Employment
Package Yourself Professionally As A Home Business Owner by Laurie HayesWe all have our own tastes, styles and preferences when it comes to how we dress, style our hair, even what we drive, and one of the great things about running a business from the comfort of home is that we can be exactly who we are with no need to impress anyone.
Like you, I have personal preferences. I love the fact that I can work in my PJ's during the early hours of the day while I coach overseas clients, and comfortable gym clothes or shorts and a T-shirt during the day.
It's great that working from home gives us this freedom to dress as we choose, but it's also important to recognize that this is where it stays - at home.
When you're out in the community or meeting with clients or prospects, put your personal preferences aside and shift your thinking to image management.
Whether it's fair or not, image is critical. How someone perceives you is going to determine whether or not they will do business with you.
Psychologists have learned that most people will form an impression of you in the first four minutes and that 80 percent of that impression is based on nonverbal data.
What you say has very little impact compared to your visual appearance.
Just like changing packaging for a product can mean the difference between boom or bust, the same can be applied to your physical packaging.
When I met my accountant for the first time, I was stunned. He came out of his office in his socks, his shirt was hanging out of his pants and he had no tie. His hair was disheveled and he looked like he had just wrestled a bear.
The first thing that may come to mind is he was having an afternoon cavort with his assistant, but he had a glass window on one side of his office and several support staff surrounding his workspace, so I gathered this was his customary work attire.
Most of what he said to me traveled in one ear and out the other because I was too busy trying to tame the battle going on in my head ...
"If he cares that little about his appearance and is that sloppy in his own business, why would he be any different with my finances?"
"Laurie, your colleague recommended him and said he did good work, that's got to count for something."
This internal battle dominated our meeting and I left with a pit in my stomach.
In the months that followed, I stayed on top of him like a wild dog on a slab of meat. I didn't trust his judgment or quality of work. I watched every entry he made like a hawk and double-checked everything he did.
I eventually brought the relationship to an end and transferred my business to another accountant.
Maybe it was shallow and terribly unfair, but the fact remains - appearance does have a major impact on business relationships.
I couldn't get past my first impression or the subsequent impressions as I continued to visit his office, and if I didn't call and ask for something, or put a deadline on it, I don't know if it would have been done.
His poor professional image translated to substandard performance and unfortunately, the two are often connected, and that's where our perceptions and judgments come into play.
An eternal truth in business is, you will succeed based on what is, not on what it should be.
Physical appearance and its impact on business success has been tested and measured and you can try it out for yourself to demonstrate.
One day, dress casual for meeting prospects and arrive in your aging pick-up truck. The next day, wear a business suit and complement it with accessories like a good quality pen, briefcase and your newer model car.
You'll notice a remarkable difference in the results you produce.
You'll also notice that you're treated with more respect, courtesy and receive much better service and response than you are when dressed in your "at home" business clothes.
The importance of personal packaging is a fact of business life. It may seem unfair or superficial, but the fact remains - to resist, deny or ignore it would be disastrous to your success.
Take a few moments to reflect on how you're presenting yourself to the world. Is there room for improvement? If so, make a change and test it. I'm certain you'll be impressed by the results.
2006 � Laurie Hayes - The HBB Source
About the Author
Laurie Hayes, founder and Director of The HBB Source� helps government and corporate employees break free of their jobs to live their dream of running a home-based business. Subscribe to her FREE e-zine for valuable tips and resources designed to create business success, at http://www.thehbbsource.com -
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Data Entry Job Resources Dreams, Power, Wealth, Casino Gambling and Online Marketing It is not everyday that people are offered their deepest dreams. But it does happen. Dreams can become reality within just seconds in a Casino. With the advent of the Internet, top dollars are now available through online business networking of casino games. Experienced Networkers will find building an online casino market strategy one that is solid and realistic. Even more so, if properly motivated. The realm of online marketing is one that seems to grow by the day. More and more individuals find themselves entranced by the flow of cyberspace chat rooms and online computer games including traditional luxury casino gambling that are all 100% ethically legal. Some people seem to ramble through life like they were lost in the dewy morning mists of forgetfulness, just letting life throw them scraps. 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Marketing an online casino as a professional sales affiliate means creating your own network of sales professionals and clients that could potentially be falling through the cracks of the descriptions above. People want casino games, and the casinos need sales and marketing professionals that have the knack and the desire to fulfill this market niche. Dreams, Power, Wealth When we are young, we dream all the time. Life can seem like a fairytale, even to those who find themselves in the most under-privileged circumstances. And normally it is in our youth where we first relish the desire for things that could be better. Little do the young expect what that kind of change in things would imply. What kind of power would be necessary in order to make such magical changes in our reality? Fortunately, money seems to have taken care of just about every single material desire that can possibly exist. Those things that are impossible, money can�t buy. But those things that �are� possible tend to stand there in the mind�s eye while we wonder how we could one day make the kind of money that would buy exactly �that� which we have been dreaming of for so long. Dreams, to a certain extent, require the power to make themselves become reality or else they continue as just that for all our lives, mere dreams. Those who sit around and never do anything about the things they dream of usually continue with the same lot in life as nature first gave them and they tend to never go anywhere. But the very select few who take the one chance life has given them to be lived absolutely to its �fullest� are those who tend to succeed. Those who have dared to dream do so ambitiously and actually take the risks involved in potentially creating the power they need to buy their dreams. Those kinds of people however are no longer known as dreamers when they finally reach their goals. 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Really �knowing� what would potentially make you the happiest individual on the face of this planet. If you do know, that is, know �exactly� what you want in order to be happy, and that thing you desire most is buyable, then making incredibly absurd amounts of money as soon as possible, is definitely for you. But be sure, earning money in life is not as easy as it can be in the casino. Marketing is for those who really enjoy the art of sales, networking is for those who enjoy making their own empire and gambling is for those who enjoy that �feeling� of risk. Online affiliates can spend all the money they want in the casino, but they need to make it first, otherwise, it gets tough to play when you are broke. If you enjoy something, be it anything at all, and that thing requires money, you will need to work hard to get it. Networking online involves building informative sites, building an informative blog, visiting chat rooms, making virtual friends, sending letters and basically making your clients happy. Once you prove to yourself that your job is a necessary one, then be sure you will sell faster and better. Getting people to market for you is the secret to retirement online. If you build your empire for say six months to two years or so, and build honestly, then your business should be self-sustainable and online profits come in without your even lifting so much as a finger to the keyboard except to gamble some small percentage of your profits whenever you feel like it. Gambling of course is not everyone�s ideal form of entertainment, but there are many who enjoy it. Finding those people is easy, because the amount of people using the internet doubles every year. Online affiliate marketing is looking for sales professionals willing to work from home with ambitious goals that will keep them motivated enough to succeed. And if you are that kind of individual, one who has monetary dreams, and the courage to confront the world of cyberspace, then building your own marketing network business for online casino gambling companies is THE way to go. This article was written by Pat Stevens sponsored by http://www.business-home-mlm.com/. Data Entry From Home can assist you in finding the right home based business that will help you change your financial future. Reproductions of this article are encouraged but must include a link pointing to http://www.business-home-mlm.com/. More Resources
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