It can be challenging to grow a small business without substantial investment from the outside. You can’t always rely on these opportunities to arise, though, and this can put your company in a difficult position. Due to your size, brand awareness is not there. But if you want to stand up against the big boys of business, you need to find ways to get yourself there. The best avenue to do this is to look more professional, so here are four ways to do that.
Fix Your Online Presence
Your website and social media pages are often your clients’ first point of contact with your business. Because of this, you must fix your online presence to represent your company correctly. You need to provide as much information as possible, so future clients know all they need to know about you. Fill out the About Us and Contact pages. Set up social media accounts and submit information for Google My Business. Invest in a domain name, rather than rely on a string of numbers. These will all help your company look the part.
Remember You Represent It
A small business owner is never not working. This is something that you must remember if you want to ensure your business stands up against established brands. With this in mind, you must present yourself the right way. You want to come across as a serious professional, so ditch your supermarket suits and buy something tailored to start. It’s also worth visiting places like Teds Grooming Room to fix any stray hairs, whereas you should shine your shoes, as it’s the first thing potential investors and clients notice when you first walk into a room.
Work With Professionals
You may have tried designing the website by yourself to save some cash. However, if you’re not a web designer, this is not always the best way to go. You don’t know what looks good when it comes to designing and maintaining a website, so outsource this job to someone who can give it their full attention. Likewise, get a professional photographer to take portraits of you and your team, as these are better than out-of-focus or poorly framed smartphone snaps.
Attend The Right Events
Small business owners think they should attend every corporate event they can. However, while this can be useful for networking, it can also make you seem too busy. If you always have an event to attend, you can come across as someone who doesn’t know what they want, and this won’t impress clients and investors. You should pick the industry and networking events you attend carefully. Consider who will be there and why the event is valuable to you. Doing so will help you meet the right people without looking like a fly that can’t find its way out of the window.
Blending In With the right moves at the right time, competitors and established corporations will not be able to tell the difference between your small business and businesses that have been around for years. This will put you in excellent stead and help you grow and find the success you need. No, the success you deserve.
