as you work. Focus on both the physical and the personal, and never forget about your website.