So, you’ve got a business idea, or maybe you’ve already started one, and you’re grinding hard behind the scenes to create some solid business strategies. Okay, sounds great, but the only problem? Well, you still look like you’re about three spreadsheets away from a nervous breakdown. And yes, by all means, while that’s normal, it doesn’t exactly scream “invest in me.”
While it’s entirely unfair, you really need to keep in mind that people judge. Harsh, yes, but accurate. Basically, if you show up looking overwhelmed, broke, or like you’ve just run to the meeting from a night shift, then they’ll assume your business is barely hanging on. Doesn’t matter how good your idea is, perception wins. This isn’t even about investors; this is about customers, talent, content creators, other businesses, well, anyone and anything that could somehow remotely have anything to do with your business
While yes, it’s not fair, you thankfully don’t need a mansion, a personal assistant, or anything like that; it’s more about creating an illusion (but not lying). So, here’s what you need to know.
Wear the Success First
You know that feeling when you put on a killer outfit and suddenly feel like you could run a Fortune 500 company? Well, channel that. But seriously, no one’s asking you to buy a £700 jacket, but looking polished matters. For example, try and borrow, rent, or fake it with confidence. Better yet, just a tailored blazer and clean shoes can do wonders.
But of course, you can always look into renting if you just don’t think your current one looks good, and yeah, a full power suit could be great (and renting isn’t that expensive anyways). Just having a really good suit has a way of tricking anyone into thinking you’re a significant business boss; it’s basically magic.
It’s About what You Pull Up In
The last thing you want to do is to pull up for a meeting in a busted old car, yeah, people will judge horribly for something like that. Even for people trying to land a job interview, well, they’ll be negatively judged on this, too. You’d be surprised how often the eyes are drawn to you for something as small as this.
While you don’t need to own a luxury car, just look like you could. If you’re off to a big pitch, networking event, or meeting with someone important, it’s worth showing up like you mean it, and you could ideally look into luxury car hire, be it you driving the car yourself or even just hiring a chauffer (kind of like how in TV shows mega business people have their own drivers).
Curate Your Online Glow-Up
Before anyone meets you, they’re going to stalk you. It’s how things work nowadays. So your Instagram can’t be all memes and dog photos if you’re trying to look like a serious entrepreneur. But on top of that, try and make your LinkedIn not cringe (and don’t use AI for your status updates). Ideally, you should use decent photos and speak like someone who knows their stuff rather than using buzzwords that literally make no sense.
Speak Like You Know Exactly what You’re Doing
Yeah, confidence is louder than credentials. People love to buy into certainty. So if you’re still figuring it out behind the scenes, keep that between you and your Notes app. In the real world, speak clearly, own your space, and don’t apologise for starting small.
