In today's world and yesterday's world too, a large part of business success has rested on the old saying that "Its perception over reality." If you are trying to raise capital or for that matter do any other form of business these days, you have to pay attention to how others perceive you by your online presence. This article goes over the basics of how you can legitimize yourself or at least not sabotage yourself by appearing professional online.
Email: I receive a number of people sending me opportunities to invest or financing inquiries from people with email addresses ending in Yahoo, Google, Hotmail, etc. If your email address is not connected to your own domain name, it shows me that you are probably working from home and have not developed your company enough for me to take you that seriously. To take it a step further, if you are using web mail, then it means you don't have a website either.
Domain Email: You don't even need a website to have a domain name and email service. I use namecheap. For $9.69 year, I can register a domain name. For $3.95 a month, I can have an email only account with up to 10 mailboxes using my own domain name. It is easy and takes an hour, even for a beginner. Go-daddy and Laughing Squid have similar plans.
Website: As I often do, I'm going to tell it like it is........If you don't have a website you do not have a company today and you will not be taken seriously by people you contact. An adequate website can be created in half a day with many web-hosting companies. Network Solutions has a program called image cafe where you can choose from 100s of canned website templates depending on your business focus. If you can use Microsoft word, you can do this. Many people without a website think they have to hire a web designer and spend months planning it out. I was one of those people 2 years ago. Let me give you a simple tip. Start off with a simple website, even if its just one page functioning like an online business card. You can build upon it over time. The point I want to drive home is that having your own URL and website is required today and is very easy to do.
Linkedin: When someone contacts me for the first time via email, Linkedin, or even a phone call, I look them up on Linkedin. It is absolutely essential you create a rich Linkedin profile about yourself. When someone I don't know does not have a detailed Linkedin profile or no links out to a website, I move on.
Again, its about perception over reality. You may not be a big company but if you have a website, a real email account with your domain name, and a rich and detailed Linkedin profile, you create an air of legitimacy that will help you win business and gain clients in today's market.
To your Wealth!
Russell Roesner, President
Equity Coalition
2440 Cabrillo Street
San Francisco, CA 94121
415 680 3454
www.equitycoalition.com
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