Presenting A Professional Appearance - A "How To" Lesson

It’s very important to present yourself with a certain degree of professionalism. Giving potential contacts the idea that you’re “not really a business” can seriously hurt your ability to cut a deal and sell your idea.

If people think you are living in your mother-in-law’s basement and drinking from a mason jar (regardless if this is the truth!), are they really going to want to do business with you?

There are a number of simple low-cost to no-cost changes you can implement to increase your credibility. These actions, all of which can be completed in less than an hour, can dramatically improve the way other companies perceive you.

You don’t need to give the impression that you are a big corporation, but you do need to present yourself and your company in a professional light.

Use a business name.

I use Stephen Key Design. Just take your name and put “design” behind it and voila, you’ve got a cool business name. Not only is this quick and easy, but it works to your advantage when cutting deals.

Design what you ask? Exactly! It’s fairly ambiguous. You could be designing one thing one day and another product the next. It’s very flexible and has worked for me for many years.

You need to check in your state, but in most states you don’t need to file a fictitious business name statement if you are doing business under your full surname. So if you use your name and put “Design” behind it, you can save yourself some government paperwork to boot.


Have a phone that rings to an answering machine with a business message on it.

What kind of impression do you think you will make when a potential licensee calls you back and your 10 year old answers the phone and yells, “Daddy – it’s for you!”

You’re cheap and don’t want to pay for another phone line? No problem. I’ve got a great solution that is free, will cost you nothing, and enable you to be more responsive to callers.

The answer is to use your cell phone as your business line. You probably already have a cell phone. Simply change your personal message to a business-like one.

Let your friends and family know that you are using your cell phone as your business line, but that they can reach you just as they always have. They’ll understand and you’ll be more responsive to any potential licensee calling since you can always carry your cell phone with you.

Just make sure not to answer your cell phone if you are in a noisy environment – you don’t want to give away the fact that you’re on your cell phone. Instead, let the call go to voicemail and find a nice quiet spot to return the call.

Use an e-mail signature.

An email signature is your sign off at the end of every email you write. It might look like this.

Kindest Regards,
Jack Black - Principal
Jack Black Design
650-793-1477
Jack@JackBlackDesign.com

Everyone wants their paper letterhead to look good. Rarely, if ever, will you write a paper letter. Email is the new medium for communicating in the business world. You need to have a professional sign off. Make it a good one!

Set up your own email address with your company name.

Avoid free yahoo, Google or hotmail account email addresses. What’s more impressive, jack5646@hotmail.com or Jack@JackBlackDesign.com ?

It costs $9.95 or less a year when you sign up with a domain name provider like GoDaddy.com.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to use the domain name or create a web site in order to use your very own custom email address. Creating a web site can take forever and if you do a poor job, hurt more than help you. Setting up your own custom email address with your company name can take less than thirty minutes. If you don’t know how to set up your own email address, have a friend or someone else that already has his or her own custom email address help you.

If you insist on using a free email service make sure to improve the email address a bit by using something like JackBlackDesign@Gmail.com

Get an 800 number.

This one is optional, but can do quite a bit to improve your image.

You can get create an 800 number for $1 a month and have it forwarded to your cell phone or any phone you want. The per-minute charge (for the company I use, PowerNetGlobal.com) is only 4.5 cents a minute.

There’s nothing that says you don’t live in your mother-in-law’s basement and drink from a mason jar like an 800 number!

I hope you have found these simple tips helpful and informative. The way you present yourself, your company, and your new product ideas is paramount!