Why Dressing Like a Business Owner is So Important

We have all heard 1,000 times that the first impression is the most important one. So how do you look when you meet a client? What happens if you meet that client or potential client at the grocery store? Or walking your dog? How do you look? How are you representing your company as the owner?

It is so important that you dress like a business owner at all times. What do I mean by that? I do not mean that you wear pumps when you go grocery shopping. But you should put some care in to your appearance. It’s true you are the boss, after all, so no one is stopping you from dressing comfortably or how you want. But think about it. Have you met someone for the first time and immediately decided if you liked them or not? Did they look put together and professional? What if you ran into your accountant and he or she was wearing pajamas at a restaurant? What would your confidence level be with that person handling your taxes?

Granted, a person’s intelligence or capabilities cannot be judged by what they wear. But an impression is made in seconds. In the book,Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell states that we have two seconds, the time it takes to blink, to make that first impression. Snap decisions are made about situations and people in that amount of time. The book goes on to train people to not make those split decisions. But in the meantime, you have to consider that people do form opinions about you based on how you look, speak, dress, shake hands, and make eye contact.

You can be caught off-guard or you can raise your game. You can seek help through a stylist or you can figure out your own style, as the owner of your company, and go from there. We’ve all seen those make-over shows. They can take an average looking person and make them look fanominal. Now’s your chance to be better then average and stand out from the crowd. In any economy, your first impression is something entirely within your control.

This article may be reprinted when the copyright and author bio are included.
2010 Catherine Lang-Cline, Portfolio Creative, LLC.

Catherine Lang-Cline is co-founder and owner of Portfolio Creative, a workforce innovation firm that was named the 326th fastest growing company in the U.S. by Inc. magazine in 2009. Portfolio Creative helps companies streamline and innovate their creative work to save time, energy and money. www.portfolioiscreative.com.